Posted in Zentangle

Tangling and Oil Painting

Tonight, I did something different and fun. I attended a sip’n’paint event to help sponsor talented SXM (Sint Maarten) kids to travel to NYC for a week to learn not only more about their particular talent ( singing, dance, painting, etc.) but to also take a workshop about the business end of the professional artist. The painting event was led by world renowned St. Martin artist Sir @RowlandRichardson, who showed us how to paint a still life of three colors of bougainvillea in a simple jar vase.

We used exactly three colors–blue, red, yellow–and white to produce a lovely pallet of colors. Here is a photo of my work tonight. How many distinct colors can you see? Certainly more than the three we started with!

This is not to highlight my lack of talent with oil paint, but to show the influence of my Zentangle work and patterns on Zentangle-inspired art ( ZIA). In essence, I tangled a painting of real-life bougainvillea in a simple jar-style vase. Not only that, but it’s my first genuine still life work. That is, working from the real thing instead of a photo.

Note the number of poke leaf and flux in this painting, adding dimension to the simple patterns through how the paint was applied.

I will never be a famous artist, but I am really proud of this silly little piece encouraged by a famous artist, but completed because of the Zentangle Method®️. Tangling is so simple and versatile that it adds richness and texture to a piece that would have been completely flat and dull without my grasp of Zentangle patterns and techniques.

You may not be into Zentangle for the stress reduction, but if you are an artist, the method is definitely worth exploring for its patterns and unique shading techniques. I am proud to be a CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher). Thank you, @MariaThomas and @RickRoberts! Without your influence, even a master artist like Sir @RolandRichardson could not have helped me do any better than apply dabs of color and hope for the best!

Happy tangling!

Posted in Zentangle

Hurricane Irma’s Anniversary is Past, Isaac on the Way…

We returned to Sint Maarten on May 1, with promises that our house would be ready for us. Instead, two months after staying in a rental condo because the only thing completed was a new roof (2nd in under a year!), we moved into a single room in our house with our 2 pets, a cat and a dog. We now have two bedrooms and baths, and a nearly completed kitchen. I have no idea when the dining and living rooms will be complete, but I am ready to toss everything that’s left of those two rooms (well, what survived of the dining room, anyway) and just purchase furnishings from scratch. I’m tired of sitting on armless chairs for which we can’t find room, as construction stuff takes up so much space. Today, after firing our first electrician a month ago, the replacement was forced to cut all the wiring just to access them–the previous guy not only drastically skimped on wiring (no wiggle room if anything went wrong) and placed 3/4 of the house on a single circuit. The last time I experienced anything like that was in my first house in the early 1970s that still contained the original rural wiring from the 1930s!

Some good news was that our second cat–he ran off after Irma and refused to come back–was reunited with us during the second week of August. He had been on his own for over ten months, was barely held together by skin and fur, and still took 3 days to lure home. Now he never leaves. After a check-up at the vet, we were all amazed that he was reasonably healthy. Of course, now he is always hungry! At least he looks like a real cat again instead of a Tim Burton character!

Today I tangled for the first time in a while. And it shows.

The shading is off, the simplest patterns wouldn’t emerge, not even using “first tile” tangles.

I don’t know whether I was more disappointed in the process or the result, as neither seemed to work out for me today. Yet, just a month ago I finished a project started several months back in the UK, to where we were transported after our evacuation after Irma’s devastation of our island of St. Martin a year ago. Here is the 9″x9″ sketchbook tangle.

Quite a difference, right?

Maybe today’s tangle went wrong because of the anticipation of Hurricane Isaac that’s following Irma’s path. I’m hoping Isaac stays relatively weak, as the repairs on our house after Irma haven’t been completed, and we have absolutely no hurricane shutters. Our contractor will be measuring for plywood tomorrow to give us some protection. That will be a great relief after Irma tore our old shutters apart.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another catastrophe skipping into our home, it seems. We are not the only ones with an incomplete home, but that doesn’t make us feel much better. I love this Island, but I just want to feel safe from hurricanes like Irma.

Until next time–hopefully my tangling will improve again!–I wish you happy tangling!

Anyone attending ZenAgain in Providence, RI, in November, shoot me a comment. I will be anxious to meet you. If you are part of the Zentangle Mosaic community, thank you for all the moral and supplies support during this interesting season of my life. Isn’t life supposed to settle down once you’re past 65?

Again, Happy Tangling!

Hugs to all,

Ellie (DrEllieCZT)