Always one of my favorite people to hang out with my grandson Henry. I meant to post these a few days ago before I got bogged down in elephant mania. Still have at least one more elephant in mind.
These were done Fathers Day Weekend so they have been in the sketchbook for a week waiting their turn.
He’s very good at holding still only when watching his favorite tv shows or when reading. Otherwise a perpetual motion machine.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
I am embarrassed to tell you how many I have.
This was done with my latest acquisition a ReD Noodler Konrad loaded with Diamanté Wild Strawberry. Don’t knowwhich I like better. The red ink or the red pen.
I wrote it in my Super Deluxe Bee sketchbook. No fuzzy letters. The paper loves ink.
My new Konrad loaded with wild strawberry and my beloved Noodler Creaper Ahab loaded with carbon platinum black ink. I have four more Noodler pens. LOVE their flex nibs. Super for both sketching and lettering because they have an interesting line similar to a dip pen. I only occasionally make messes with the ink. I always do with dip pens. Try the Ahab. A bargain at $20 and holds a huge amount of ink.
My other Noodler pens all loaded with different color inks. A girl needs choices, right?! The top pen, a Noodler Konrad is loaded with Noodlers Lexington Grey, the brush pen is new. Not sure what color but probably will get Lexington Grey since I have Carbon Black in my Kuretake pen. The slim red Noodler is loaded with deartrementis document brown. The bright yellow one is loaded with deartrementis Petrol a turquoise greeny bluet color. The two small pens were dirt cheap at Goulet. $10 or so each. The Konrads are the priciest at $40. I have a couple of Lamys that I never use. Hmm I while gift them on at least the safari. May be great for writing but didn’t like it at all for drawing.
Thanks for reading
Margaret xxx
Now I am done. The letters are Reinked with platinum carbon black ink in my favorite Noodler creaper Ahab. A great pen and so reasonably priced. Mine was $20. And it holds cats of ink.
In my 93# Super Bee Deluxe sketchbook.
Problems problems. I guess that’s why I like watercolor. It’s prone to misbehave.
I had started out with a yellow green background to go with my band of “kente cloth”. It was terrible. I painted over it with green. Also bad. Just not so bad. So I added cerulean blue to it. Improved. Then I added some cobalt blotches. And was happier with it.
The cad red light outside band was to cover up some of my ink smears.
For a while it looked like this. Decided the blue band on the right had to go. Made it to match the right side by adding the same colors.
So what colors did I use on the elephants?! Quin gold and Quin Sienna mixed with a grey made by adding Inathradone to burnt sienna or burnt umber. The darks are made with the Inathradone with cad orange added to it while it was wet. I also saved a lot of whites which makes the elephants sparkle.
I do still need to go over the lettering. It always seems to dull out when I paint over it.
Thanks for reading!!
Margaret xxx
If you love to use Watercolors and aspire to paint like Hmm Charles Reid or Fealin Lin or Thomas Schaller try some Fabriano cold press. It lifts back to almost white like a dream even staining colors.
This is 140# cold press. I don’t know that 300# cold press will lift like this but have no reason to think it won’t. Fabriano makes lovely paper. Their hot press as with most hot press paper is notorious for NOT lifting. Colors just don’t budge on it. You can literally push the paint around on the cold press with a flat brush. The whole highlight on her forearm was lifted when I raised her arm 1/4″ higher. And her nose and her brow and well I could go on.
This pose was quite a challenge. Foreshortened legs just are TOUGH!! Measure and measure and they can still go wrong. These did. Her thighs are too long and so were her calfs and feet. I managed to erase at least half an inch moving her feet up so she didn’t look so strange. I also moved the arm up about 1/4″. The upper arm was just too long.
TIP: My friend Ruth told me that when painting goes awry like the thighs did on this one to deemphasize them. Make the viewer look elsewhere which is why all those dark blue blobs are there. To lead your eye way from the offending body part.
This was after a half an hour of drawing and painting. I rather like this better than the finished one but oh well. I got her too blue. Added flesh tones to brighten the blues not thinking I had mixed Quin coral with opaque yellow ochre. OOPP!! Ah the trials of water color painting.
Here she is getting too blue. OOh well!!
Sometimes the chair is your favorite part. Lol!
Thanks for reading.
Margaret ️xxx
workout.
As you no doubt know I love sketching and lettering with my Noodler pens. They make such great lines. HOWEVER most bound sketchbooks do not like them. Well I don’t like the way the paper in them bounces when I try to draw on them leading by to stray marks I didn’t intend to do. I love the Strathmore 500 Mixed Media Paper but it feels oddly spongy and draggy to me when I use the pens on it.
Crosshatching – if you don’t use crosshatching the lines are streaky. Add in the cross lines the streaks go away.
NOT so with the Superbee. The letters are sharp and clear on the paper as are the sketches. There’s no drag on the pen so it’s easier to write the letters. Of course more practice would help. Big believer in practice even in art.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
Rommel 6×9″
Decided to give it a work out last nite while watching the Secret Life of Elephants on GPTV last nite. This was the last sketchbI drew off tv the big bull elephant Rommel.
