Crossing Over To The Dark Side - with Diva Challenge #231 Undulating C's and S's, Square One Jonqal, and That's New To Me #33 "U"

"Cross over to the dark side", they said...I have become obsessed lately with black tiles, mainly because I really need to work on my techniques. I know, Zentangle is supposed to be relaxed and just "happen".  Sometimes that is true, but then there comes the urge to push past that limit.

When the Diva Challenge was announced by Sharla Hicks, I thought "Good.  All those lines work nicely on the black tiles."  I'm glad I didn't look at Sharla's links to her botanicals on black because I would have just hung it all up right then.  "Comparanoia", as one of my FB CZT friends puts it!

I plunged in on my own tiles and had some fun with highlighting and shading. I've been experimenting with a charcoal pencil as opposed to graphite because it has a matte finish. I like the look on the black tiles. It needs a judicious application, though, as it can get messy. I use a tortillion and really push it into the paper to stabilize it.  I use a Zenstone or chalk pencil to highlight or "raise up" some areas.

I did this black circle for the Diva challenge, and then just because I was having fun, I did a Renaissance tile version for good measure. I like that one even better.

Diva Challenge #231

Diva Challenge #231

That's New To Me #33 asked for tangles starting with "U", plus something from artist Jane Monk.  I chose (for my black tile, of course) Upholstery, Up N Down, Unruly, plus Jane's Fern and Raindotty. That's a lot of patterns for me, but here I think they work.

That's New To Me #33 - "U" and Jane Monk

A few days earlier, the Square One focus this week was Jonqal.  I love its bold angularity. This tile was done before the Diva challenge was published, and I find it interesting that the rest of the tile is all done with "C" strokes in Bunzo and Huggins.

Square One: Purely Zentangle - Focus Jonqal

Then I did another Bunzo on black with more C's in MI2.  Must be psychic, right?  Ha! One more thing about this last tile.  I'm using a technique I call "pool and pull" with the white ink. You let the ink slowly pool into a fat liquidy dot, then quickly pull the pen out.  Like exploding perfs.
I actually turned my Bunzo into the prickly pear cactus from my front yard!



Bunzo with pool and pull enhancement, MI2, Tortuga and Tipple

Well, that's enough for now.  Maybe it's time to relax on the black tile thing.  Hey, are those Bijou tiles stuck away in my Zentangle case?... I think I hear my ADD calling... time to jump on over to something else for a minute.  Can you relate?

Thank you for stopping by today.  I enjoy and cherish all your thoughts and comments.  Until next time...

Namaste
Antonine