Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas from our family to you and yours. May this day find you enjoying the company of friends and relatives near and far. We wish for you peace and joy! Tangles: dewd shattuck zailz
This beautiful, blue Zentangle was created by CZT Amanda Higbee! Posted with permission from the artist Tangles: Toodles
Today, I took Eni Oken's Art Raffle app for a spin. This tile is the result! For my first tile in eons, it’s not bad! If you tangle, you should get this FREE app, it’s lots of fun! Zentangle drawn on an white, official, Zentangle tile, using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Antidot Bales Beedz Crescent Moon Emingle Hollibaugh Knase Knightsbridge Perfs Printemps Shard Shattuck Stiritup Tagh
Sometimes, I sit down to practice something in my small sketch book, and my pen has different ideas than I do! Here, I was going to practice various tangles… and a “shapie” family just flowed out! There are still some tangles… can you spot them? Small sketchbook page, drawing done with Sakura Pigma Micron pen. Tangles: Bumper Fescu Mooka Printemps Springle
For the first project in the new Zentangle Project pack for grey tiles, we are creating a small, rearrangeable puzzle of four Bijou tiles, all with the same tangles. These can be assembled into your own mosaic and arranged in different designs depending on how you place each little tile. This is my first tile. I got carried away with the Diva Dance, on the second side, so I will be redoing this.
I am willing to bet that everyone who tangles for any length of time has those few designs that are just difficult for them. Showgirl was one of mine. Everytime I did it, I would end up with something that wasn’t quite right. You can see some of my failed attempts in the smaller tests in the image above. I kept practicing, for several months, on and off. Then, after following a lesson from Eni Oken , the light bulb came on, and I finally got it!
When my MIL passed away, we found the ZIAs and Zentangles she created later in her life. One of the things in these was a box with a tangled alphabet. Today is brought to you by the letter “Q”, as tangled by Twyla! Zentangle drawn on white card stock using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Quabog Quipple Queen's Crown Quiltz
#4 - This is the fourth in my series of fountain pen, shimmer and sheen ink tests. J. Herbin, Amethyste de l'Oural , a dark, purple ink with a beautiful crystalline-to-silver sheen, is such a deep, royal color. It’s beautiful with any tangle that has some filled in portion which allows the variations to shine when rotated in the light. I wish you could see here, in the scan, the beautiful sparkle along the bands in the Jetties tangle.
#3 - This is the third in my series of fountain pen, shimmer and sheen ink tests. I think I am in love with this Jacques Herbin ink, , Kyanite du Népal ! It is a beautiful, turquoise-blue with a sheen consiting of turquoise and silver metallic flecks. It’s an ink that will make any mermaid swoon! Although you can’t see it in the photo above, slightly rotating the tile under good light or outside in the sun causes the droplet ends of the opus to sparkle like a beautiful lagoon!
#2 - This is the second in my series of fountain pen, shimmer and sheen ink tests. The ink used here, Jacques Herbin, Rouge Hematite is perfect for the second tangle in this series! Pepper reminds me of those red and white peppermint candies that you see everywhere during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season! While you can’t see the pretty, gold sheen in this gorgeous ink, you can see how it affects the color and variations created when it is used to draw the stripes in the peppermints.
#1 - This is the first in my series of fountain pen, shimmer and sheen ink tests. I am currently using the 2019 Gratitangles list. The first tangle is Rain. What ink could me more appropriate than the Jacques Herbin Stormy Sky ink! This ink is a deep, flannel grey color with very tiny, sparse gold flecks. It worked well in the fountain pen and covered nicely in the areas that are filled in.
Throwback Thursday! Three years ago today, I did a reset on this website. I changed the style and the content over to be able to show you my art. While I have been tangling, more than anything else, I also do other kinds of art. But I have to confess, tangles often slip into it. This quick Halloween drawing was created with colored pencil. But you’ll probably find a couple of tangles here and there!
Did you notice that I skipped a number in this series of ATC cards? While this one was actually the sixth one I did, I saved it for the last because of the way it came out. Ok. I had this idea about using Paradox to make a symmetrical design. I think it sort of worked… but not at all what I imagined it would look like! ATC #6. Project done!
Sometimes the simplest tangles can have a powerful impact. It depends on how you treat them. Here, I used Hollibaugh, but gave it a bit of a curve. Then I made it holey! And a little touch of blue just makes it magical. ATC #11 Zentangle drawn on a cut down, grey, Official Zentangle tile using a blue, Micron pen, cobolt, Copic Multiliner, and white Gelly Roll. Shading done with graphite, Copic marker and colored pencil.
“Fishy, fishy in the brook, Daddy catch him on a hook, Mommy fry him in a pan, Johnny eat him like a man.” – Unknown Looking for a simple tangle that can be use in a variety of ways? Take Indy-Rella out for a spin! Depending on how you draw it, you can suggest flames, or fish. You can add them to the ends of Fescu, turning them into some kind of plant, or follow various contours to create a nice, organic fill.
Diva Dance is such a fun tangle. Although the concept is very simple, it can morph to fit almost any shape. Or, it can take on a life of it’s own, depending on the variation. Here, it has been wrapped around itself in a spiraled style that gives the appearance of full-blown blossoms. ATC #9. Zentangle drawn on sahara, Fabriano Tiziano using a black and tan, Micron pens and white Gelly Roll.
Aquafleur, the tangle used on the heart-shaped string was one that I didn’t understand well for a long time. I tried it, as it was shown to me, and I just couldn’t figure out how those ribbons wrapped a given string. Finally, one day, I just sat and played with it in my sketch book. And all of a sudden, it just “clicked” for me. Here, it is used in an elegant, but simplified version.
If you follow me, then you know I’ve done this tangle, which can look like a sprig of Rosemary, or a pine bough, or a feather, many times before. I enjoy drawing it and it’s one of my favorites. ATC #7. Zentangle drawn on sahara, Fabriano Tiziano using a black and tan, Micron pen and gold gel pen. Shading done with graphite pencil. Tangles: Marasu Tipple Verdigogh
Note: Some of the inks used did not scan well. There are silver and copper dots which here, appear to be orange and white. There are a lot of differences in composition when you work on a rectangular piece, as compared to a square. However, this one works on either. The only difference is that I like it better with a horizontal emphasis. On the square version, I liked it better with a vertical emphasis.
Printemps is one of my favorite tangles. It can be made large, with a heavier hand and used as central motifs. It can be drawn small and numerous to fill in a background. You can completely cover an area with it, overlapping where needed, or you can leave negative space around and between each fragment. No matter the over-all concept, it’s a wonderful tangle to draw for the Zen flow!