beauty in blank spaces

In my coloring book days, I was taught to "stay within the lines," and to color "thoroughly and evenly." This is something I have had to unlearn. Etegami looks best-- most etegami-like-- when the drawing is not completely filled in with color. This is an aspect of etegami that I continue to struggle with. Because of the nature of the paper I use, the colored ink spreads easily, and my drawing will often get filled in from border to border even if I meant to leave blank spaces. This attempt at preserving blank space came fairly close to what I had aimed for. Fans of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, that delightful series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, will recognize the reference in the accompanying words.