Manatee Sighted in Maine

Last November, while flying to Maine, there was a beautiful young lady sitting next to me.  She was tired and slept nearly the whole flight. Even leaned on my shoulder for a while as she slept. She awoke as we were landing and leaned across me to see out the window We started talking and a friendship  evolved from there.

Her name is Haven. As we talked we found out she lives in the next little town over from where we live. That's pretty wild considering where we live and how far away the airport is.

We have stayed in touch while Haven was away at school, and now all summer she has been home. Haven serves at a restaurant in her home town and we have seen her there many times.

A couple weeks ago Haven told me she'd be leaving for school soon. She asked if I could draw her a manatee. Hmmmm. 
My friend Ben Kwok has a line of coloring/ tangling books on the market. They have templates that you can tangle, which is exactly what I did here.

I used Ben's outline of a manatee, divided up the sections the way I wanted them, and I filled the sections with tangles. I used Schmincke watercolors to add a little pop and a bit of splatter.

Some white gel pen highlights added sparkle to some of the tangles. If you click once on the image, it should enlarge so you can study it better.

And then I framed it. Goodbye, Haven. I shall miss you, but I will be here when you get back home. Go with God, dear friend! SaveSave
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