New Mandala!

I started experimenting with the theme of the four elements, water, earth, fire and air. In keeping with the traditional idea of the outer circles of the mandala being earthly and the inner circles more heavenly, I decided to start with the sea in the outermost ring, followed by earth, fire and air. Inspired by rune symbols and Japanese stylised waves, I created simple patterns for the rings, dedicating more focus in the earth and air areas of the mandala.
Using the pen tool, I designed a leaf pattern for the earth area of the mandala repeated 12 times to mimic a clock and using colour to display the four seasons. I also used the blend tool to change colours from green, to red to autumn and red to brown for winter etc. and removed and added leaves according to the season displayed.

For more detail in the earth area of the mandala I used the pen tool to create birds. I used the live paint tool to colour them based on birds such as robins and swallows. To create variety on the work I altered the size of the different birds in the picture.For the centre I used multiple semi transparent interlocking circle patterns to create a sense of open space and perpetuity.