Joseph Gordon - Levitt
I'm sure I've said it here before, but I'll say it again. I'm a big fan of contrast. Most of my Zentangle work has at least some black areas. You won't find a lot of pieces in my portfolio that are light and airy. There may be some sections that are light and airy, but almost always there will be dark areas to balance it. I see plenty of work by others that are light and airy and beautiful, but it's just not my style of tangling. That's one of the things that drew me to Zentangle - the stark contrast between black and white.
So this week I decided to play around with lots of contrast by creating a Zentangle made solely from variations on a theme - that theme being the tangle pattern Knightsbridge. There are endless ways to vary the pattern to give it very different looks. Here I began by drawing the two diagonals in my square, and then used a different variation in each of the four triangular spaces. I will admit (but don't tell anyone) that I used a ruler to draw some of the lines, mostly in that bottom triangle. This is what I ended up with, and I must say that I love its boldness.
Now I am a big fan of shading, and shade everything I make, but my inclination was not to do any shading on here so that it would retain its stark simplicity. But after thinking on it a little, I decided to go ahead and add some after first taking a picture. Below is what it looks like after shading. I really like it both ways.
I like it better with shading. I would like it with even more. Bold tangles look good with bolder than normal shading. I would darken the upper and lower triangles where they meet in the center.
ReplyDeleteCris, I knew what your answer would be without even asking!
DeleteWow! Or should I say, POW! This packs some punch! It's a fabulous design! Since you asked, I prefer it with shading...it increases the sophistication. But I can see why you hesitated and wondered if you should shade or not--it was powerful even before.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy. I love to pack a punch!
DeleteI too love the shaded one best - it has a great impact and agree with Cris about increasing it at the centre join. It is incredible what effect you've achieved though with just one tangle! It really packs a punch.
ReplyDeleteAxxx
Thanks so much Annie!
DeleteIt looks great before shading! BUT, I really like the shaded picture better because it comes alive. I absolutely love Knightsbridge because of the relaxing coloring in of the black spaces. I have often thought about trying it in color, but I, too, am just amazed at the boldness and stark reality of black and white. Thank you so much for sharing your work with us. I am a big fan!
ReplyDeleteSara in Wisconsin
Thanks Sara! I find knightsbridge to be very relaxing also.
DeleteI really like to get a lot of black areas into my tangling too. It's those contrasts that make it exciting for me. I think some of the subtler fine line work looks beautiful too - but the darker stuff has a contemporary and exciting feel for me.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree!
DeleteI do like the shading as well. It gives even more depth. Love the bold effects.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathryn!
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