Learning To Tangle

Last week I was looking through crafts books in an online bookstore hoping to find something interesting to order. One of the covers that grabbed my attention was Zentangle Basics. I've seen that sort of drawings before, but I had no idea there was a whole concept behind it. I did a search for other books on the subject and finally decided to order Totally Tangled. I couldn't wait to receive the book before I started, so I searched the net for some info. I didn't go far before I just had to try it out. I grabbed my old little journal and a red pen and made this:

I did some more reading and looking around before I went back to the journal. When I did it turned out like this:

I like the first one better because the second one is just too busy. I didn't have much idea what I was doing, I just went for it. 

The next day when I passed by an art supply store I decided to go in and bought a bunch of goodies including a few sheets of card stock in different colors. I cut one of those into postcard sized bits and started drawing on one by making a letter B shape. I kept adding shapes and patterns and here's the result:

While I was not too happy with the image overall I really liked that mushroom like structure on the right, so I took that as an inspiration for the next postcard I made. This one:

This is so much fun. I can't wait to get the book and learn the techniques and tricks. In the meantime I am exploring Tangle Patterns and trying out new stuff, but more about that in my next post.