Random n'zeppel string

Using a random n'zeppel as a string and based on techniques I learned at the Sharla Hicks seminar I created this fantasy botanical tile.  I used a blue pen and pastel chalk pencils for the colors. Fun!

Sharla Hicks seminar

Learning to see shapes in predone backgrounds.

I just got back from an exciting week at Bear Lake, California. I was attending a seminar with Sharla Hicks and Beckah Krahula. Wow, It was so worth it. We learned a lot, we laughed a lot, we enjoyed wonderful scenery, and we ate some really good food. Sharla and Beckah are both Certified Zentangle teachers. There was Zentangle, but sooooo much more.  We dove into mixed media, we tried new tools, and learned new techniques. Dianna Hudson, a chef and a CZT too, prepared all our meals so no one was ever hungry.

I've posted pictures of the work that I did. I'd love to post instructions but you will have to take classes from Sharla yourself!!!

Learning ways to do florals.

Finding botanical shapes in an abstract piece.

Tea bags used for backgrounds.

Solar printing.

Printing backgrounds using osmosis.

Block printing. I made 4 from one plate here.

Silver point.

Using an amazing multi media paint pen for metallic paint. Contact Beckah Krahula to buy one for yourself. Find her on Facebook.

Visiting the Eye of God.

The view from Sharla's cabin.

Stained Glass?

Stained Glass was the prompt that started this tile. When I saw the prompt I knew - COLOR!!! And I LOVE to play with my coloring tools. Not too much tangling but that is because I wanted the colors to shine. 

This picture shows the pen that I used to do the 'lead' lines on this tile. I actually drew the piece out lightly with pencil first and then did all the colors. This way, when I drew the thicker lead lines, I could cover up some areas I wasn't too happy with. The tangle line work was done with a Pigma Micron 01 pen

I used my Tombow markers and a watercolor technique to get the stained glass effect. I wet a small area first, then picked up color off the Styrofoam plate with a wet brush and touched the color to my tile. I love the unpredictability of the watercolor method. By the way, you may notice in the last tile that I intensified some small areas with more color. For that I used my Inktense pencils.