My colorful journey

To date, I've preferred to keep my tangled artwork in the traditional black and white.  I love color in my other crafts, but I haven't fully embraced it in my Zentangle® artwork.  I love the crisp look of black on white or white on black with the appropriate shading.  I think the tangle patterns aren't as clear when the piece is colored in.  I love all of the colored ZIA, Zentangle Inspired Artwork, that I've seen so I knew I had to try some.  When I finish a tile or other tangled piece, I often debate about coloring it in and then stop myself because I feel like the piece is complete.   

In an effort to challenge myself to color outside my own lines, I've given myself a few ways to add color.  Before I pick up my Micron pen, I decide if I'm going to use color.  Here was my first tile in this experiment:

I tangled my tile but did not do any shading.  I used Intense pencils, thanks to a lesson from Sandy Steen Bartholomew.  I wasn't sure how the pencils and water would work on the Zentangle tile, but I was pleased with my first result.  I love the vibrant colors these pencils give.

Next I worked on a Zendala.  I divided my circle tile with an apple corer to give me some basic shapes. I used all grid-related patterns in the apple slice areas, but Copada by Margaret Bremner called to me for the outer rim.  Here's the black and white version:

I already knew I was thinking of coloring this one in, so I popped the tin of pencils open and picked several coordinating colors in green, blue, and purple.  I had a blast coloring in all of the sections and watching the shades pop when I added water.  I love this Zendala more in color:

I have a bit of a flowchart approach in my mind with regard to coloring in my Zentangle artwork.

• Do I want to use color -- yes or no
• If yes, do I want to have a colored background, or do I want to color after tangling?
• Tangle
• Do I like the end result -- yes or no
• If yes, shade and finish
• If no, add color.
• Enjoy