This tile was created following the instructions from Eni Oken ’s Art Club ’s latest lesson, Glazed Whitework .
It all started with a watercolor tile. It was an interesting challenge to draw the string and all of the tangles using a white colored pencil. Then more color was added creating the depth and shading you see here.
One of the most challenging things was to select appropriate tangles. It’s much more difficult to create detail with colored pencils than if you were using an inking pen.
My random tanglizer spit out a lot of tangles for practicing line work yesterday. At first, I was a bit worried that these wouldn’t produce enough contrast. But after using my magic wand (actually, a pencil), I like the way they became distinct and unique!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Fassett Flux Fracas Nzepple Sand Swirl Static Tipple Xircus
Disruption.
Every time the energy returned, it disrupted the planetary patterns. She knew it was time to travel again, to take the ship out. But the energy patterns just didn’t allow for it then. She would study the patterns… perhaps there was a way.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Antidots Betweed Flukes Ing Printemps Static
I love the overall composition of this tile from CZT Amanda Higbee!
Zentangle drawn on an Official Zentangle tile, using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Cobbles Floo Hypnotic Msst Purk Printemps Static
Sea Waves.
She watched the waves carefully, trying to see how the odd liquid could look so solid yet still propel the Shell Ship through the coral forest. The sea had such an odd texture she wasn’t even sure it WAS a liquid at all!
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen. Shading done with graphite pencil.
Tangles: Coral Five Oh Marasu Sea Wave Static
Day 2.
For this day, we are adding three new tangles to our repertoire: Fescu, Nekton and Knight’s Bridge. We were also instructed to practice making various strings.
For Amanda’s tile above, as you can see, her string is much more complex than on Day 1. She also used areas of repeated tangles to tie everything together.
Matthew did a wonderfully curvy string that gave him an interesting open space to fill with graceful Fescu! He decided to forgo any shading on his tile this time, because he felt it made his tile from the first day too muddy. I will be seeing him on Saturday, so I will give him a couple of shading tricks that should help him out.
Amanda’s Day 1.
You will recall that I said yesterday I was working on a challenge with another tangler? Well, here is her tangle based on the same lesson! I love how she made the Tipple into bubbles, including a few popping at the upper and lower right!
Amanda’s son, Matthew also did the Day 1 exercise!
Matthew is a 17-year old, highschool junior. He is in his second year of art classes and is a very talented artist. I love how he shaded each section of Cresent Moon differently. It shows the versitility of this tangle!
Day 1.
This week, I’m working on a challenge with another tangler named Amanda. We both have the book, “One Zentangle a Day” by Beckah Krahula.
Today’s tangle is for Day 1, which introduces Tipple, Static and Crescent Moon. I chose to follow the standard, Zentangle method, and started with dots in the corners and then connecting them with a frame. I used a simple string and filled each section with a tangle. I repeated Tipple in a second section because my string created four sections. Then I decided which way I wanted the tile to go and added my chop in the bottom right. Finally, I did some fairly simple shading to finish the tile.
Old fashioned.
This tile has several tangles that I haven‘t drawn in some time. And the style is more like what I did years ago than what has evolved since then. Every so often, I think it‘s a good idea to reflect on the past.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Bristol Vellum using a black Micron pen.
Tangles: Echoism Emingle Finery Florz Inapod Quandry Sedgling Static Stiritup
Echoes.
I think the multiple echoes that tie up this tile are the tangle and the circular repetitions. The shapes of the Marasu and the Cogwheel echo each other. Putting the Fescu on either side of the center creates balance. Finally having the top and bottom Pinwheels echo provide a nice contrast to the more organic designs.
Zentangle drawn on Official Zentangle tile using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Cogwheel Fescu Linked Marasu Msst Pinwheels Verdigogh Worms Chartz Static
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. Finally, I specifically chose the tangles to go into the other filled spaces so that there were a lot of close line work. It‘s kind of unusual for me to select specific tangles and here, I feel like everything worked very well.
Squid inked.
The Squid tangle is the central motif in this tile, but some of the other tangles hold their own because of their light/dark balance.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol using a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Bales Cubine Fescu Indy-Rella Squid Static Stoic Vermal
Simplicity.
I decided, for this tile, to return to the very roots of tangling. This string and these patterns are often used by CZTs when teaching the first Zentangle class.
Zentangle drawn on Strathmore Vellum Bristol with a black, Micron pen.
Tangles: Crescent Moon Florz Static Tipple
It‘s time for wind, and leaves, frost and flurries.
But that depends on where you live. In the desert, cooler weather often brings new growth on plants and sometimes even fall blossoms, now that the sun isn‘t baking everything to a crisp.
I used tangles that seemed to suit the time of year: Gust for the winds that change direction here in the fall, Bucky reminds me of frost on the windows, Static is the fall storms that bring us a bit of rain, Frondous for the plants that perk up in the cooler weather, and Fife and Well for their spikes and flower-like designs.