Saturday 11 July 2015

Diva Challenge and String Thing 100!

Thank you to Jen Crutchfield, guesting  over on the Diva Challenge this week! She suggested we use colour - in fact, she suggested just two or three - in our tangles this week. Like Jen, I am not a great on for colour, never having had artistic inclinations or tendencies before I began tangling. Some people have great experience with colour and it shows in their work - I'm in awe of the effects that some tanglers achieve with colour. I can't do it - I have tried but it doesn't seem to work for me.

However, I have a little technique that I'm quite happy with. I paint a random background, either on paper or a canvas, with some lovely gouache paints that I once bought for my daughter. Then I tangle on top. It's not awfully good for my pens - they get a bit clogged up as I work, but it seems to be only a 'surface' clog and a bit of scribbling on a different surface, and they work fine again. I haven't noticed any lasting damage or problems, in case you wanted to try it yourself.

I was asked recently to a zendala for a friend and she wanted colour, so this week's challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity. I prepared my canvas with a selection of colours - not awfully well represented here by my photo, but they are nice, trust me - and then drew about three concentric circles as a guide for my zendala. The rest is just how the flow took me.

I need some advice though...the canvas was obviously not square so my zendala only 'fits' in the top part. Should I put something else in the bottom part or leave it as it is? And if I put something in the bottom part, what could that be? A smaller zendala...or two...? A 'reflection' of the top part? Some words.....? Any suggestions gratefully received.



And this week also sees Adele Bruno's String Thing challenge reach its 100th anniversary - the Zentennial!! Well done Adele for keeping this lovely challenge going all this time. I love this one as it produces such a variety of tiles, all with the same remit - a string and a selection of tangles.

For this week, Adele came up with a simple but effect string and also a new tangle based on '100' and I enjoyed it so much, I did two.




The first one was done as I watched 'Mad Max - Road to Fury' and I think the rather gothic, steampunk effects somehow penetrated my unconscious as I was drawing.....

And the second one was done as a sort of antidote to the first!
Do check all the entries out when Adele publishes them on her blog early next week.

Thank you for stopping by! Hope you like what you have seen. (Now I can go and see what other lovely tiles have been entered onto the Diva Challenge!)
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14 comments:

  1. Lynell Harlow / Dreamweaver Stencils11 July 2015 at 19:07

    Your zendala with the watercolor background is stunning! Beautiful work this week!

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  2. Tangles and More11 July 2015 at 19:28

    Nice zendala. Really like the background. As far as what else to put at the bottom, I am not sure. I kind of like the floating effect that you have. Wonder if you could put some organic tangles like Featherfall and Sanabelle? Not sure how that would work.

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    1. ArtyZen12 July 2015 at 03:04

      Thanks Donald. I think I'm getting used to the 'floating' effect. I might do some more tangles, but not in black - maybe organic, maybe curlique type things....Axxx

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  3. Michele Wynne11 July 2015 at 21:30

    Gorgeous watercolor and zendala! Your String Challenge tile is lovely.

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    1. ArtyZen12 July 2015 at 03:07

      Thank you Michele - I'm really hooked on Zendalas at the moment. Axxx

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  4. Annette P.-L. 12 July 2015 at 00:12

    Two wonderful tiles and a fantastic zendala! Lovely watercolour background!

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  5. Eunice12 July 2015 at 04:55

    I love it just the way it is, but if your friend is into words, a quote or words might work. Fantastic color choices!

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    1. ArtyZen12 July 2015 at 09:22

      Thank you so much, Eunice. I think a word or two might just be the thing...Axxx

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  6. jeanchaneyaz12 July 2015 at 14:18

    Beautifully colored Zendala. I would agree that a quote that your friend would relate to could be added to the bottom

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    1. ArtyZen13 July 2015 at 02:36

      Thank you Jean. I´ve just read Val´s suggestions below and think I might do some copies and try different options! The quote is a strong favourite in my head. Axxx

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  7. Anonymous13 July 2015 at 01:18

    Annie. I love your Zendala canvas and like Donald said it is floating. The only way to see if you like it with more tangles is to print it out and try it out a few times with different drawings. You might consider emphaising the foreground to either make it look more like land or sea. Also if you darken the foreground slightly it will come foreward and the Zendala will recede and this may resolve it without any more tangles. Also if you are going to use text practice first and you could use the writing to add more definition to the foregound. Best advice though is don't rush - look at it for a few days or so and the answer will come!

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    1. ArtyZen13 July 2015 at 02:38

      Thank you so much, Val. I have seen what you can do by manipulating some of the images and although I've tried this with other tangles I've done, I never thought to do it with this one - possibly because it's on canvas. I will try photocopying it to see if I can get a good image and then have a go at some different possibilities. Good advice! Axxx

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I read everyone's comments and am delighted that you took the time to share your views. Thank you! Ax

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