Boomeresque:Definition
1. Adj.: Describing a person born between 1 Jan. 1946 and 31 Dec. 1964
2. Adj.: Description of a person, place or thing possessing Baby Boomer je ne sais quoi
3. See also, Boomer, Esq.: A Baby Boomer who is also a licensed attorney (See, e.g., About).

Zentangle Diva’s Challenge #260 – Meet My Neighborhood Edition

by Suzanne Fluhr on March 21, 2016 · 25 comments

Philadelphia sunset

[Zentangle novices, start HERE.]

This week, the Zentangle Diva challenged us to use the tangle, Shattuck, in a monotangle. Shattuck is one of my favorite tangles, so this week’s challenge was more relaxing than some of them are. I like to be pushed, to be challenged to expand my Zentangle horizons, but sometimes it’s also nice to curl up with a nice cozy tangle friend.

I haven’t peeked to see what others have done. I played it pretty straight, but I think I managed to obtain some depth with shading. I did start with a string. Can you see that there are actually vaguely distinct regions on the tile? (Is “vaguely distinct” an oxymoron?)

20160321_164038-1

(This was done on an unaltered official Zentangle tile. The differences in color must be caused by the light when I took the photo.)

Even as we dodged the brunt of a nor’easter (a winter coastal storm in the northeastern United States with hurricane like winds) and dealt with some cold rain, the first of the flowering trees and daffodils are out in my Center City Philadelphia neighborhood and it’s looking rather photogenic.

Rittenhouse Square One Liberty and Two Liberty

We even have some tall buildings in Philly. These were the first two modern skyscrapers visible from Rittenhouse Square.

I live in the Rittenhouse Square area of Center City (what Philadelphians call downtown). I’ve already written an extensive blog post about Rittenhouse Square, so I’ll not reinvent the wheel. If you’d like to read more Rittenhouse Square, you can find my blog post on the subject, here. If you’re not sure why you should want to read my Rittenhouse Square blog post, let me entice you with these 5 words:

gorilla.painting.in.the.park 🙂

….because Philly is different like that. You can never be quite sure what you might find.

So, here are some of my photos of early spring on Rittenhouse Square—or you can skip right to the end, and leave a comment if you’re so inclined. By the way, if you have not yet discovered Instagram and you do not yet have enough ways to waste time, it’s becoming my favorite social media. You can find some compelling photography there (by other people)—and even the odd Zentangle creation. If you want to follow me on Instagram and see what I’m up to when I’m not intently drawing on little squares, you can do so at Boomeresque on Instagram.

Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia

Blossoming tulip tree in front of the Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square.

The Rittenhouse Square fountain awaiting warmer weather.

The Rittenhouse Square fountain awaiting warmer weather.

Rittenhouse Square lion statue Philadephia by Bayre

Philadelphia is not just about cheese steaks and poorly behaved sports fans. There is a serious civic commitment to public art. This rather ferocious lion was forged in France in 1832. (PS: He’s eating a snake, not the little man.)

And finally, Philly has some awesome sunsets.

Philadelphia sunset

{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }

Annemarie March 22, 2016 at 3:01 am

Beautiful photo’s, especially the blossom and sunset! Thanks for sharing, always so nice to see some of the places where people live.
I read in some of your comments that you think you are not creative. I disagree, I like the vague string lines and different ‘ribbons’.

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Karen March 22, 2016 at 3:41 am

I like how your string causes my eyes to move around the tile.

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ria matheussen March 22, 2016 at 5:59 am

I do like this tile: nice shadow, really depth is created and with a lovely touch of ribbons.
Philly looks marvellous in springtime, beautiful pictures!!!

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Suzanne Fluhr March 22, 2016 at 10:21 am

Ria, we’re standing with all Belgians this morning. Hoping you are safe.

