Zentangle Weekly Challenge #2

Hello and welcome to the Zentangle weekly challenge!

Here's how it works:
Every Monday I:
- choose a technique or style of drawing
- include some examples and guidelines for the challenge.
Throughout the week:
- when you have completed your artwork, return to this post to Link Up a photo of your artwork.
Note:  if you don't feel comfortable sharing your drawings then please let us know you are participating by leaving a comment.
Please only share photos, posts or Pins that you have done yourself AND match the week's challenge.  Every week I will have a new challenge so you will have plenty of opportunities to share your art!  Please remember this is a child friendly site.  Use the comment section to tell us about your drawing or to ask questions.  Offering support to your fellow artists is cool too!
Note:  I am not a 'strictly by the book Tangler', I find that drawing Zentangles awakens my creativity which often leads to other drawing techniques and styles.  I will be combining several drawing techniques in these challenges so that each challenge will be fresh, stimulating and rewarding. 
 * * *
Welcome to Week 2!
First of all I want to say how much fun this first week has been for me!
There was a lot more traffic than I was anticipating on the premier challenge post and I enjoyed meeting some of you through your comments and emails. (Thanks to Susan for helping me improve the mobile readers display and access to the link up!)
I hope you enjoyed the challenge and learned something about yourself in the process!

The most enjoyable part of drawing for me is before I even pick up a pencil!  Traditional Zentangle practice is to first clear your head by letting go of all of the days worries.  Close your eyes, breath in slowly through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth.  Clear your physical workspace, select your supplies, touch the paper, arrange your pens so they are in easy reach and give thanks for this time that you have found to draw.  Create a ritual that will signal your body that it is now time to allow your mind to enter a state of creativity and calm.  It truly makes a difference, do try it!

Today's challenge is this fun 'bubble' technique!
Isn't it fun?!  It reminds me of stained glass.

 edit:  original photos sourced from Pinterest have been removed by request of the artist who abruptly notified me that I was violating an unknown copyright.  Before posting examples of the photos I did exhaust all methods of finding the original artist to give credit.
The above artwork is my own.

Though this example is not a traditional Zentangle drawing, using circles and filling in the background with black is a technique frequently used in Zentangle artwork.  I chose this challenge as it not only provides lots of practice drawing a variety of sizes of circles, but also offers many opportunities to try different ways of fitting the circles together effectively.
  
Supplies:
pencil, black pens (005, 01, 03), coloured pencils.

Technique:
* Start with a simple sketch of a flower, insect, animal, symbol, word, etc.  Remember that the image must be fairly simple and 'solid' meaning that every detail must be outlined.  A single line (ie: antennae on an insect) will not be seen in amongst the bubbles unless you draw it so that it can be coloured in.

* You may wish to add zentangle patterns to your sketch. (ie: within the flower petals or leaves)

* Fill in the surrounding space with a variety of sizes of circles.

* Colour in your drawing with coloured pencils. (experiment with blending 2 colours or applying different pressure to soften or intensify the colour)

* Trace all of the lines and fill in the spaces between the circles with black pen.  Use your 005 for the tiny spaces, the thicker pens for outlining and filling in the larger spaces.

When you are done, photograph your work and come back to Link Up your bubble artwork to the Gallery below. (instructions at the bottom of this post if you need them or email me with any questions.)

My kids, who are 9 and 11, and are also participating in the weekly challenges, are really excited about trying this technique.  Invite a child to learn and draw together!

I'm really excited to see your designs!
Creatively yours,
~ joey ~ 
 See previous Zentangle Challenges here.
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15 comments:

  1. As you can see I really liked this one, I'm done already. Toni
    For some reason I would only let me post when I choose anonymous. Tone

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    1. Hi Toni!
      I like so many things about your zentangle this week! First I like that you used two contrasting colours for the "bubbles" as well as the black dots in the bubbles. I also liked the tiny dots you used in the centre of the flower, it gives a nice effect.
      Thanks so much for linking up, I'm glad that this challenge inspired you!

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  2. Thanks Kylie for your link up! I see on your blog that you have been busy this week with other challenges, they are all so nicely done! I must give that design a try where the string looks as if it's disappearing into the paper. Thanks for inspiring me!

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    Replies
    1. So glad you checked my blog out Joey, the tangle that disappears into the paper is called 'Laced'. Look forward to seeing your spin on it. Kylie

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    2. Thanks Kylie for the name of that pattern, I'm enjoying trying to memorize the names of all the different designs. It's forcing me to start using the left side of my brain! ha ha!

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  3. I love what you've done Joey, so colourful and vibrant - how fun!

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    Replies
    1. Lila, your Portuguese rooster blew me away! I can see how it took hours to complete but what fantastic results!!! I also love how you have drawn a row of tiny circles to separate the blocks of coloured circles. I could have used that idea on the piece I'm currently working on....hmmn! Simply brilliant!

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    2. ps. And thank you for mentioning that this is called Tipple. I just learned something!

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  4. Lis your zentangle is wonderful! I love the mix of colours that you used around the flower. I tend to be cautious when mixing colours but your artwork is proof that it all works, I just need to be more daring! Thanks for inspiring me!

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  5. Susan I realized that I did not leave a comment about your zentangle as we've been emailing! I love it! Were you inspired by Joanne Fink's work with the dangling circles? And I love your signature hanging on the end! You mentioned that this was the first time using colour, how did it feel?

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  6. I have linked up another idea that I had using the "tipple" pattern. Many of the zentangle patterns remind me of the ocean so I have used festune, a version of tagh and a pattern that sort of looks like shattuck?! Can anyone help me with the pattern on the blue rock?

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  7. Hi Joey, the pattern on blue rock is similar to Golven. Thanks for starting these challenges. Cheers, Dorothy

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  8. PS my entry is a work in progress I plan to use it for my Saturday Summary of the week that was for my Documented Life Project

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  9. ImageRights.com has discovered your use of the images titled "Dragonfly Pond", "Spring Maidens" and "Spring Garden" by Artist Sharon Cummings to be in violation of U.S. and International Copyright law. Please remove the illegal images immediately. COPYRIGHTED images: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-sharon-cummings.html?tab=artworkgalleries&artworkgalleryid=40827

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    Replies
    1. In my own defense I found the images on Pinterest and was not able to trace them back to you. I would suggest a watermark and/or signature and copyright symbol on examples of your artwork to avoid further confusion.

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I really enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas about the posts that I write here. It's nice to just say hi too!
~ joey ~