Zentangles on the Go

I've been so busy with just life I decided to start carrying my newer, as I can't say new any longer, 6" Aquabee Mixed Media book around with a couple of pens.


Then if I find myself waiting or with a couple of minutes I can manage a stroke or two until the page is finished.

Doesn't everybody love a small branch of eucalyptus leaves.  They are a very forgiving shape to draw and so very fun to play with. Then I added some tangle patterns and a little side trellis as a border.

The larger shapes I found on Pinterest and I'm sorry to say I can't find the original post so I can't give credit where is due.  Thank you as it was a fun pattern to play with.

Fun and flowy!  I filled the right side of the page and decided to divide the page with an in and out border. Hmmm…what to fill that little side space with. Nothing wrong with a stacked grid.  I used a couple of the same patterns to keep the eye moving up and down.




AquaBee 6" Sketchbook
Micron Pen

Happy Holidays

Oh my goodness I have been neglectful of my blog.  Next year I will try to be better and post more fun things on a regular basis now that my wrist is at my new normal.
In the meantime I wish everyone a Happy Holiday and a Wonderful New Year!

Slowly Getting Back in the Game

Well, I'm slowly coming back or I should say my wrist and hand are. It's slow progress but the operative word here is progress.  Getting back into my art with some Zentangles. This one I did while booth sitting for a friend at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach, CA.

 …and this one was also done at the Festival.  It was great fun to be in this great artistic venue with Music, Art and lots of friendly people who were fun to interact and chat with.

I finished one last little window on this one which I had started a while ago in my new book.

Rick's Paradox is the first page in that new book.  It looks complicated but is a really good warm up to letting the ink flow with repetitive movement.

All of these pages are in my Aquabee  6" x 6" Super Deluxe Mixed Media Book.

Doing what I Can…..

Still trying to get in some art here and there as my broken arm heals.  This is a ghost print of a monoprint plate done last semester.  A ghost is made by pulling a second print from a plate without adding thing else to the plate.  I had used some weeds to get the plant images on the first print and this is the ink that was left under those weeds when I removed then.  I then added my black pen and color pencils to add more interest to the print.

5.5" x 14" Monoprint
Pen and Color Pencil

Another monoprint which was just a two color background with a blue string placed on the plate.    I felt this was another fun one to get out my pen and play with Zentangle.  After I was finished with the pen it was rather flat so I added some white pencil to try and give it some depth.

5" x 5" Monoprint
Pen and White Pencil

This Zentangle was another one from my 5" Handbook that I found I had not shared yet.  Starting in the center I drew single Mooka style petals and added ink to the center to make the petals pop.  I felt it could use a border and I though Quabog would fit nicely!  I also really enjoy doing Quabog with the flow of a continual line.

5" Handbook and Pen

Left behind Zentangles

Finally finished my 5 inch Handbook of "On the Go Zentangles" and realized I hadn't posted a bunch of them.

These pages were filled at airports, doctor visits, ZenFriends meetings, quiet moments at home, while the grandkids are napping and when just waiting for whatever!

Here is an example of my unconventional borders.  Not symmetrical but frames or anchors the images nicely.  Many times, I will breakup the background of page of Zentangles which really ties the images together.

This one started out with an "almost border" as part of the design.  Great fun watching this one develop.  Just kept adding fescus ( the little curls) until it said, "Done"

More to come….

Take a Day and Come out to Play

If you live in my area come out and play for a full day of fun and creativity.  This is a beginning introduction to Zentangle and the fun and relaxation you didn't even know you were looking for.  Try something new, meet some new people and most of all come for the fun!

Zentangled Monotype

It started with a monotype.  I rolled different colors of ink onto the plate in a random way.  Then I took the plate to the sink and dripping water onto the inked plate I tipped and turned the plate manipulating the inks on the surface until I was happy with the results. Next I left the plate to dry and then pulled this monotype.

After the print was dry I played with pen and ink and this is the result.  I saw trees, foliage and rocks on the monotype and so that's what I went with using a nice juicy black gel pen and a white paint pen I created this magical little forest.

Monotype

Pen and Ink

9"x 11"

Summer Art Group

Twice a month in the summer I host an open Art Day Studio at my house for art friends.  It started last summer working in our art journals but this year people paint, draw, Zentangle and of course work in their Art Journals.  I am hoping to finish this journal in the last two meetings so I can start a second, I only have four pages left.


This first page is all about happiness and choosing to be Happy.

 This page was started last summer with …"ideas to steal and merci".  This year I added pieces of monoprints and rubber stamp numbers.  It still needs some words on the page as do others but I have the whole month of August…..oh…I'd better get going!


7" x 10" Sketchbook

Of course there are always Zentangles popping up here and there….this one looks like the kitten got into the knitting yarn again!

I saw a version of this on Pinterest and thought it looked like a fun way to spend a little time and it was.  It was also a great place to play with one of my favorites……weighted lines!

5" x 5" Handbook

Angles, Geometry and Feathers

This fun page was started with a rubber stamp image, the square with the "A" and clock.  I first darkened the stamp image with my micron 01 pen.  Then I decided to work with lines and angles to break up the background.  Filling in areas with little circles and wavy lines finished it up.

Having done the angle thing, I moved on to some circles and used lines to crisscross the page. Using the lines as my threads to divide up the circles, I then added Zentangle patterns and a few textures.

