All pens are not created equal. Nor are writing and/ or drawing and creative surfaces for that matter. I had not realized how spoiled I was using Micron pens almost exclusively the past few months until they all began to run dry at the same time.  I then picked up a pack of Prismacolor pens that included a brush tip and a calligraphy tip in the set.  I have several friends who are as partial to Prismas as I am to Microns but there is a difference.

Then my Prismas also went dry. Recovering from holiday spending left me lacking funds so I got desperate enough in looking for creative options to *gasp pick up a simple sketching pencil!  This owl was done in pencil and overall I am pleased with the way he turned out....

I then decided to try an eagle also using pencil.  I'm not as thrilled with the eagle as I am the owl. It may be that I am simply drawn to owls more as they, like myself are nocturnal by nature!

I also tried several brands of ball point pens for drawing options and am not thrilled with the results thus far but of course there are many different pen options and I've barely scratched the surface. The search continues to find 'the BEST' pen/pencil/combination for artistic purposes. Then again I am also still exploring surface options and as we all know different surfaces require different  mediums. 
The good part of this period of exploration is that I am spending more time working on my creative doodling options.

Well...Here I am finally back after a long absence. While MIA here and in my other sites, I've been undergoing some major changes. Moved with my daughter and her family to Alabama and have been taking time to reassess and plan my future on a bit of a different plot than I had planned  but it is ok.

Moving ahead and finally taking time for me once again.

I visited Erin at The Bright Owl  and took on Zendala Dare #72!  The first I've done in several weeks!  Here is what the template looked like...

There was an extra challenge to work our tangles or design with a larger pen so I used the 08 Black Micron.  If you look at my logo and many of the pieces in my gallery here you can see that I often work with a larger pen than many experienced Zentangle artists. Still this template was challenging do to the small spaces.

I am not exactly happy with this, especially the shading which I may rework. Or, I may try a second version entirely. But here is this end result weak shading and all...

This week's Zendala decided a trip to the dark side was the order of the day. I really thought the template called for something light and airy then, as sometimes happens, this zendala decided to go a different direction entirely! So I guess maybe it is a reminder that sometimes things are a combination of black and white! I continue to go with the flow and add a outer border to fill the 5 1/2 inch diameter paper.

Last week I took the plunge and decided to start adding shading to my Zendalas and I am really enjoying the dept it brings to them!

Line work still ongoing and I've been getting a lot of creative time in working on several pen and ink projects including the commissioned pieces I talk about in the previous post and the Artist Trading Cards venture that is almost as addicting as Zendalas!

So, this post will be brief but of course the point is to show this week's creation!
Be sure to click on the Zendala Dare button to visit and see a more creative interpretations of this week's template!

Enjoy!

I had fun with this dare as I found it a good opportunity to work on two weak points for me...lines and shading.

While there is still room for improvement, isn't there always?

Overall I like how this turned out.

I just happened to have a piece of scrapbook paper in gray and I like how it shows off both the lines and accents the shading so maybe I'll actually frame this one like this and give it as a Christmas gift!

Have a great week all...!

Thanks Erin once again for the fantastic fun at The Bright Owl by providing us with the weekly Zendala Dares.

Well - This challenge is a bit different on several fronts! First - the challenge was to do this Zendala in pencil! When I went to print out the template, I found I was out of ink! Grrr.... Well, where there's a will-there's a way! Right?

So I ended up holding a paper to my monitor with one hand and tracing the template with the other...lines were a bit shaky but they are after all guidelines. I used a soft drawing pencil which may not have been the best option as I really had a time with unintentional smudges as I worked my way around the Zendala.

Some of those smudges did add some automatic shading while I added shading to some smudged areas in an attempt to even things out without erasing.

Not my favorite template or treatment of it. However, I just couldn't resist the dare!

So here is the final results!

Be sure to go visit the post at THE BRIGHT OWL and see what others have accomplished with this dare!!!

I happened upon this fantastic Blog a few weeks ago and immediately got hooked on the Zendala templates and challenges. It has taken me until now to officially jump in although you will see other examples of Zendalas done using templates from The Bright Owl site in my Doodle Gallery! Thanks Erin you can be sure I'm a regular visitor even if I don't get a chance to post often! I think the first visit to your blog was at the Zendala Dare #50. I have tons of catching up to do!

So here is my first official venture into  Challenge #55.
I found these great circular papers at the Paper Source and ordered several packs since they had a not that they were in limited supply! Hopefully they will have a new supply in when these run out because I love working on them. This was done with a Micron 01 and shaded with pencil. I need to work on both shading and line work but all in all am happy with this one!

Please be sure to leave a comment when you stop in and visit! All feed back is greatly appreciated! ....... Debbie aka: DayLee Doodler