Tangle Refresher 261 – Easy exercises to sharpen your line drawing skills, our random string, and how to draw Braze, Jubilee, Haf n Haf, Checkmate, Happy

Hello again my tangling friends and happy Friday to you.

It’s Buried Treasure time on TanglePatterns, this is when the Tangle Refresher digs out and revisits gems — both tangles and articles — that might have become buried in the depths of the site.

Lately we’ve had a number of new-to-Zentangle® folks joining the community so it seems a good time to take another look at German artist and art teacher Simone Bischoff’s fabulous fun and easy free tutorial on how to sharpen our line drawing skills. Going back to basics is always a perfect refresher. Here’s the original introduction:

“Many of us are fascinated by the wonderful, mesmerizing line art murals of Justine Ashbee which she executes spontaneously by hand with paint pens. If you search Google and click on the Images tab, prepare to be blown away by her beautiful art.

Since it’s Friday and many of us have the weekend to play and practice after a hectic work week, I thought this would be a good time to share German artist and art teacher Simone Bischoff’s line drawing lessons which are reminiscent of Justine’s art, but on a Zentangle®-inspired scale. This is a long post but it’s divided into fun and easy lessons so you can take it a bit at a time.

… All six easy lessons are ways to play with the Zentangle aura technique and will help sharpen your line drawing skills. Not only that, they’re inspiring and just a lot of fun.”

To continue reading Simone’s excellent free lessons, visit this page.

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Many tanglers like to use these occasional Tangle Refreshers as their Zentangle challenge-of-the-day.

This TanglePatterns String was selected for today – either to go with today’s Buried Treasure or just to use as a starting point for your day’s tangling. The RANDOM TANGLE SELECTOR in the left sidebar makes it simple to choose a String-of-the-Day from the 250 free strings in our resource. Or just click on the STRINGS tab in the pink alphabetic tangle menu bar and choose one at random yourself.

Think of this as your tangle Challenge, if you’re so inclined. TanglePatterns String 214 is from tangler Deborah Sweeting and was originally posted here.

Remember that in Zentangle strings are always drawn freehand in pencil so they magically disappear when you’ve finished tangling the tile.

A string is a simple device to “divide your drawing surface into sections to be filled with tangles“.

In the Zentangle PRIMER Vol 1 (now available in paperback for $23.95, or as an instant download Kindle Edition $9.99, in Spanish here, and in Japanese here) there’s an entire section devoted to Strings which in part explains:

“As you tangle, your strings disappear as if by magic. This adds to the charm and unified appearance of your completed art.

If you had used a pen to draw your string, you would still see the initial sectioning in your completed creation.“

Strings are not intended to be the focal point of your tile, Zentangles should not look like coloring book drawings.

More String advice from The Book of Zentangle (now available in paperback for $19.95):

“A string is a useful reference, but it is not an impenetrable barrier. Practice going outside your string. It will help increase your ability to think outside the box.“

To download eBooks containing all 250 TanglePatterns Strings, visit the STORE > EBOOKS page.

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The Tangle Refresher series, aka Buried Treasure, spotlights hidden tangle gems from the past. It can remind you of tangles you might not have used for a while or introduce you to some you haven’t come across yet.

Here are five more tangle pattern gems and a Tangle Refresher from the past for your tangling pleasure. Remember to check out the “More Good Stuff” links below too.

BTW as you visit these tangles please do leave a comment of thanks and encouragement to show the artists you appreciate them for sharing their creativity to inspire yours. And please share a link to your favorite tangles with your followers on all your social media. Thanks!

Zenful tangling!

Buried Treasure – Gems from the Tangling Past

	Braze
	Jubilee
	Haf n Haf
	Checkmate
	Happy
	Tangle Refresher 231

More good stuff …

• The Importance of Strings in Zentangle – and String 001
• Zentangle Primer Vol 1 – your CZT-in-a-book by the founders of Zentangle! Now available in softcover, or as an instant download KINDLE Edition.
• Everything you need to know about creating Zentangle-Inspired Art or Products
• Free Interweave eBook – Know Your Rights: Copyright 101 for crafters and artists
• Tangle Pattern Refreshers – the entire Buried Treasure series
• Find a jackpot of free tutorials on TanglePatterns by visiting the TUTORIALS tab on the pink alphabetic menu bar
• Find a CZT near you – the link to the list of Certified Zentangle Teachers is located in the left sidebar of the site under the heading SOURCE WEBSITES
• Interested in becoming a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT®)? Here’s more information.
• Linda’s List of Zentangle-original tangles – THE core tangles to learn first if you’re new to Zentangle.

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"Absolutely the best Zentangle Book yet! As an accomplished artist I used to think I did not need instruction on this art form. How wrong I was! My tangling improved by leaps and bounds after reading this book. If you think you have Zentangle down then you need this book more than ever!" ~ Kris H
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