Zentangle or NeoPopRealism?

NeoPopRealism was created by Nadia Russ in 1989.

Zentangle was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas in (well, I haven't been able to find an exact date, but it looks like it was around 2004.  Their first newsletter came out in December 2005.  I've emailed them to ask.)  **Update: Here's the email reply I received.
Hi Wendy,

Thanks for asking. Our first public presentation of Zentangle was at a lettering arts conference (IAMPETH) in Providence, RI in July of 2004. I think the idea for Zentangle came to us sometime in the fall of 2003.

Best,

Rick (and Maria)

On Zentangle.com it says:

"The Zentangle® art form and method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and is copyrighted. Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com."

Please see Nadia Russ's website for more information.  Below are quotes and a photo from her website:  (Please note I believe this has been translated from Russian, so forgive the gramatical errors)

"In 1989, Nadia Russ (aka Nadejda Maloletneva) invented art form that helps to relax, it was like yoga for her brain. Very sensitive and emotional, Nadia Russ was trying to get rid of her stress and frustration when something in her life was going wrong. But wrong was, then in 1989 and a few more years, almost everything. Nadia Russ used paper and ink pen. She was drawing the lines, which were turning into different shapes, figures, faces. Sections that appeared, she was filling with the different repetitive patterns. Nadia never used eraser. If she made a mistake, it was disappearing because of the following patterns that balanced the whole composition.  When she draw these patterns, her brain was relaxing because this drawing is like meditation. It gave her double positive result - she had a unique original art piece plus she felt relaxed. Nadia Russ uses this art form till today, in her ink drawings and canvas pieces. In 2003, she created a word NeoPopRealism and manifested new style of visual arts. The artworks of Nadia Russ where she uses the line and repetitive patterns are now in different museums' permanent art collections worldwide. "

Please look at http://zentanglestolenconcept.blogspot.com's article (The Beginning...) for even more information.  (they have permission to reprint more of Nadia Russ's work, and her story.  (It states that Nadia was not aware of Zentangle until June 2011)

What do you think about this?

Is Zentangle original? 


I really don't know.  I think the business idea is original, putting it all together as teaching formula has been helpful to many.


The art of doodling...well, I think that's been around for much longer than either of these artists.  


I'm enjoying both.   And I truly hope that Rick and Maria knew nothing about Nadia Russ when they started this.  If Nadia didn't know about Zentangle until June 2011, why should we think that Rick and Maria knew about Nadia in 2003?  

It says on the Zentangle website, that I must state that my artwork that I've created using patterns since discovering their art form is "Zentangle Inspired Art". 

I created this drawing while in college...I think it was 1991 or 1992.  (I graduated in 1993)

What do you think this should be called?  NeoPopRealism?  Zentangle Inspired Art?

At the time of this creation, I had not heard of either.

It was simply a design.  One that I happen to love! (Note, it was all drawn exclusively with a dip ink pen.  Not, these fancy markers the artist are using now.)

I'm not saying either art form is bad, or wrong, or plagiarized.  I'm simply putting this out there for you to think about.

Have a great day!

and find an art form that can make you feel meditative!

Peace.

More Recent Doodles and Journal Entries

What?  Vestibular Disorders are complicated.

I was playing around with the leaf pattern I was making, and it turned in to this.
A touch of Fall.

Magic Mushrooms?  Perhaps... they make me smile, and that's pretty magical.

A small tangle doodle.  Simple, yet it just feels right.
Hubby loves this piece.  The actual piece is about 3" in diameter.

I have no idea what to put in the hole.
I've decided to print out a copy and play with it to see what I might like...or I might just leave it blank.
I was thinking it would make a nice card, and I could put a message in the hole....hummm,
Little story about how this drawing came about:
Finally, hubby admits he needs some help.  So we decided to have someone come in to clean our house.
First, a woman comes out and looks at the house and gives you a price, then they set up an appointment.
While he was showing her the house, I drew this little doodle with the hole in it....was that my subconscious relating just how I don't feel like a whole person any longer?   Or did I just get stuck?

I really love this piece, but I don't feel that it scanned very well.  I tried it more than once,  but the colors just aren't what they should be.  (the background is a blue tint, not grey)
Stuart said it looked like it would be in Alice in Wonderland, that's why it's titled "Alice's Garden"
But after looking at it, I see a bit of Dr. Seuss in there.
It was fun!  I like circles!  There isn't an up or down on this drawing.  It's equally fun from all angles.
I may do another one of these and color it with ink instead of colored pencils...that would be bright!
Of course, it would not be the same...no two mushroom gardens are alike.

