Month: May 2015

Day 307 – Reportage Accordion Style 

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Maestro Z 

Drawing the conductor Maestro Z at Pops under the Stars was so much fun I wished I had brought an empty accordion book. This is just half of one. It would be fun to do a ballerina like this. 

  
Detail 1

The blacks were made with Inathridone blue and burnt umber.  Grey on the jacket is cerulean and burnt sienna or cobalt and burnt sienna.

 

Detail 2 

The background is Quin gold and Quin red painted on with my big Isabey squirrel mop and allowed to blend when they were wet. I think I might cover up Maestro Z and splatter this strip. 
 
Detail 3 
Drawing this was so much fun I drew ten pages of these in my sketchbook. Will post them tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret XXX

 

Day 307 Reportage?! Part 2

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Love these new Isabey and Richeson squirrel mops that I got during my class with Fealing Lin. Not cheap but love the soft loose look of the paint you get with them. She paints all her landscapes with them.   
  Been busily painting the sketches I did during Pops under the Stars Saturday. This is Brad Means warming up the audience at Lady Antebellum Amphitheater in Evans Towne center. 

I sketched in the audience as they headed to get snack or a better seat.  There was a lot of movement. People standing and sitting down yakking with their friends. Sipping wine. Some people dressed to the nines. Others wore jeans and tees. I am sure there was some champagne in the crowds song with bud lite!

 

Gesture sketch of the orchestra warming up. The violinist was serious.  
 

Lee Anne enjoying the calm while Drew chased the perpetual motion machine Henry. 

 
Henry’s first concert. Every now and then he took off like a rocket with one of his parents racing to catch him. The child has a career as a future star sprinter. Get ready Decatur High School. 

Tomorrow more Pops Under the Stars. I only drew about 30 fast sketches and half an accordion book. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret XXX

Day 306 -Reportage?!

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Happy Mothers Day. 

Last nite we went to the annual Pops under the Stars with the Augusta Symphony. I drew about thirty pages and half an accordion book. It was a lot of fun and felt like I really was in the groove. Pages of sketches of the conductor. They are so energetic. Just wish we were closer to see Maestro Z better. 

So here is part of what I drew. Can’t wait to slap some paint on these. 

   Sketching the orchestra warming up!! 

Maestro Z 

The conductor was very energetic!!  

Sketching the orchestra warming up and some of the crowd. 

  More Sketching the orchestra warming up

  Henry loved it. His first fireworks and he thought they were amazing. 

  One of my favorite sketches. Lee Anne.  
The crowd nearby. 

More later. Gotta run. Mothers Day company coming!! 
Thanks for reading!! 

Margaret XXX

Day 305 – a Review of the Weeks Paintings 

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As no doubt you have noticed we all loved out week with Fealing Lin at Cheap Joes in Boone NC last week. If it weren’t for Mother’s Day I think we would still be there painting. A great teacher and the set up at Cheap Joes is just awesome.  Everybody has their own table. A huge flat screen tv to watch teacher demos. Awesome lunches. What more can I say.  Take a class at Cheap Joes(www.CheapJoes.com) and or a class from Fealing (www.fealinglin.com).  

Most still need a few more touches but will set them out and stare at them first. Then they are FOR SALE!!

 

Man from Shanghai or Opium smoker. 15×22 cold press 300#  Stephen Quiller 

The debate still rages over what exactly is in his pipe.  


Ben

15×22 cold press 140#  Fabriano 

He recieved several proposals from mothers of single daughters!! 

 
Kenyatta 15×11 cold press 300#  Stephen Quiller 

Hair needs more curls and that brown spot on the left has got to go. 

 
Fisherman from Falmouth 

15×11 cold press 300#  Stephen Quiller 
From an old photo from around 1900 aka out of copyright

TIP: Did you know that all government photos are copyright free. The Library of Congress has a wealth of old black and white photos COPYRIGHT free at http://www.loc.gov 

  
Boone

15×22 cold press 300#  Stephen Quiller 

I am I love with painting old wrinkly weathered guys with beards and mustaches. 

Thanks for reading!!

Margaret XXX

Day 304 Homeward bound

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such a great class we were all loathe to leave.  

 Our parting shot – a sign to remember us by. I lettered it. 

  Fealing painted it. 

  
Quick peek in the candy store aka Cheap Joes warehouse. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret  XXX

Day 303 – Feeling Fealing Part 3

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Another great day with Fealing Lin. I highly recommend her. Just the best most giving teacher. 

We worked and worked and a lot of work is getting done. Tomorrow critiques!! 

 
The egg. Did you know if you draw on a BOILED egg or a plastic one like this it mimics the perspective of your head as it moves around up and down. Great way to teach it. 

 
Black and white value study she did of two men in Chinatown. She doesn’t use pencil because it takes too long but instead uses Cheap Joes American Journey Warm Black and a big brush to whip it out. 

