Deleafing the Limeberry tree in my garden

It has been awhile since I repotted and reshaped the Limeberry tree in my garden. 
The last time I repotted this limeberry, now over 20 years old, was some years back.

1. The Limeberry tree in a pot.

(Note: Limeberry (Triphasia trifolia), also known as Lemon China, Lime Chinese, 

Limeberry, Trifoliate Limeberry, Lime Orange Berry, Triphasia, 

Trifoliate Limeberry or Triphasia Limeberry.

It is a perennial shrub or small tree that produces an edible fruit. 

It is the plant species in the family Rutaceae....Wikipedia)

2. Beginning the deleafing process of the Limeberry tree.

3. More leaves being plucked off by hand - 
a painful process if you are using your fingers without any protection. 
I got a lot of scratches and an allergy which lasted almost a week.

4. After over 2 or more hours, all the leaves have been removed.

(Question: Why deleaf the tree?)

(Answer: This is to give it a false autumn,

i.e. letting the tree go through the process of dropping all its leaves 

as would be the case if it were in a colder climate 

- Malaysia does not have the four seasons experienced in temperate countries. 

This is also a technique used in bonsai cultivation 

to get the tree to put out new shoots and later on, flowers. 

You will note that this Limeberry tree was cultivated as a bonsai.)

5. Another photo of the completely deleafed Limeberry tree

photographed on the driveway to give a better view of the branch structure.

6. These are the trimmings  from the tree. 

By trimming the branches, you encourage more branching 

and therefore encourage a more dense-looking tree.

7. The Limeberry tree after being trimmed. 

Branches which are crossing each other are removed 

and those which are too long or overgrown are trimmed away 

to give the tree an overall more symmetrical shape (the shape that I want for this tree).

8. View of tree from the top. Note that the branches are many 

and those which are crossing over each other or are unsightly 

(not helping to give it the shape I want) have been removed.

9. Another view of the trimmed and repotted Limeberry tree.

10. After a week, new shoots and leaves started to appear.

11. More leaves and shoots sprouting out over the next few days.

12. Close up of some of the branches to show the new shoots and leaves.

13. More leaves sprouting out after a few more days later.

14. After 2 - 3 weeks since it was deleafed, the Limeberry tree 

has put out more shoots and looks greener.

15. At about one month after it was deleafed, the Limeberry tree

has put out most of its new shoots and leaves

16. Side view of the Limeberry tree after a month it was deleafed.

Now I hope for it to flower in a couple of weeks time and perhaps

put out some fruits.

Zentangles done in January and February 2020

Except for zentangle 13, 

all the others were done with Pilot gel pens.

The following are small zentangles, just over 3.8 inches or 9.8 cm diameter:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

The following zentangles are of diameter almost 9 inches 

or almost 23 cm in diameter

11

12

13

(This was done in Faber Castel gel pens).)

14

15

 

16

This last one has a diameter of 13.5 inches or 34 cm.

17

Hope you enjoyed looking at these zentangles 

as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Coloured Zentangles

Here are some of my coloured zentangles done over the last 6 months. The challenge here is to use colours that do not clash, at the same time having enough contrast so that the patterns pop up. Some patterns are more delicate while others are bolder. Some are simple and others are more involved. The main thing is that I got a lot of fun from doing them and getting the pleasure of viewing a completed piece at the end.

Most zentangles took a few days to complete as I do not do one at one sitting. In terms of hours the smaller ones (the first 6 zentangle-inspired pieces) may take 8 to 12 hours, depending on the intricacy of the design.

The bigger zentangles (7 of them which measure about 13.5 inches in diameter) may take some 20 hours (give or take) depending on the speed with which I work, the intricacy of the design and the colouring process.

I use a lot of circles and dots as I like round shapes. You will find that a lot of the designs are influenced by flowers or leaves (as I am also a bonsai cultivator and love gardening). I also love textures and try to use different designs to bring about texture.

My preference for curves show a lot in these pieces. It lends a sense of movement and fluidity, compared to if I were to use straight lines to make the different segments. Most of the segments and designs are done spontaneously though sometimes I sort of plan the segments by working out a rough sketch before I actually do the piece.

Most of the designs are done freehand and spontaneously. With some designs I use a 2B pencil to work out the shape of the pattern before inking it.

Outlining some of the designs with a darker ink or even black helps to make the designs pop up.

Hope these thoughts that I am sharing here may be of some use to you when you do your own zentangles. Good luck.

Experimenting tangling (zentangles) with coloured gel pens

1. Starting on an 11 in x 11 in piece of paper (about 28 cm x 28 cm) cut from a art block of acid-free paper, I have the circle drawn in first using a template. Then I put in some curves. I like to start with my artist mark as I am a bit vain I suppose. If it does not turn out nicely I start all over again.

 2. This is a close up of the design that I want to put in this segment of the zentangle. I have a preference for circles which explain why I use a circle frame instead of a rectangle one.

I put in circles and then divide each of the larger circles into 5 segments to guide me in the next step.

 3.  I draw in extra lines on each of the segments and put a kind of beat in each 

filling up as much of the space as possible.

  

4. The spaces behind each bead is then coloured in red.

5. The smaller circles are filled with concentric circles in turquoise and the background 

coloured in black to contrast the red and turquoise with the black.

 

6. The segment enclosing the first segment is filled with curves with auras 

and broken up into smaller segments.

7. This is a close up of the patterns that I am putting into the green areas.

8. I thought orange would help to bring out the green circles (which also have auras 

- I use auras or shadows a lot in my zentangles.

I have also added another pattern which is inspired by the mocha tangle, 

interspersed with pearls or balls (these are another of my favourite additions).

 

9. The other segments are filled in the same way. I do not plan the patterns beforehand as I want things to be spontaneous. I do however, have patterns that I use repeatedly and whatever comes to mind at the moment will be used.

Since I am experimenting with colours, the idea is to 

have the colours contrasting and non-clashing at the same time. 

  

 10. The final product is shown above.