"Tangled" Magic Horse

Over the past few weeks I have used different techniques for few versions of the Magic Horse:
 

Quick sketch

Last December I took Beckha Krahula's online class, "One Zentangle® A Day".  I found it relaxing and also an easy commitment; one tile is very small, 3.5-inches (89mm) square,

 so I could make one or several depending upon time and inclination :-)

However, I thought it would be fun to use the Zentangle® method  for this final horse:

Larger than a tile, this horse is 8-in (203mm) by 6.25-in (159mm)

 In addition to Beckha's class, I found more information here at the Zentangle website and also here at the tanglepatterns website.

Shady stuff

I enjoy the depth that comes from shading:

Smudgy graphite-y depth :-)

Completed 3.5" square: a little "landscape" or something...?

When I know how I am "being"

"One Zentangle® A Day" class finished today. I haven't begun the assignment because I am working on Lesson 5 tiles.

Here's my 7th tile of the class - using a brush pen:

Even the slightest pressure shows...

I wasn't in the best frame of mind for this one - a bit irritable, a bit impatient. Realizing this is essential because when I know how I am "being" and it isn't what I truly want, I know I have choices. I can either stop and leave it (whatever it is) for later, or let those emotions go.

I let them go - always the most rewarding choice for me. And then creating the tile became very pleasant and eventually a great learning experience.

Glaze and color

Yesterday I completed another assignment for Lesson 4 (Beckah Krahula's "One Zentangle® A Day" online class). It involved the use of a Glaze pen. I have pens of many kinds, but I have never tried one of these. I did a little test piece to check out its properties:

Sakura Glaze pen and Inktense colored pencils on 140# watercolor paper.

Love its "resist" property. I don't think there is another nib size available so this line width is it.

My first 3.5" tile with glaze and color was free form; no string was used because the pencil line remains visible even with the "white" Glaze color - see above. The tangles were mostly organic:

Sakura Glaze pen and Tim Holtz® Distress Ink on 140# watercolor paper.

So then, a lot of possibilities, and I understand there is a clear ink available too. Hm-m-m-m...