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ria matheussen March 24, 2016 at 1:20 pm

22 of march will never be the same in Belgium. It is really very sad but we are grateful for all the solidarity we get. Thank you Suzanne.
I booked a plane for next week (thursday) to go to Providence for the Seminar. At the moment it is not possible to fly from Brussels. Still I hope it will be possible than.
All the people do their best to repair the damage, as soon as possible. I only can hope, wait and see….

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Suzanne Fluhr March 24, 2016 at 6:26 pm

I hope you are able to get there. I think the CZT training in Providence will be an especially healing experience.

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Joanne faherty March 22, 2016 at 8:22 am

I love your tile and the photos of Philly the sunset looks amazing the the blossom trees so pretty 🙂

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1 Art Lady Kate Tangles March 22, 2016 at 8:48 am

Beautiful tile and photos! What a treat to see the flowering trees! Still a ways to go here in Minnesota for that to happen!

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Lorna March 22, 2016 at 9:01 am

Aha! the in between spots!

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Jacqueline Gum March 22, 2016 at 9:01 am

I found your Zentangle relaxing to observe. Maybe your description had something to do with that.But the photos are stunning…thanks for sharing your little corner of the world in such spectacular fashion:)

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Suzanne Fluhr March 22, 2016 at 10:22 am

Thank you, Jacquie. I appreciate having you as a faithful reader of my pontifications—about Zentangle, travel, whatever. 🙂

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Ilse Lukken March 22, 2016 at 11:03 am

Really like your Shattuck tile! Very creative.

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Cheryl March 22, 2016 at 11:24 am

Thank you for sharing photographs of Philly. The lion eating the snake made me laugh as you pointed out the guy he isn’t eating. Shattuck is also a friend of mine, a mac n cheese go-to. I like how you decorated the lines into patterned ribbons and wove them through your composition; great movement.
Have a brilliant day! Cheryl

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Jean Chaney March 22, 2016 at 12:05 pm

Your Shattuck really called for a longer look that I usually give a tile. Very interesting! I also always enjoy your other photos. Happy almost real spring 🙂 (We’re already in the 90’s!)

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Yorkshire Tortoise March 22, 2016 at 1:55 pm

Gosh you have wonderful skys too! I like your Shattuck and I can see your string, it is very subtle.

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Carmela March 22, 2016 at 4:11 pm

I love your tile, i can see its One of your favorites. Great shading. Beautiful.

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Maggibee March 22, 2016 at 6:47 pm

The shading here is excellent and creates great depth. i too like the ribbon of pattern threaded through.

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HeidiSue March 22, 2016 at 8:29 pm

Oh, I love that sunset! very nice. Impressive statue, too. But I do love your Shattuck monotangle…yes, I can see the string. Quite well done. The different patterns inside the Shattuck “ribs” are nifty!

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Annette P. (aka LonettA) March 23, 2016 at 4:07 pm

Wonderful tile! I like your Shattuck with those lovely ribbons. Great depth!

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michele March 23, 2016 at 9:19 pm

Fantastic photos! That sunset is unreal;-) I love your Diva piece especially the embellishment of the “spines” 😉

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Sandra March 24, 2016 at 9:35 am

Your diva tile is really wonderful 🙂 I like the different “stripes” between the Shattuck lines (I hope you know what I mean) and your shading is great!

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Donald W March 25, 2016 at 6:16 pm

Like the different variations that you did. Shattuck is also one of my favorite tangles. I think it is very versatile and I find it easy to relax when I do it. I think that it is due to the repetition of the same stroke. Like the pictures of Philly. Of course my current interest in your city is the NCAA tourney. Probably due to the fact that I live in Indiana. Will be a lot of fans there this weekend. I hope they behave themselves.

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Roz Warren March 28, 2016 at 10:27 am

Love the photos.

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Donna Pilato March 28, 2016 at 12:37 pm

Nicely done tile, especially your bedazzled strips! But, even more I enjoyed your spring photos of Center City. Such a nice neighborhood.

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