  

Kenyatta

 I added some bubbles and some pebbles aka some curls. I think I will do more.  I also need to bring her shirt into a little better focus. Less busy color. Aka knock the color back!  But I am pleased with her. 

 

 Boone 

After

I worked on my Man from Shanghai some more as well as my fisherman, Kenyatta and Boone. I knocked the background back with Inathridone blue. 

  
Before. The background is pretty but easter eggy. I also added the “jewelry” and some bubbles.  I think his mouth is still off a twitch and I need to fix that. I am

Pretty happy with him.  More work probably but we were off to show Fealing Mast General store in Valle Crucis a lovely secluded valley near Boone and buy some shoes for our achy feet. 

 
The store has an old potbelly stove complete with rocking chairs.  

  

  Lots of old barns and lovely mountains. Not the greatest photos but the sun was not cooperating today. 

 
Rhododendrons were starting to bloom. Lovely things. Of course we didn’t need to drive twenty miles to see them. When we got back we noticed a bushful next to our hotel!! We did have a great time laughing and googling and taking pictures!! 

Thanks for reading!! 

Margaret XXX 

Day 302 – Feeling Fealing #2

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Sketching Fealing when I should be paying attention. 

 Another one when I should have been paying. 

  

Ben maybe finished. 
  

Kenyatta mostly done. 

  

My old fisherman

  

Beginning Boone Walton. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret XX  

Day 301 – Feeling Fealing! 

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I actually drew a sketch of her today but it’s back on my table in Cheap Joes studio. Wonderful teacher. So thorough so accessible and so thoughtful.

We started off the day with breakfast at our hotel with 6 or 7 classmates and our lovely teacher Fealing. The day was off to an auspicious start.

Then back to Cheap Joes to work. Mike and I worked till 6. And this is what I did.

The paintings are done in layers of washes.


Ben

Layer 1 should have started at the top and been colors. Blended softly together. Got in a hurry because the teacher called us to class. Pesky bubbles from painting wet into partially drying wet…groan!

Ben

Layer 2 Linking shadows softening edges. 

 
Ben

Layer 2/3 adding more darks softening edges 

  

Ben

Layer 3 Adding more darks and color and trying to keep it soft but focused!! Still more to do but that’s all I have done as of now. Think I am find to lift some of the dark blue on his eye. The beard was done with a wash of cerulean. It was magic the way a beard just popped off the page!! Ultramarine blue and burnt umber In the hair. Keeping the edges soft. 

Boy does his mouth need work…hopefully sooner or later it will work!!

 
The Chinese Man

15×22 300# Stephen Quiller cold press

 I call him Inscrutable. Dads photo album called him “Not Many Left.” This is how he looked this morning.

 

The Chinese Man  

More Layer 3 – I added a lot of darks. Can you find them!? And some reds. Darkened the hands, the eyes.  Added some reds. Killed some of the whites. Added darks to the frog closures on the jacket and under the right collar. Added blue to the hat.

 

 

If  you want to try painting him feel free to save this photo. 

Thanks for reading !!

Margaret XX

Day 261 – Tom Cat

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Is astray my son found in the wheel well of a boat trailer years ago. He was so small you could hold him on the palm of your hand and covered with flea dirt.  Now he’s a sleek with red orange fur that absolutely glows when he sits out in the sun on the back deck. 

I drew this while he was asking to go out the screen porch. He’s an in and out yowly cat. Yowling incessantly to go in and out. 

Day 300 – 300 Consecutive Days of Drawing and Posting

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The Man from Shanghai.

Based on an old photo of Dads taken in pre WW2 Shanghai. Lots left to do. But I am pleased with him so far .

This is an old photograph from my dad’s Marine Corp album.  He and other Marines aboard the USS Henderson were evacuating Marines from China before WW2 because they knew the Japanese were coming.  The Marines guarded the embassies and consulates. Before returning to Honolulu the ship dropped the Marines off at the Phillipines never realizing that it too would shortly be overrun by the Japanese.

 

 Taking a class from Fealing Lin at Cheap Joes.  The sweetest lady and her paintings are beautiful. Fealing is a great teacher, very thorough, knowledgeable diligent and so talented!

The paintings are done with many layers of glazing. Glazing is sheer  transparent color that allows more layers of the same transparent color on it. She often does three to four layers of colors.

The Man from Shanghai

 Layer 1. This isn’t the best example of a first layer wash because I was in a hurry to finish and painted it out of order.  I should have started at the top and let it drip downward.  I didnt use enough water and I kept going back into the already laid down colors!! OPPPS!!!

 Kenyatta

Layer 1 -This layer is all wet in wet very watery glazes allowed to run down the board and drip. 

Kenyatta

Layer 2- Hard edge on her right cheek and right forehead is a NO NO…another oops!

Kenyatta

Layer 3

 

Kenyatta
This is after layer three but the hair should have been included in layer 3.   Still trying to keep the edges and colors loose. Oh so difficult…at least for me!!

Thanks for reading!!

Maggie XX