Hi and welcome back to another week on the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. Let me ask you a question… Have you ever wanted to create more often, but you struggle to find the time? 🙋🏼 yep, that’s me! Well, in this week’s blog post I’ll be sharing about something I call New Wave Tangling. What I love most about this method of tangling, is that it helps you to create new zentangle art in half the time, which is great if you’re time poor. So my friend, hang around and let me fill you in on this super quick way of creating.
There’s a condition though…
Isn’t there always! The only condition to this method of tangling is that you’ve been tangling for a while and you have some old work behind you. Why? Because in short, New Wave Tangling is all about taking old zentangle tiles and revamping them into something new. I know…. too easy hey.
So first up, you’re gonna need a stash of old work
If you’re like me, you will have a stash of old tiles buried away somewhere in your creative space. My stash includes work from when I first started tangling. Looking back on them now, there’s heaps of designs I’m not fond of.
As you keep creating and zentangling, over time you’re going to improve. You’re going to look back on your work, and some of it will make you feel proud of what you’ve been able to accomplish. Some of it will make you feel sentimental, it brings up some great memories you don’t want to part with. And lastly, some of it will make you cringe and you’ll be asking yourself, “what was I thinking!”
Its the last lot, the “what was I thinking!” sort of tiles we’re gonna be working with for New Wave Tangling.
So let’s get into New Wave Tangling!
Ok, from your stash, try to choose a tile that you think you can improve on. Here’s a few tips to help you decide:
- Is there plenty of negative space on the tile that you can use for new zentangle patterns?
- Are extra embellishments kept to a minimum? Things like colour and shading…. you don’t want a tile with a lot of these things, you want there to be minimal shading and colour work.
- The more simple and plain the tile, the better…
I chose this tile below. It’s perfect for New Wave Tangling because it has a fairly simple design with plenty of space around the outside for more work.
I’m going to share a few pics of some of my old zentangle tiles. These are ones that wouldn’t be suitable for New Wave Tangling. You can see that they are very full designs, using the majority of the white space on the tile. There isn’t room for adding more to these tiles, and because of the colour (particularly the yellow tile) I am limited in what I can apply to enhance the tile. So, in short, the more simple the tile, the better!
Now, before we begin the next step, can I share a little tip with you? Girlfriend, go and photograph the old tile you’re gonna use for New Wave Tangling. By the time you finish tangling with it, it’s going to look very different. So it’s really important (for your confidence as an artist) that you don’t forget where you came from. Go and snap a photo and save it to somewhere safe.
Now, get in there and go crazy!
That’s right, go crazy on your tile! Start applying bits of everything you’ve learned from your art journey so far. Don’t hold back, absolutely pour yourself into it. Here’s some ideas to get you started:
- Apply watercolour to some of the white space.
- Add extra line weight to some of the patterns.
- Shade some of the patterns with coloured pencil, markers, inks or watercolours.
- Round off your corners.
- Add dimension by adding gradient lines to the outside of some of your patterns and shading accordingly.
- Add a border if there was no border previously.
- Use a different coloured ink or gel pen to add some new patterns.
- Apply highlighting to some of the patterns.
- Add some auras if there were no auras previously.
You get the drift. Go for it! When you’re finished you will have created relatively new work, but it’s only taken half the time.
Here’s my finished tile. As you can see it’s quite different from what I had originally created. It’s also a better representation of where I am as an artist today. It reflects my growth, and that makes me feel good!
But it’s your New Wave Tangling I really wanna see!
Friends there’s a verse in Psalms 133:1 that says,“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” How good and true this is. We’re all in this together!
Now that you’re in the know about New Wave Tangling, I wanna see yours! Use the hashtag #NewWaveTangling on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook when you share the before and after pics of your New Wave Tangles. Then we can all see each other’s work, and we can build each other up in our craft. I’ll be keeping an eye out for your work and I’ll be sharing some of them on my Stories over the next few weeks.
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Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!
Bless you my friend
Chrissie xx
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