Zentangle Alibi and and the Birth of Drawalking
Dear Sarah - Day 171 of our daily drawing exchange
June 20, 2025
Hi Nikki,
I thought I'd combine two things I wanted to do today--walk and draw--so off I set, sketchbook and pen in hand. My usual walk to and from my place to Saxe Point Park and on to Macaulay Point Park usually takes an hour. Today I was gone for two hours because I stopped to sketch things I saw along the way. Many things. Roses, ocean spray, kelp, feathers, anchors, seed pods...well, you'll see.
I learned a lot from this exercise. First, it's really fun, if you have lots of time, which I happened to have today. Second, it really opens your eyes to what's around you. Third, I need to divide my sketchbook into smaller sections--maybe four or even six--because I want to do small drawings, and I ended up doing big ones.
I started out with two types of roses and an unidentified flower, and then a rhodo took over the page; the ocean spray was way bigger than the kelp root and one anchor was enormous (maybe because it was a semi-blind contour drawing). The last drawing (of a lantern hanging on a wrought iron stand) was almost half a page--and the hummingbird looks like a gull. I was getting a bit tired, I think!
But hey, 12 drawings over 2 hours ain't too shabby. Average of 10 minutes per drawing. I'd like to get that down to 5 minutes, make the drawings smaller and looser too. Maybe a tiny sketchbook is what I need.
Will definitely do this again--maybe we can go on a drawalk (I just made that up!) when I'm in Canmore. And now it's time to write.
Thanks again for being such a great friend and co-conspirator on our two projects. I would have quit drawing and writing long ago if not for your support and encouragement.
XO S
Dear Sarah -
Wow!!! Your drawalk was fantastically productive!! I LOVE these drawings - I can just imagine you ambling along, stopping when something caught your attention, stopping to draw. I LOVE this!! And, yes - let’s do this in Canmore. Not many anchors to be found, but plenty of other great stuff to inspire!
As for me… well, when time is short, zentangle to the rescue. There are a bazillion patterns broken down on the website: https://tanglepatterns.com
More time tomorrow?
A woman can dream…
Nikki