ZIA Ideas: Clouds

Puffy, poofy, soft-looking, marshmallowy, cumulus clouds.

Tangles: Floo, Tipple (Caviar version), Auras, and a tangle that's not yet public.
Susan Szathmary had done the color wash and the
green gem-pebbles. I added the 'clouds', the 'waves', and the 'sand'.

I received an interesting comment when I posted the above tile on a Facebook group page:

"I'm getting fascinated by your use of tangles to suggest textures... that would make a great blog topic if you wanted to share your thinking."

This topic is closely related to a class I offered at CanTangle 2015 drawing streetscapes and wonky buildings, and I've had a many inquiries about that. So, I've decided to start an occasional series called ZIA Ideas in which I'll offer suggestions, and show examples, of tangles that can be used to suggest particular things.

I want to emphasize here that a proper tangle is non-representational. A tangle is simply a pattern - a structured pattern - with a simple series of steps to accomplish the end design. Of course, many patterns are inspired by a floor, upholstery, a fence, a pattern on a carpet, a stack of dishes, a pile of stones, flowers, and the list goes on. But the intention is not to do a representative drawing of that thing.

Here are some of my favorite tangles that may give you

 THOUGHTS OF CLOUDS 

DUST BUNNY (from Margaret Bremner)

Find step-outs at this link.

ENNIES (from Zentangle)

Find step-outs at this link. Example below.

"Lollipop Tree" (c)2016 Margaret Bremner

FLOO (from Zentangle)

No step-outs online. Example in the tiles at the top and bottom.

POPCLOUD (from Carla DuPreez)

Find step-outs at this link. Example below.

"Mountain Ash" (c)2014 Margaret Bremner

PRINTEMPS (from Zentangle)

No online link. Example below.

Detail from "Overcast" (c)2016 Margaret Bremner

There are two tangles I haven't tried as clouds yet, but I think would be very good:

KANDYSNAKE (from Vicki Murray, CZT)

Find step-outs at this link.

GINILI (from Randi Wynne-Parry)

Find step-outs at this link. I find this tangle has more impact in a larger area.

Of course, there are tangles unfamiliar to me, 

and tangles that will strike you as perfect for a 'cloud' you need somewhere.
Experiment. Have fun. And let me know if you come across a jim-dandy 'cloud' tangle!

"At Home in the Clouds" (c)2015 Margaret Bremner
Examples of Printemps, Floo, Pop-Cloud, and even Opus and Pixioze as 'clouds'.