Next I was back to a favorite…Feathers!….and a leaf.  I just love the varied shapes of feathers and it is just plain fun to put pen to paper and draw feathers and leaves. This page may or may not be done.  I may go back and work on breaking up the background with……….something.


5" square Handbook
Micron 01 pen

Beginning Zentangle Class

I will be teaching a Beginning Zentangle Class at San Clemente Art Supply on June 11 from 10am-4pm. 

Seats still available.  Go to SCARTSUPPLY.COM for more information and to register.

Explore the Exciting World of Zentangle! with Deborah Goldman, CZT

'Explore the Exciting World of Zentangle!' with Deborah Goldman, CZT WSDG02Saturday, June 11, 2016 from 10am-4pm.  $85.00 Includes a starter kit and will…

SCARTSUPPLY.COM

Fitting in Zentangle Time

A little Zen here…a little Zen there….gets the job done.

Though playing with Zentangles is never a job!  Pushing some tangles in new directions is very relaxing and fun.

This one was started in my ZenFriends group.

This one was started in another group I belong to, Tangled Expressions.  Then I worked on it at the car dealership waiting for service on my car and then finished it up at home.

Both of these are in my 5" x 5" Handbook which is a great size to carry around in my purse with a few pens.

a little happy play….

This was a little monoprint I did one day while playing in class.  I decided to add a bit of fun to the print with Zentangles.

I should have taken a real "before" picture but didn't think about it.

After a little more playing I ended up here.  I decided to add a grid to the upper left to mimic the grid left from a piece of netting on the monoprint.

I could have filled the grid with the same design as on the right but decided to add a little n"Zeppel tangle pattern instead.  These are really fun to play with and see where they take me.


5" x 7" Monoprint and Ink

A line here and a line there….

Haven't posted for a bit but I am not resting on my laurels….well maybe resting on one of them. How many do we have anyway?

The background of this piece is a monoprint I did as a quick demo on hand printing.  There were some faint images of a half daisy type flower so when it dried I added some ink and played with them.   5" x 7"

This is a page in my 5" square handbook which was done at one of my ZenFriends meetings.  Just playing around with newer tangles.

Another page in my 5" square handbook.  Started at another group get together and finished today with a cup of tea by my side.
Mookah, Flex, N'Zeppel and I guess sort of a variation on Hollibaugh.

Nap Time

The whole family went to Boulder for a wedding and one day while my grandson was napping in my room I sat with him and this little scene developed in my 5" x 5" Handbook

A sleepy, dreamy place in another world.
Are you getting drowsy????

Whew! The end of summer….

The end of summer is always a flurry of events and activities.  Even though I haven't posted for a bit I'm still here and managing to get in some art!

These are some bits and pieces from playing around in my two different Zentangle groups.  I try and get one of the pages in my 5" x 5" handbook completed in each meeting.

This one was just playing with a couple of tangles, "Narwhal" and "Bundies".  I just dropped them anywhere on the page and at the end I added the grid behind them which seemed to anchor everything together.  Successful trick!

This page was just completed on Tuesday with my ZenFriends group.  Playing with "Narwahl" again only this time I turned them into little pods in a garden scene.

Colorful Zentangles

My sister ask if I had a piece of art she could have to give to someone who is going through a battle with cancer.  I did a few Zentangles for her to choose from.  This is the one that she chose after much decision making.  It is a mandala style Zentangle done on top of a monoprint.

This one was also in the "choose" pile.  I think it has a softer, flowy feel to it which makes my eye move and wander around the square.

I think these are both about 6" square.

Pen on Monoprints

Sending Out Some Zen

Some more Zentangle time to share.

This one was started at LAX while waiting for our flight to France and finished there.  It actually was drawn in this configuration and when I tried to flip it on it's side to put the "fescu" at the bottom it was not happy… so here it stays.

This Zentangle was drawn in this direction as well but could also be turned to give a different feeling.  Hummm…….what do you think?


5" Handbook and Pen

Zentangle Time

Tangled Expressions is a group that meets once a month to meet up with friends and play with Zentangles.  This is a page in my 5" x 5" Handbook where I combined a few pattern ideas and actually did a little shading too.

This is another page in my 5" x 5" Handbook using a traditional Zentangle set up and some of my favorite tangles.  Looks like those silly Quabogs took over two or three windows!

More Playing Around

Amoeba? Jellyfish?

It is so funny sometimes when a zentangle becomes something else.  It is kind of like looking at clouds and finding something.  I really like the movement of this one.

5" x 5" Handbook

This one started out as a Sharla exercise at our monthly ZenFriends meeting.  I like the cross hatched background which came about because I was too lazy to fill it in solid black.  Being lazy can be a good thing!

5" x 5" Handbook

I played a little more with the colorful ropes using the Zentangle "hollibaugh" as the pattern for this one.  Playing with these has a very zen quality very similar to the calming "zen" of Zentangles.

5" x 7" in my sketchbook

Get Your Zen On

Are you are looking for a little Zen after the holidays? Join me in San Clemente for a one day workshop on Zentangles.   This is a beginning class and no art experience is needed.  A beginning Starter Kit is included so all you need is your sense of fun and adventure.

San Clemente Art Supply
1531 N. El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA 92672

Hope to see you there!