Thursday, June 23, 2016

Black and white, and RED

What's black and white and re(a)d all over?
The original answer is 'a newspaper'. (Red. Read. When you hear it you can't tell the difference.)

The Diva this week offers the other popular answer: a sunburned zebra. One could also say 'an embarassed panda' or 'a penguin with a rash'. A darker answer, from my years in elementary school, is 'a nun rolling down a hill' but nuns don't dress like that anymore. Of course, none of these uses the word play of the original answer.

Anyway, that's our challenge this week: create zentangle artwork using the classic black and white, but also add RED!

First, I wanted to try the tangle Maryhill in two colors so this was a perfect opportunity. I used a Bijou tile and it required a lot of changing back and forth between black and red, but the effect is nice. Also in the photo is a bookmark I made a while ago using black and red.

You know art's primary colors of course, red, yellow, and blue. I suspect that black, white, and red is a popular combination because they are primal colors. As languages developed the first color words were words for black and white (or dark and light). The third color word added in any language is a word for red, probably because of its association with blood and life and death.

Soooo... back to zentangle. Here's my first full-size tile on this theme. The string seemed to alternate on the two sides, so I decided to try to alternate the two ink colors and the tangles also.
Tangles: Beadlines, Black Pearlz, Crescent Moon, Ginili,
Pearlz (sort of), Ruutz, Tri-dots
The next tile had a string with three 'blobs' emanating from the center. I decided to do them in red and the rest of the tile in black.
Tangles: Paisley Boa, elements of Bunzo, and stripes.
Here's something a little different, from some years ago: black and white on red paper. The whitest sidewalk squares are collaged. I call it "It Takes a Village" and it's found a new home.
It Takes a Village (c)2010 Margaret Bremner
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9 comments:

  1. jeannineJune 24, 2016 at 12:41 AM

    The tile with the blobs is really amazing. The stripes give it a real 3D effect. I love all of your artwork very much.

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  2. mariejoJune 24, 2016 at 4:41 AM

    Very beautiful!what splendid tiles!!!

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  3. Betsy Wilson CZT14June 24, 2016 at 6:53 AM

    You are so great with contrast and the red is no exception! All look fabulous, but of course, my eye was drawn to your Maryhill. That's awesome! Altho I'm working on a couple Maryhill with color versions as we speak, I hadn't thought to split up the color in the tangle! That's a lot of switching back and forth! But I agree with you, nice effect! I also like how the first full size tile has deep contrast but also subtle shades. Cool, cool, cool and cool...as always!

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    Replies
    1. Margaret Bremner, ArtistJune 24, 2016 at 9:42 AM

      Thanks Betsy. (Haha! At first I typed Besty!)
      It was a lot of pen switching, but the main challenge was to connect the two colors at the corners.

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  4. Simone MenzelJune 24, 2016 at 10:58 AM

    Oh my, so beautifule tiles! I love all of them, especially the red coloured shading and the alternating black and red in the second tile and I LOVE your tangle village! It is so inspiring- I need to try it, anyway...

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  5. Susan TheronJune 24, 2016 at 11:13 AM

    Beautiful and inspiring!

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  6. BrendaJune 25, 2016 at 11:24 AM

    Your work is always so inspiring Margaret!

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  7. Jennifer SparrowJune 26, 2016 at 8:17 AM

    Thank you for the language history--so interesting! These are all so beautiful and balanced. I particularly love the negative space in the bookmark.

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