Fancy Feathers, 5x7 Pen and Ink Drawing

This is one of my most popular pins on Pinterest. It has been repinned a lot, although not as much as my husband's handmade guitar wine holder, below. I have decided that zentangles just don't look right in my Etsy shop. My shop is varied enough by having oil paintings and collage art, and when I look at an overview, the zentangles stick out like a sore thumb. It just doesn't look consistent.

Every January I get the urge to simplify my life, and during the course of the year I manage to complicate it more. After reading Marie Kondo's book about tidying up my house, I realize I need to do the same to my online house, because it is not, as Ms Kondo says, "sparking joy."

I created a shop just for zentangles on Etsy, set it up for digital downloads; then I said to myself, there I go again. Yet another online thing to tend to. I've become a cyberhoarder! So today I am taking the shop down. I'll post a zentangle on this blog now and then and that's that. Simple.

My main thrust for the year will be painting some larger paintings for a show in April in Virginia. Details will be forthcoming.

Buy on Etsy

Carmen

Madame X, 5x7 Pen and Ink Drawing on Paper

$35, click to purchase

The attitude of this haughty bird reminds me of the original Madame X, the masterpiece painted by John Singer Sargent. It's like she's saying, "Here I am; yeah, these are funky shoes. So what?"

No. 6 on my list of things that make me grind my teeth and want to scream:

Negative political ads, especially the ones with the low-pitched, sarcastic, gossipy-sounding voice that sounds like they are sharing a nasty little secret about the opponent.

Fancy Feathers, 5x7 Pen and Ink Drawing

$38.00, Click to Purchase

This was really a flight of fancy (no pun intended). I got all Zentanglish and Seussical at the same time. I love creating my own bird. It's the Mandilla-Crowned Checkertail and it has a lovely call that sounds just like Adele. To hear it, go to Pandora Radio and type in "Mandilla-Crowned Checkertail."