The Smoky Shapes

Ah!  Finally back to simple patterns and shapes!  No more self portraits!

When i came up with these, all i was thinking of was simple shapes with circles inside them.  but when i had finished sketching the dove one, i realized that they needed something.  when i made the dove picture, i had the word peace in my mind.  why not mingle it with some darkness?  to make the shadows, i colored a layer of red and purple with black on top using watercolor pencils.  this created a nice, rich shadow that purely black could never achieve. i added the spots in the larger circles as a finishing touch to add some texture.

More blood, sweat, and tears went into making these two than any other.  Why do stars have to be so hard to draw?  

My personal favorites.