Thursday, May 26, 2016

Lazy Days of Summer

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."        Sam Keen

A couple of weeks ago I told you about my new studio. Well, I have to say that I've REALLY been enjoying it! It's so bright and roomy and cheerful, and it fits all my needs perfectly.

So... you may ask what I've been creating in my new space. My latest is a Zendala, using Knightsbridge, Paradox, Printemps, and Betweed. Here is a picture of it before shading.




And here's the final piece, after shading. This was drawn on Stonehenge paper, which I've grown to love for my tangling. The pencil shading is so easy and smooth on this paper.



The shading, once again, made all the difference in the world! There is so much more dimension to a shaded piece.

I recently decided that I was going to offer prints of some of my Zentangle and Zentangle inspired art work for sale in my Etsy shop. Currently I sell supplies, hand-colored tiles, my e-books, and cards. I have started by adding three of my favorite drawings up to now, as well as this newly created Zendala. I hope to add lots more over time. There are many options as to size, as well as paper and surface finish, from glossy to matte to canvas to giclee, among others. If you're interested in taking a look at my shop, you can check it out here.

As a kickoff to my new venture, in conjunction with Memorial Day and the "unofficial" beginning of summer, I am offering 10% off any purchase made from my Etsy shop between now and Monday night, May 30, at midnight (EST). The discount will be applied to any purchase you make, including supplies, e-books, and my newly offered prints. Make sure you enter the code MEM10 before checking out of the shop.

Thanks for taking a peek at my shop, and for following my blog. Happy Memorial Day!

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

New Tangles and New Studio

"The coolest things in life are things that you have not done before. That's the key to life: new things always."      Afrojack

 I haven't been tangling a lot the past couple of weeks. I've been busy setting up my new studio space. With the help of my husband, I converted our sunroom into a dedicated art space. I love it! I'll add some photos at the end of this post.

In my last post, I mentioned how I was going to write about creating tiles where I used a "new to me" pattern in each one. But I got sidetracked with Jaysix. Now I'm back to show you some of those tiles I did with new patterns. In this first tile I used Borbz (the one on the diagonal), and added some Phicops and Bunzo. I enjoyed doing Borbz and am happy with the way this turned out.


Next I pulled out a pre-strung Renaissance Zendala tile. I haven't used one of those in forever. It was my first time with Peaks Border, which I used around the outside, and then added Munchin in the whole center area, and some Henna Drum flowers. Of course I shaded and added white highlights which are so important (at least to me) when working on tan tiles or paper. I love the contrast between the tan, brown, black, and white.


The tile below was completed a couple of weeks after the first tile above, and when I looked back afterwards I realized I had used Bunzo in both tiles. Guess that shows how much I like that pattern! But the tangle that was new to me in this one is Biscus, in the center. And I threw in some Zingers for fun.


Time for another one of my Dylusions painted tiles. Here's the before.


And the after, where I used mmmforestry (for the first time) along the sides, and added some Rixty. I decided to leave this one light and airy to let the beautiful colors shine through.


Well, that's it for my tiles. Now for my studio. I now have space not only to tangle (on my new drafting table that tilts up so I don't strain my neck), but I also have space to do the messy stuff like painting and inking, without worrying about ruining our new kitchen table. And without having to worry about setting up and putting away all those supplies every time I feel like doing something messy.



And did I mention that there are walls of windows on 3 sides of the room for some amazing light for working? And the wonderful view I sit and look at (whenever I look up from my paper)?
 

The studio has only been complete for a couple of days, but it's such a great space! Have I said how much I love it?