Monday, July 28, 2014

late to the zen party



Okay, so I am a little late to the Zentangle party. Our Quilt Book Study Group is learning and practicing the art of ink and paper starting with a great video. Our leader hit the pause button often as we took our next baby steps. It is just so much fun to try something new if you have friends next to you!

 First we did the little 3 inch paper that came with the kit. And it came out looking okay! I kind of like the photo taken on my porch tablecloth. I do like some color!
We tried two more exercises together, and I did them on a piece of regular paper. I like a lot of the patterns, and found myself unhappy not having enough space to play in, so I made a few outside the box! Typical...
After everyone was tired, I moved on to my favorite subject...


 Flamingos!!!  I sketched out a flamingo in my sketch pad, and began using the patterns we learned today. I like it! I even started making up my own patterning. For some reason all the many books on zentangles have overwhelmed me, so many patterns in black and white on each page, just too much. So I haven't tried it til today.
We all sketched away, not quite the zen atmosphere you want, we gripped our pens and held our tongues just so... but we all did it.

Now I am INTO it folks!

I came home and thought, what if I add some color, just a wee bit. You know how I am about color!
So, I sketched the flower, then filled it in, then got out some prismacolor pencils... and made this. Fun too. Can't wait to try this on fabric next week.

More sketching like a four year old  just a click away, oh, go see, you know you want to!

13 comments:

bearbuster said...

Your last sketch reminded me of an artist we watched for a bit at Plein Air Easton a couple of weeks ago. She just amazed me by drawing with a fine point Sharpie .. no erasing there! Then she was planning to use water color over the black lines. Of course it wasn't pretty designs like yours. It was a drawing of one of the historic buildings in Easton. Pat

Anonymous said...

Better late than never ... excellent with the color added, too.
Diane

Teresa Duryea Wong said...

Great drawings. Lots of possibilities in there for you colorful quilts.

Kaja said...

This looks like such fun - and it'll be great to see what you get when you transfer to fabric. I love your flamingo the most.

Joanne said...

Hi LeeAnna!
Super! The zentangle flamingo and flower with colour look great!
Great inspiration! Maybe I'll check out youtube.
Take care,
Joanne

Marly said...

Fascinating. The style reminds me of the work of the Victorian children's book illustrator Arthur Rackham. I'm now going to google zentangle for more info.

Susan R said...

I have loved Zentangles for a few years now but I must say you are a natural! I don't spend enough time "playing" with my pens and paper but after seeing your tangles I'm going to pick them up again. I'm a quilter and I'm excited to see what I can do with "Zen thread". As always, thank you for your amazing inspiration. You never cease to amaze me!

Terri said...

I dabbled, but my right hand shakes so much that I can't make any of the smooth lines... I do love to see the work of others. So keep it up, Girl. Some of us are living vicariously through you!
Hugs

Sue Daurio said...

wow, I just fell in love with your little flamingo. But then I scrolled down and saw your colored piece. Seriously, LOVE it.

Kathy said...

When I first tried them, I couldn't get enough...couldn't stop! It's just so nice to play with patterns this way, and, of course, I ALWAYS color outside the lines. Have fun with it. Can't wait to see what you do with it!

Sheltie Times said...

Loved the flamingo. The colored piece is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

I've dabbled in Zentangles, too. They got me over the 'I can't draw' mantra. :)

You know, Pigma pens come in many colors - there's no rule that you can't use a colored pen instead of a black one!

:) Linda

Susan at TheBoredZombie.com said...

Ooooh neato!! I enjoy zentagle. It is a fun way to doodle for sure. I should do it more often. :)