Winter is coming… Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Coloring done with Zig Real Brush, Crayola and Distress markers. Sakura Soufflé pen, Slicci metallic pen, Atyou Spica pens and glitter glue used for accents. Tangles: Aah Flake

Steam time. I decided to go in a bit of a steampunk direction with this monotangle. I like copper and green together and I‘ve been wanting to do more Zen Gems, so this tile made my artistic soul very happy. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Coloring done with mixed brand colored pencils, Crayon and Distress markers. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Waybop

How do you grow? I feel like my tangling shovel dug a slice from the garden. Here, I can see the plants reaching for the sun, the soil, seeds and roots! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Tangles: Fescu Keeko Quabog Quipple Sedgling Umble

Pop! Whenever I see Widgets, the tangle in the center here, I‘m reminded of bubbles popping! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen. Tangles: Diva Dance Echoism Quare Screen Swag W-2 Widgets Worms

Love is in the garden. Look at the giant heart-shaped flower that appeared in the garden! The love-bugs are so excited! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Coloring was done with Tombow, Zig, Crayola and Distress markers. Accents were done with Distress and Stablo markers. Tangles:Flee, Mooka, Pais

The process. One of the things about tangling is that it is a meditative process. I focus on each line I draw, and often don‘t have a clear picture of where the over-all design is going. This is particularly true when I select tangles at random, as I did here. Sometimes the over-all design works, and sometimes it doesn‘t. But there are days when the process is what is most important.

Neuron was recently featured as the challenge tangle on a couple of Facebook groups. I didn‘t do this right away, because I wanted to think about how to use the tangle as a string, as I did here. I also wanted to experiment with a few red accents, and I thought the triangles that appear in this design were perfect. I felt the center needed something contrasting, so I chose Nzeppel.

Busy. This tile is from a time when I used complicated strings and lots of tangles. But I think there are some interesting things here, that I‘ve further developed. For example, allowing one tangle to flow behind another. I also followed the string from the Cubine into the Striping. Now days, those concepts are used often when Zentangling, and are specifically taught in classes, tutorials and books! Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen.

Release. We cast the net into the sea, tying it down with ribbons to the world above. The new spores floated away to start their transformation. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen. Tangles: Florz Quib Rixty

Making brown pop. I‘ve tried tangling on various colored papers over the years, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn‘t. I cut a bunch of tiles from a pad of Saint-Armand Canal paper. They are various earthy, neutral colors. But the problem with the paper is that it is both very rough and very absorbant, so it‘s difficult to work with for Zentangles. But, every so often, I get brave and try it again.

A hint of Spring. I wanted to play with the watercolor concept again, but using a more spring-like color palette. I think one of the hardest things to learn for this technique, is to do a little at a time, and to know when to stop. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Coloring was done with Tombow, Zig and Distress markers. Accents were done with Distress and Stablo markers.

Simple divisions. The string for this tile was very simple. The space was divided into three sections with horizontal lines. The tile was then divided roughly in half by the vertical line. I did this to remind myself that I don‘t need to have a complicated string to make a pretty design. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Tangles: Floo Isochor Linked Tortuca Vega Yincut

Conservatory. For some reason, this tile reminds me of an old-fashioned, Victorian conservatory. I see the tile floor, the elaborate swirls of the wicker furniture and the plants. Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Tangles: Betweed Bronx Cheer Bucky Floo Flutter Tile Strircles Stiritup Swarm Verdigogh

Something different. I decided to try the current challenge in Eni Oken’s Shading Zentangle Facebook group. This challenge was to imitate the stunning artwork style used by Jo Flaherty. Her work is amazingly beautiful! I tried to keep the tangling simple, with larger shapes and no details. Then I began by drawing a simple line of color with the marker and applying water. I had some issues controlling the color, but I did get the base tones in place.

Imagination. Part of this reminds me of a bird in flight. It sticks in my mind, even though it‘s only a hint. But every time I see it, I can‘t unthink the bird! Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black Micron pen. Tangles: Beadlines Brax Circfleur Flutter Bi Flying Geese Pearlz Phicops Springkle