So I came across a pattern that (somehow!) I had not seen before - or at least, not enough to really know it - called a ‘Truchet Tile’. See the Wikipedia page for details.
The basic tile is square, but there is a variant on a hexagon that I used here. Do not worry, the square one comes in later this month (Truchet month, this month). I started with the hexagon one, using various inks as always.
This was half-way through and (sadly) probably looks best at this point - or, at least, clearest. Various shades of green, then a blue wash, then red. It looks very coraline here, which was the plan.
What I wanted, however, was a subtle underlying pattern. So again I put layers of varnish and blue ink on top, then red …
Ehhhhh. So it is more interesting in some ways, and the blue has tied the piece together but also drowned the detail. Definitely one that looks better in-person than my rubbish cameraphone pictures. Oh well.
If only I made a bigger version (*foreshadowing intensifies*).