Zen Art Challenge – Day 23-31

This is the fourth and final post on July’s Zen Art Challenge. There are a few things that I have taken away from this challenge. The first thing is that drawing every day is important, even if it is just a simple tangle on a scrap paper. Practice makes perfect and your skills will just get better the more you practice.  The second thing this challenge taught me is that it is ok not to be perfect. WHAT?!?! you say? Yes, it is okay NOT to be perfect. Learning tangles is so fun for me, but some of the tangles are not thrilling to draw. This challenge allows me to be introduced to new patterns while challenging me to learn new ways to draw them.  Without further ado, here are the final days in July’s Zen Art Challenge.


Day 23 – Belltemps

This tangle actually took me two sittings to complete. In my head, it was not this detailed, but once I started it, I couldn’t stop.  I wanted to add so much more complications to this, but honestly, I think the stripes achieved the look of complexity, without the work of complexity.

Day 24- Tami

Take a look at this tangle. A heart with an upside down fleur-de-lis in the center. I tried making this a border tangle like the examples given, but it didn’t appeal to me. So, the best thing I could do was create something more intense. Using this shape as the outline, I filled in the shape with tiny flowers and leaves to bring the whole thing to life. I felt like I was peering through a fence into a beautiful secret garden.

Day 25 – Ovolution

This pattern did not appeal to me at all. I am not sure if it is because of the shape itself, or the fact that each of the main lines is not equally apart from each other. There is almost no way to make these perfect as I walked around the oval many times before settling on this one.  My eye twitched as I tried to make the best of this despite my perfectionism trying to break through. Letting go of this is one of the hardest parts of this whole challenge.

Day 26 – Tore Up

This tangle was fun and I had done this sorta thing previously, you can find that post here. But making a hole in the center of the page was a little more difficult than I originally thought. I thought exposing a woven pattern underneath worked out great for this as well.  I did a little shading with the pen but didn’t look at the outermost line, which looking back now I think I should have.

Day 27 – Deebops

This tangle was too cute. From fireworks to flowers to hair, I could have gone so many different directions. I chose to use this tangle to create dandelions blowing in the wind. I love the way it turned out.

Day 28 – Spearl

This one was too adorable. I just knew that I wanted to create a abstract like piece with this. I added circles to the strings themselves and I think it just made the individual colors pop. I could see something like this hanging in my art room.

Day 29 – 4-Bol

I have to admit. I do not like 4 petal flowers. Its too boxy for me. I love when there are at least six petals, but in my personal opinion, the more the merrier. So this pattern was really difficult for me to even get in the mood for. But, Its done and I learned a new element to use in the future.

Day 30 – Chities & Day 31 – Mike the Mouse

Of course I had to give Mike the Mouse a home, and where better to do that then a beautiful mushroom garden. I would like to color this just because it is so cute, but I have to practice my techniques before I dive into a finished piece. I would love to know what you think about the elements in this picture. Definitely let me know  in the comments below.

Ok, That was it for the month of July 2017. I finished the challenge. I know there is one for August and I am planning something special for that one so stay tuned! Let me know which pattern was your favorite and if you participated in the challenge.