Yes, I am still doing a drawing journal.
Here's one entry I thought I'd share.

"The tears have been shed.
The lines have been drawn.
Do we dare to cross?
Do we dare to dream again?
The tears have flowed like rivers down our faces.
The mourning continues.
How do we hope again?
How do we believe?

I was sitting on the couch and noticed the remote for the TV.
I started to think about how much less TV I watch now than I used to.
When I first got tinnitus, I would keep the TV on all the time just for the noise so I wouldn't notice the buzzing in my ears so much.
Now, the tinnitus gets so loud I can't stand any other sounds.
The only time I watch TV now is if it has closed captioning.
Thank goodness for those shows and movies that have good closed captioning.
(some of it is really bad!)

Few, it's been a busy drawing week, and this is only the things I feel are OK enough to share.  I have pages and pages of patterns I'm trying out.

When you are bed bound, and the world spins a lot of the time, it's nice to have something to do that settles things down, and makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something.

Some Creations from Sept 19-24

Physically and emotionally, this has been a turbulent week.
I'm still amazed at how much creating something has been helping.  While I'm doodling, the migraines seem more bearable.  The thought that I have something to do when I wake up, is liberating.  


But enough about me...
Here's what I've been working on for the last few days (actually there is more, but I haven't had the time to scan everything in, so another post will be coming soon!)

Buzzzz...

I like this tree.  Not sure I should have added the birds, but over all, I like this one.

affectionately called my Star Fish

A Work In Progress.  I have a dear friend, who's son's name is Nate...I've been thinking about him a lot lately.

Another Work In Progress, but I thought I'd share it with you today.
We each have our own struggles.  We must all have the courage to face them.
This week, I had to reach inside myself to find the courage deep within. 

Much more to scan.  

Hope you enjoy.

Getting Tangled

This week has been another rough week, so I've been stuck doing a lot of nothing.  Except....doodling, the Zentangle way! 


Here are a few that helped me get through the week:

I really like the center part of this one, but I think the patterns on the sides are a bit overwhelming.

Starting to do some shading.  

Drawn with some water soluble crayons that my husband brought me from a trip to  Switzerland, many years ago.

So far, this is my favorite.

Not sure this one is quite finished.
I like the idea of creating a picture of something using tangles.

Feeling like some COLOR!
not sure if this one is finished yet either...think it may need a bit more solid green.

I hope you enjoyed.

As always feel free to critique.  

I appreciate the feel back.

Doodling - discovering Zentangle.

You know when you are shopping on Amazon and it gives you suggestions on things you might like...well it was right this time. They suggested some books on Zentangle.  (not that I'm going to buy the books, but it did make me wonder what Zentangle is, so I looked it up.)


Zentangle was created by Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts.  Their moto, "Anything is possible one stroke at a time."  I won't go into detail about what Zentangle is, you can click on the link and find out much more.  It's mainly doodling patterns.  It's been around for a while now, it's just new to me.  


This week I had a Meniere's attack, complete with horrible vertigo....
I've also been fighting migraines.  


The doodling didn't help during the Meniere's attack (nothing does!), but it helped afterward.   And I'm surprised to find that while I'm doing this doodling, my migraines are more tolerable. (It also helps if I wear sunglasses while I'm drawing.)


So here's what I've been up to this week:

I was trying out some patterns a couple of days ago, then I came back to this yesterday...
 and it turned into this.  I like it.

The night after the Meniere's attack I couldn't sleep...
I was desperately afraid it would happen again...
So I started this.  I finished it the next day.

Most Zentangle designs are not colored...but I like color!

One of my first....It was turning out great...until I got to the lower right hand corner.
That just didn't work...I kept trying to fix it..and just made it worse.

This is going to be a birthday card for a friend of mine.
She loves animals, especially her cats.

Creating these Zentangles have been fun, and relaxing.  Some people say it's Yoga for the Brain.


If you just want to relax and loose yourself in your drawing, I suggest giving this a try.  There are a lot of patterns out there...some times I use them...sometimes I just make up stuff as I go.


I'm sure you'll be seeing some more designs,
but next up.... something I've been working on...a Self Portrait.


Have you ever tried Zentangle?  What do you think?