The Art of the Zentangle
I
f you need to talk to Neil Dignan, you will most likely find him working on his
art. “I draw every day, even on weekends too. It’s relaxing,” says Neil as he
colors in a flower with red and green pens. “It is meditation for the brain.”
Neil mostly works on Zentangles, a unique form of art that is a series of
intricate lines and shapes which seem to pop off the canvas. He starts each
piece by outlining different shapes in black and finishes them by coloring in the
outlines with vibrant, bright colors that make the shapes come to life. Neil puts
his own twist on Zentangles by outlining animals and flowers and making the
Zentangles on different mediums.
Neil has numerous inspirations for his work. Looking at his artwork, it is easy to
see how the places he has visited have influenced him. “My mom and dad were
born in New Zealand. My sister and brother were born in Australia. I have been to both places,” says Neil. “Australia is beautiful.” The
exotically colored birds in Neil’s Zentangles look like they could have come right out of the Australian landscape.
People are starting to take notice of Neil’s art. “One of my pictures got sent over to India,” says Neil, “They will hang it up in their
home because they like it.” Recently, a piece of Neil’s artwork sold at auction for over $1,000.
Through the Taft Teaching program, Neil also teaches art, another way to express his love of art and his craft. “ We teach little
kids and we do afternoon and after school programs,”
remarks Neil. He continues, “You can leave and you can
go away and then (at the end of the day) you can say
you did a good job.”
If anyone is interested in learning about his art, Neil
would be happy to help. “If you want to do Zentangles,
they can come to me and I can show them how.” In the
future, Neil hopes to exhibit his art in a variety of places
like Washington Park, the Metropolitan, and around
Cincinnati.
As Neil continues to work towards exhibiting his
artwork in other places, he keeps enjoying creating
his Zentangles. If you are interested in meeting Neil or
purchasing his art, visit visionariesandvoices.com and
learn more about their upcoming Holly Dazed exhibit.
ISSUE 2
WINTER 2015
10