Favorites.
While I have many tangles that I really like, Pais and Papyrus are two that I love to draw. Then send me into a meditative state right away and I really enjoy the way they look when they are finished. Instead of selecting tangles at random, I chose all of these specifically to experiment with differences and similarities.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Struggle.
Sometimes the random tangles that pop up on a given day struggle with each other for attention. And then, sometimes I struggle drawing them. Waybop landed on this tile, but it‘s struggling to fit in.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Tangles: Cadent Dansk Fracas Sharalarelli Unyun Waybop
Organic.
Icanthis is a very organic tangle that can meander over a large area. It works well as a central focal element, but, when drawn smaller, can be used to fill in areas behind other tangles.
The tile coloring was created with Distress inks and more color was added with Distress markers.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using Olive Copic Multiliners. Coloring done with Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Poloychromos colored pencils.
For your heart‘s healing, Lily.
This week, one of the Zentangle Facebook Groups that I belong to asked the members to draw tiles using tangles created by Lily Moon. This request came because she posted about a very difficult time in her life on her blog . I had never used any of her tangles before, so I chose Amphora.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Flutter.
To me, the two sections with the Queen‘s Crown in them remind me of butterfly wings. I think of them every time I see it.
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Bales Chard Echoism Jonqal Pinwheels Queen‘s Crown Vega
Pockets.
This tangle reminds me of a pocket with a spiral lolipop in it. I wanted to experiment with the various brown pens in my collection, to see how much contrast there was between the various tones.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a brown Micron and brown and sepia Copic pens. Shading done with Polychromos colored pencils blended with Copic blending marker.
Tangles: Buttercup Cootie Flukes Fracas Marasu Nipa Puf Quipple Rain Xircus
Vertical.
I actual tangled this tile with all the designs going horizontally. When I was finished, and rotated the tile around, I realized that it worked from EVERY position. That‘s unusual, and it gave me a big thrill. I almost didn‘t shade it, just because it was cool! I finally settled on this position, but if you turn your head, you will be able to see what I mean!
Reef, created by Judy Lehman, is a simple but fun tangle. The tops of the shapes provide a nice distribution of dark areas across the tile and help to balance the large white areas. I chose to further embellish each shape, but the tangle is equally effective just plain.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Tangles: Reef
It‘s complicated.
When I‘m stressed, taking time to tangle becomes even more important. It allows me to decompress and step away from the chaos. However, my tile often reflects what‘s going on around me. This tile is a case in point. I‘m not feeling good, and there is a lot of “stuff” going on that has me not following my “normal” routine.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Blue.
I decided to experiment with a blue pen for this tile. I also shaded part of it with a blue colored pencil… after I did the Cirquital with a regular pencil and realized it looked a bit odd.
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a blue, Micron pen.
Tangles: Barbd Cadent Cirquital Criss & Cross Dex Printemps Sedgling Sez Worms
Distress Inks.
This tile is a combination of techniques beginning with Tim Holtz Distress Inks, Spray Stains, and markers. In addition, several other products were used including Polychromos colored pencils, a variety of gel pens, Sharpies, and Zig markers.
The techniques used are from Eni Oken‘s ebook, "3D Tangle: Tangling over Distressed Tiles." While this technique still involves drawing tangles on a small piece of paper, it is far from the original Zentangle Method.
Butterfly bones.
Every time I look at this tile, I feel like it‘s a drawing of the remains of a butterfly or a moth.
This tile includes one of my original tangles: Barbd.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Tangles: Barbd Black Box Bridgen Carrés Caterpillar Cheesecloth Circfleur Five Oh Florz Keeko Locar
A party on a tile.
Beads, flowers, bold costumes and wild music. To me, this tile feels like a party!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Tangles: Chillon Cyme Ixorus Poke-Root Raddox Rain Scoodle Warble
Through the window.
We peeked around the curtain to see how they lived. All we could see, though were some flowers in a vase and the corner of the over-stuffed chair.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Tangles: Becki Fife Jalousie King‘s Crown Shing Opus
Earth Day.
Saturday, April 22, is Earth Day. I drew this Zentangle years ago, but every time I see it, it reminds me of the earth and nature.
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Nzeppel Pokeleaf
Movement.
I love the way the string used in this tangle conveys movement while the Marasu anchors the viewer. It‘s as if the other patterns in the tile are flowing around the spiral design.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Tangles: Botto Courant Marasu Mi2 Mixed Signals Munchin Socc Wildwood
Textiles.
This tile makes me feel like I‘m peeking into my sewing room and seeing fabrics and trims ready and waiting on my cutting table.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Tangles: Beeline Courant Flooka Flux Patena Ruflz Sez
You can find the instructional video for Zingo here . Indy and Mazzy, show you how they draw this tangle. I decided that the design could handle some delicate coloration, so I chose to draw it with several different-but-neutral Copic mulitliner pens. I did nestle on a bed of Spirals, which technically would be a second tangle, but the point of this tile was to draw Zingo in all of it‘s glory.
Bunny.
I love bunnies! Real or plush, both are fine with me. It‘s the bunny time of year, so I just had to draw one!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum tile using a black, Micron pen. Coloring done with various markers, metallic and glitter gel pens. Shading done with pencil.
Tangles: Grass Border Palrevo
Symmetry.
Not really, but this string gives you an illusion of symmetry because of the repetition of patterns on each side of the tile.
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Centipede Florz Kule Meer Scallops Shard Tink