Two students in Saturday’s class mentioned that they needed advice on working with Renaissance tiles. So, I am back to working on Renaissance tiles and the book. This week’s Diva Challenge is to do a monotangle of the official tangle shattuck. I love shattuck because of its versatility. I (now) love using Renaissance techniques because there are so many different options to explore. With all of those combinations, I couldn’t limit myself to just one tile. Sorry for the lack of step-by-step photos. I was so busy playing that I forgot to take pictures!
A follow-up to last week’s post. I posted this in response to the Diva Challenge for a touch of Irish. 
Thank you to all who commented on it. I’m glad you liked it. All the comments made me so happy. But, I had this little voice in my head that would not shut up. It kept asking, “Are you sure it is done? Could it use something more? Maybe it could use ‘just a little something else'”
So, after good advice from my friend and fellow CZT-5, Sue Jacobs, I made a copy of it and did some playing.
I always tell my students that you are done when you like the result. But sometimes we like what should be an intermediate phase so much we’re afraid to keep going. When this happens to me, I ask for advice from trusted friends; and if I’m scared, I make a copy and play with that.
I spent most of the day working on the two Renaissance pieces and am pretty sure they are done. Trust me; there were plenty of times I thought of stopping before I got to where they are. This week, I just pushed past the doubts and kept going until I was certain. So, how do you know when you are done?
Tangled Up In Art 
Oh yeaaaah! I love how you added on to your greens. Those triangles postively glow. You really brought the drama.
Shattuck is really well done too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cris, I really liked your St. Patrick-y tile the first time I saw it … and now I absolutely LOVE it! Well done???
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think they’re both done. Is that possible? They can each stand on their own and are very satisfying in their own ways. Your Renaissance Shattack tiles are impressive!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the idea that they can both be done. I guess it depends on your style & preferences. Some like vanilla, some like chocolate, and some prefer birthday cake. And sometimes it changes day to day.
LikeLike
Beautiful tiles – I just bought my first Renaissance tiles, but not ready to start on them yet. Love your Shattuck!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It would be wonderful if there could be a definitive answer to your good question. Alas…or perhaps hooray, there are many answers and ideas of “done.” Of course, this isn’t much help to people wishing for rules. There are excellent guidelines for design elements a principles, but at the end of the day, “done” has many different looks. As time allows, the good idea you mention of copying and trying out further work can help satisfy the lurking, irking question, “Is it done?” Love your work, Cris!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the thoughtful response. As a mostly untrained artist, I know there are design principles, but I have not studied them. I suppose that is part of the reason I am sometimes unsure of when to stop. Also, I think creating using the Zentangle Method can add to the dilemma. It would be easier to know when to stop if you had an idea in mind of how it was supposed to look or the idea you wanted to express. When you get there, you stop. But if you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you’ve arrived?
LikeLike
Hmmm, “untrained” in the formal sense, perhaps. However, I believe many are trained through practice, looking, and copying (not a dirty word – the masters copied in order to learn.) Training may provide a level of confidence, but the idea of “done” is personal and does not follow a set of rules. As some have said – what feels done today may not feel done in the future as we all evolve. This has been an enlightening conversation, don’t you think?
LikeLike
I agree with you 100%. Loving this conversation. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe a too simple answer to this question, but for me a tile is ‘done’ when I feel it is. I love your tiles, especially the second one.
LikeLike
I don’t think it is too simple an answer. It sounds like you are very confident in your decisions and intuition. Some of us are not quite there yet.
LikeLike
Your green tiles are superb. I do like the ghosting you’ve used on the Shattuck tile. I haven’t seen that used often before.
LikeLike
Love the shattuck tiles and I like the intensity of the greens in the redo version. As for being done, I set my tiles on the far side of the room and study them for awhile before I make that decision. Sometimes they are done and sometimes I add to them.
LikeLike
Great idea. I’m going to suggest that to my students. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
How do you make the copies?
LikeLike
I just scanned it and then printed it out. It does change the quality but it is good for getting a feel for whether or not the change would be helpful before you try it on the actual piece.
LikeLike
Those Shattuck tiles look gorgeous!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It took me a bit to warm up to the Renaissance tiles, but now they are my favorite. I just love the different ways you made Shattuck go. I especially like the “ghost” frame. All lovely!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely Shattucks and your St Patrick is now glorious. I had the same problem with my Shattuck, I got to a stage where I was afraid to spoil it by adding the last touch. I photograph it so the copy prints out quite well, then I practise the extra steps on the copy and if I like it I go ahead on the real tiles. So looking forward to your Renaissance book, in particular which pens and colours to use. I think the screen changes colours so I am never certain what has been used.
LikeLike
Thank you. I agree with you about the colors. I am finding it more difficult to work with color. Even when I scan two tiles that are both official Zentangle Renaissance, the colors sometimes look different. Just another technical issue to work through. I know that if I photograph them, they always look different as I do not have professional lighting setup, so the light colors vary depending on the time of day and which room I am in.
LikeLike
Sometimes I come across a tile I thought was finished but wasn’t entirely happy with and know what it needs now. It can be months later but it comes to me. Sometimes, of course, they are as good as it gets. Either way, I’m not sure they’re ever “done”, just “done for now”. Here, I love the vibrant greens but are they an improvement? I don’t know, the use of bright colour has changed it so much that it’s not the same tile. Like Suzanne, I think they are both “done” in their own way. I’m burbling so I’ll stop now. And I didn’t even gush enthusiastically over the renaissance tiles. just assume that I did, OK?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! Too funny. I like your “done for now” idea. I was rereading my Zentangle workshop notes and one says, “Zentangle, like life, is always a work in progress.” So, I think you are totally right in that they just might not ever be done. You CAN always add more. But, the question is SHOULD you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Chris, what pen/pencil did you use for the “ghosting” part of you tile? They are all beautiful BTW!
LikeLike
I used a regular drawing pencil, probably 2H, to draw the shattuck. For the frame I used a white charcoal pencil and a soft, dull pencil, probably 4B.
LikeLike
Wonderful shattuck tiles!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the vibrancy of the added color to your Diva tile, it makes it a totally different piece. I like the elegance of the first one too. Your Shattuck tiles are fantastic!
Done….hmmmn…more often than not, I just know when it’s done. It’s usually the pieces that for some reason go off-the-rails…when the contrast or composition isn’t balancing the way I thought. That’s when I have to put it away for a day or two and hope for that “Aha!” moment;-)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Like all these variations. Really like the way the one at the top of the page turned out. Like the “gem effect” with the green.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely, lovely tiles!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve seen a good few of your pieces and love them. The fact you did a little extra with the same one ( the St. Patrick style ) made me admire you even more. It opened my eyes to the idea that there can be more than one original because they’re both different, as odd as that sounds. I hope to see plenty more of your work since I’ve been using them as inspiration for my own now that I’m attaching myself to the artistic world after quite a few years of mental blockage. Keep going!! It’s all amazing!
LikeLiked by 1 person