Most of Rommel was painted wet on wet to loose the edges. I downloaded several of Thomas Schallers videos from Northlight. Good deal for $13. Though he does not paint animals I thought why not try out his techniques on this elephant. He’s big on transparent colors, letting the colors blend on the paper and loosing edges by keeping the paint wet. I do wish II had thought to add in some blips of others colors like orange and purple but I can use my handy fine spray bottle and do that later.
This was a very wet painting. The Super Deluxe did not wrinkle anymore than a 140# paper would. I lifted some of the shadows off the left back leg and as usual it was easy to do with this super sketchbook.
Colors used Elephant and dirt – yellow ochre, burnt sienna, and Inathradone blue. Sky cerulean trees green Apatite and Inathridone.
I did a pencil sketch first. As you will see in a bit the sketchbook loves the pencil.
This is the sketchbook. Just in case you did not see the last post about it.
Another sketch of Rommel a huge bull elephant that showed up on the Samburu Reserve in Kenya where the show was filmed.
I really like the way this pencil sketch turned out so I doubt I will paint it. It was done with a cheap HB mechanical pencil from Office Max.
One thing that’s great about sketching off tv is that you can pause it. Only thing I don’t like about pencil sketching is its tendency to smear. I need to spray this with fixative.
Save the Elephants http://savetheelephants.org. The show was all about an effort that is being made in Samburu to increase the numbers of elephants which were dwindling drastically. They seem to be turning around now due to the efforts of Save the Elephants.
I love drawing animals and now want to go to Samburu on a sketch safari. Would that not be fabulous fun?! During dry season they flock to the water holes in Samburu, prime time for sketching or photography.
Think about it. I know I am.
More about the Super Bee tomorrow!!
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
Nothing says summer like an heirloom tomato pie! I made two tomato pies today and since this recipe is frequently requested I decided to draw it.
I am going to take u thru it as the recipe evolved.
The pie fresh out of the oven. Lots of yellows, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cad red light, green apatite and dark neutrals.
The ink sketch. I usually pencil in a recipe to be sure I don’t run out of room for anything. Then I ink it.
I laid in a yellow wash first. And dropped bits of yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cad red light, green apatite and dark neutrals while the pie was still wet.
Line green background added and more dark neutral around for the pies edge inside the crust.
I added the cad red line because as usual I smeared the bottom edge into the white. Maybe one day I will learn to keep my band out of the paint. MaYbE!! I can only hope. I also added more dark neutral around the edge of the pie inside the crust fluting and wiped some of the purple under the leaves off. Too purple.
Listening to a thomas Schaller video yesterday. He said you could tell when a painting is done when u start telling yourself I need to do one more thing. I Reinked the letters after I thought I was done not sure I like them.
I also sponged on a little dark neutral to make the surface shadows and it’s done.
I found this recipe from a book called ‘Pon Top Edisto when I was looking for my copy. It’s a great cookbook. Some people add onions. A little or a lot. Cooked or not. Thought garlic might be a tasty addition. And grits would be oh so tasty or fresh corn on the cob.
Thanks for reading
Margaret xxx
The scourge of Key West. Iguanas ravenously devour the landscape on Key West. I do love this watercolor though.
B.O.’s Fish Wagon a shady place on the corner of a parking lot made from an amazing collection of found junk. Awesome food!!
Delicioso what else can I say about B.O.’s Fish Wagon?!
Love the look of Bo’s.
Blue Heaven Garden
Was my favorite sketch before I colored it with my watercolor pencils. I know it’s getting a redo when we go.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
One of my favorite sketches. All things Key West. Chickens, motor scooters, Blue Heaven, palm tree, sea shells and a beachy drink. This was drawn in pencil and added to as inspiration hit starting with the scooter.
Zany celebrations abound in Key West. The dachshund parade which was around one square block followed by a chihuahua flash mob!! Next trip Hemongway look alike contest to celebrate his birthday. Can’t wait to sketch hairy old men and mustacheoed young men a la Hemingway.
Banyan trees fascinate me. One is so enormous there are shops inside it and a sidewalk.
A view down the street towards the Custom house I think. One of my fav sketches. Love that tall towering Palm.
A few more Key West sketches tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
One of my favorite sketches. All things Key West. Chickens, motor scooters, Blue Heaven, palm tree, sea shells and a beachy drink. This was drawn in pencil and added to as inspiration hit starting with the scooter.
Zany celebrations abound in Key West. The dachshund parade which was around one square block followed by a chihuahua flash mob!! Next trip Hemongway look alike contest to celebrate his birthday. Can’t wait to sketch hairy old men and mustacheoed young men a la Hemingway.
Banyan trees fascinate me. One is so enormous there are shops inside it and a sidewalk.
A view down the street towards the Custom house I think. One of my fav sketches. Love that tall towering Palm.
A few more Key West sketches tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
Margaret McCarthy Hunt Art 