Increase well being with zentangles
It’s amazing in this constantly busy world in we which live, stress in one form or another is all around us. This can be in the form of your work, your kids, or what you are going to cook for dinner, Corona, or climate change, the list goes on and on. We hardly have the time to give our selves the necessary luxury of doing something pleasant for ourselves, this can almost be considered selfish necessity!
Zentangle is an American invention and method for drawing, which not only promotes concentration and creativity but at the same time increases personal well-being. Zentangle was invented by a monk called Rick Roberts and an artist named Maria Thomas. Together they formed this meditative style of drawing. There are no bounds to this type of drawing.
Art Materials
You can keep it simple and just use paper and pencil, or you can use many paper sorts, markers, pens, watercolour, glitter and much more, your creativity is the only boundary.
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There are no rules or regulations, only imagination is required. It will probably work even is you don’t have imagination! How simple is that!
Zentangel is actually a modern day version of becoming entranced, almost hypnotised, with a pencil. A form of meditation, where you forget for a while everyday problems. This necessitates concentration, which obviously closes your mind and consciousness to anything else, even if it’s only for a short while. In the beginning this can be carried out in just black and white, later if necessary and when you are ready for it, colour can be added in the form of water colour, coloured pens or markers, pastel or diluted acrylic paint.
There are square shapes, round shapes, diagonal or triangular shapes, shapes that are blocked in with black or shapes that are left completely blank. Here below are a few basic steps to get you started.
It usually starts off with the division of the page, this can be angular or round shapes, you can plan ahead or make things happen as you go along. The optical illusion of depth is caused with not only the width of the lines but the direction in which they are placed. The more you make, the better you become at it and the more relaxed you get. It’s a win-win situation for you and everyone around you, give you and your head some Zentangle space! Just a few minutes a day is all it takes.
Perhaps if you don’t dare to begin with a big piece of paper or sketch book, you can keep it small and start with, say a square piece of paper about 15 cm. x 15 cm. You have to keep in mind, it really doesn’t matter if you mess up, get it wrong, or it’s not to your liking, it’s only a try out with a piece of paper and a pencil! Perseverance is the name of the game! You didn’t learn how to drive a car or cook dinner, type or use a computer in one go, it takes time and effort. The resulting good small zentangles that you make can easily be stuck into an art journal for future use and inspiration.
Here below is a short film that we made to show you how to start a zentangle. For more inspiration take a look on our Free Tutorial Page and on our Youtube Channel.
This article has been registered and has copyright. It is only intended for personal use and is not to be used commercially.
Dutch Art Box
