A couple of cracked eggs

I really didn't expect this challenge to be this hard. This week's challenge from the Diva was to do something with a theme of eggs, in honor of Easter weekend. And though it was a busy week (busier than the norm for me), what did we learn last week? Just how much could be done in 15 minutes.

So, when I got the other things I needed to do out of the way by Friday, I figured woohoo, plenty of time, right?

So why don't I like either of my attempts this time?

Oddly, what most people seemed to have trouble with this week was the egg shape. Not me. I had trouble with everything *else*.

So, though I think both entries are meh and not up to my standard, here they are anyway:



This one was done on a piece of cardstock in the usual 4" square. I tried using an apple corer as a template.

Took me 4 tries to get it right.

I should have started on a new sheet of paper after that. Because we all know what happens when you erase so much on any paper, then try to draw on it.

Crack number 1.

Then I think I went wayyyy overboard on the complexity, both in color and patterns used. I wanted a nice bright sunny spring. I got bright all right... And if I never see the eye-wa tangle again......

Couldn't get good shading, my attempt at a hidden egg (if anyone finds it, I'll be shocked, because I did it and *I* can't find it) failed miserably.

Easter weekend is supposed to be about the Resurrection, right? Or in other cultures and traditions, about renewal... So how can I revive this thing? Probably by putting it in the tomb of the back corner of the finished pile.

So, I tried again in a sketchbook while I was out this afternoon. I had a general idea I wanted to get across, with a night and day division.



I like it better than the first one, but the interior of the egg is one of those that would have been better off if I'd left it alone with just the band around the middle.

Also found I don't really like working in a *book*. I much prefer working on loose sheets of cardstock or watercolor paper or even plain paper.

So, I'm not satisfied with either one (shading might have helped the second one a bit), but here are entries anyway. Maybe I'll try something else tomorrow, just so I can feel like I did something decent with an egg theme. It'll be too late for the challenge by then.

I did, however, learn that while I enjoy tangling with the triplus colored pens, I *don't* like the look of using them as solid fill as much as I prefer colored pencil. That's going to help me out on a celtic cross piece I've got set aside while I figure out how I want to fill it out.