How to draw RIKI TIKI

This lovely and interesting tangle, Riki Tiki, comes to us from stained glass and gourd artist Renee King and it’s her first on the site.

In recent years many many gourd artists have added tangling to their repertoire of gourd embellishment, gourds offer a perfect canvas for Zentangle-inspired art. While tools like wood burning equipment (Pyrography) and rotary carvers can be used to produce amazing works of art, they can also pose health hazards to the artist. Zentangle-inspired gourd art removes that issue and allows gourd artists to continue their craft without worry of breathing issues down the road.

If you don’t know much about gourds, here’s an identification chart showing what an amazing variety of shapes and sizes they come in.

Digital Gourd chart © Dan Dunkin 2003
This chart is used courtesy The Gourd Reserve

Renee introduces herself,

I first found out about Zentangle® on the first of June when I was looking at the class schedule for the Mississippi Gourd Festival being held September 21st-22nd. I saw Judy Burkett’s class for Zentangle on a gourd taught by a Certified Zentangle Teacher.  I had no clue what that was so I looked it up online and haven’t been able to stop PLAYING. I also found Howard and Mickey Weitsen, CZTs, out of Coventon, LA and was able to take their workshop and learn even more about Zentangle. I’m a stained glass artist, gourd artist and paint murals so Zentangle is right up my alley. I’ve learned to keep pen and papers handy for when inspiration hits, usually at inopportune times. And that’s OK. By being on the Tangle Patterns mailing list I’m always able to tangle new cards. My next step is to become a Certified Zentangle Teacher myself.

If you’re interested in learning more about gourd art check out this PDF list of classes from the Mississippi Gourd Society’s Mississippi Gourd Festival. The PDF is also available from a link on the home page of the Mississippi Gourd Society.

Renee credits Mickey Weitsen for helping her with the step-by-step instructions for drawing Riki Tiki below. This tangle pattern is completed in four simple steps and Renee shows us several variations in her steps and in her beautiful completed Zentangle.

Image copyright the artist and used with permission, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Please feel free to refer to the step outs to recreate this tangle in your Zentangles and ZIAs, or link back to this page. However the artist and TanglePatterns.com reserve all rights to these images and they should not be pinned, reproduced or republished. Thank you for respecting these rights.

Here’s Renee’s Zentangle featuring Riki Tiki. Notice the cone-shaped third variation on the right below using curved strokes in place of the straight ones in Step 2. Great tangle, thanks for sharing Renee!

Check out the tag reneek for more of Renee’s patterns on TanglePatterns.com.

BTW – remember that you can always find the link to the list of Certified Zentangle Teachers (CZTs) in the left sidebar under the SOURCE WEBSITES heading. There’s also a link there to find out more information if you’re interested in becoming a CZT, or you can go straight to the ZENTANGLES tab on the top menu bar then select the TEACHING ZENTANGLE® page.

.oOo.
Enhance your Zentangle experience while supporting TanglePatterns:
CURRENT EDITION! TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE, 2024 Edition
	The 13th Edition of the TanglePatterns.com TANGLE GUIDE is an instant-download 109-page interactive digital eBook/PDF containing approximately 2,000 tangles on the site from May 2010 through December 31, 2023. It's a great resource and a must-have digital tool for using the site. Visit the STORE > E-BOOKS page and help keep TanglePatterns.com going by getting your copy now!
	"Linda, Thank you! I was relying on too few and getting stuck after 3 years of daily working with Zentangle. This has inspired me to ‘begin again’ with renewed excitement." ~ Barbara R.
See the BOOK REVIEWS page for more details on its features and view a sample page. Note: this is a digital product you download immediately when you place your order, nothing will be physically mailed to you.
GIFT ORDERS FOR ANOTHER PERSON: To give the TANGLE GUIDE as a gift, visit this page to place your gift order.
If you're new to Zentangle® and tangling, my TanglePatterns.com BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO ZENTANGLE is just what you need to get started. Also available en Français and en Español.
	This is the only Zentangle book you'll ever need: the fabulous Zentangle PRIMER Vol 1. It's your CZT-in-a-book by the founders of Zentangle®. Visit the STORE tab on the top menu bar or click on the image. For more about the content and to read the rave reviews, visit the BOOK REVIEWS tab.
NEW! Now available in KINDLE format for $9.99. Spanish Edition here. Japanese Edition here.
"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
.oOo.