Day 388 and then there were more chickens!!!

July 31, 20152 Comments

Key West Post office chickens. $150 app 8x 40″

Sorry about the cropping. My iPhone refused to let me crop it closer.

These were drawn at the post office while I sat on the steps of a lawyers office. The chicks got really friendly. But the two roosters were vigilant as usual!

I tried to paint them loosely with a large paint brush a #12 Cheap Joes Legend.

I also tried to let the colors blend on the page unless I did some negative painting. When I do negative painting I usually paint the light color and let it dry. Then I add the darker colors.

Colors used burnt sienna and Quin gold. Cad red and vermilion for the comb. Inathradone blue and viridian green for the tails. Burnt umber added to make a black.

The chicks were painted with Winsor yellow Quin gold burnt sienna and burnt umber.

A dab of white gel pen on the eyes for sparkle.

I splattered its with Inathradone and burnt umber.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret ️xxx

Day 387 – too many chickens

July 31, 20152 Comments

I may be growing tired of painting Key West chickens. I painted quite a few today. All of them were painted wet on wet.

Thought we all needed a joke on Thursday. This is actually one of the court house chickens I drew while walking around one afternoon. There are more courthouse and post office chickens and wild life center chickens. Too many chickens lol.

Here’s another court house chicken who was near a homeless guy who was laying in the sidewalk on Whitehead enjoyingy the shade of a palm tree.

The Palm was first painted Winsor yellow then green apatite and finally cobalt with dabs of cad red.

The chickens are painted with Quin red orange Quin gold Quin red Inathridone blue and viridian green.

Thanks for reading.

Better paintings tomorrow nite.

Thanks for reading.

Day 387 – too many chickens

July 31, 20152 Comments

I may be growing tired of painting chickens. I painted quite a few today.

Here’s another court house chicken who was near a homeless guy who was laying in the sidewalk on Whitehead enjoyingy the shade of a palm tree.

The Palm was first painted Winsor yellow then green apatite and finally cobalt with dabs of cad red.

The chickens are painted with Quin red orange Quin gold Quin red Inathridone blue and viridian green.

Thanks for reading.

Better paintings tomorrow nite.

Thanks for reading.

Day 386 – a few more loose ends. Part 2

July 29, 2015July 29, 2015Leave a comment

Mr Chapman riding his conch cruiser aka bike on Duval because he can. As a boy he was never allowed out of the black area of town Duval was a No No if you were black. Now he rides with rock music blasting.
Here’s Mr Chapman in real life. Sad story about Mr Chapman. He’s loosing his house. Key West is loosing him and his joy cruising the streets. You can’t help but smile at him as he drives by!!

Evidently Mr Chapman was tricked out of his house for the price of back taxes so he’s moving to the mainland. If you want to donate this is the address.

More sketches from the wildlife center. The pelican is a sad case. He lost part of his bill and can never live on the wild again.

A couple enjoying the back deck at Louies Backyard. A great place to relax and enjoy the sea breezes. I did sit out on the deck at Louies and drew this. It was hard to leave.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret ️xxx

Day 385 – A few loose ends

July 28, 2015Leave a comment

Some of my favorite things about key west is the wildlife.

The double page in my Moleskine watercolor book. I decided they were the last double spread because they are so iconic in Key West. Literally they are everywhere behind and under almost any bush, in the parking lots, under the tables in your favorite restaurant. You can not help but fall I love with them.

A few chicken stories!

Chickens actually use the crosswalks to cross the busy streets. I saw them do it with my own two eyes. Truly they do. And I love following them around to draw them.

Roosters. Indispensable to their families. If you feed the chickens the roosters let the hens and chicks eat first while they are on the look out for enemies. Keeps the species going. I never thought a rooster could be so thoughtful and protective of his brood though I have seen a male Cardinal take care of his babies.
Ibis at the Wildlife Center. What a hoot. They follow you around i hopes of a snack. And seem to pose like this one.

One of my favorite Watercolors I did at Key west. The wildlife center ibis.

A few of the eight or so ibis sketches I did at the wildlife center last Saturday. Or was it Friday?! In Key West the days run into each other.

I spent a lot of time taking pics of iguanas. They are so fascinating. Living dinosaurs.

My favorite finished iguana sketch.
This guy a big grey one was begging with the ibis til he got scared and leapt into a tree. They are SO fast. And he was big. More than four feet long. He blended right into the palm tree.

We fondly nicknamed this one Mango. A big fellow at the condos. I stalked him talking to him nicely. He would begrudgingly pose. Later we saw him repeatedly whip a kid who was throwing stuff at him. OUCH!! I don’t blame Mango one bit. Someone should have been watching the kid. Evidently iguanas also have razor sharp teeth. They hang out in the trees in Key West and would rather run climb or swim away than get in a fight.

A large green one. I think this is my favorite color but they are all so gorgeous like a watercolor and blend right into their surroundings.

Sunrise in the Keys. Going to miss these too. Enough for today. Can’t wait to get home and get my paintbrush busy!

Thanks for reading!

Margaret xxx

Day 383 – on the road again!!

July 27, 2015Leave a comment

The long road home. Two days of driving from Key West to Atlanta.

Amazing sunsets

Thought I would share some of the highlights of our trip.

The ghost
hunt
tour with Michael
Creepy but fascinating. You do hunt for ghosts. 😳

the Lloyds tropical bike tour and

Analise and her

food tour YUMMMMM
The Papas

And sitting at Mallory square during the eight mile hike. THINK SWEAT!!

Eating at a few of our fans. Caroline’s on Duval super wait staff salad was the best we ate. Bamboozled salad.

Blue Heaven Thomas and Petronia Chickens and wonderful breakfast of eggs Benedict with pink shrimp. And a band in a funky spot including a chicken cemetery.

Louies Backyard. The best food on the island. Expensive but deliciousness. Lunch is a cheaper option.

Hogfosh Grill on Stock Island. Hogfosh Tacos of course.

Buzzards Roost in Key Largo. Recommend their Mahi Mahi wrap. Gorgeous view of Garden Cove.

Another sunset.

Stay tuned for more Key West. I only have 1500 photos!!!

Thanks for reading!!!

Margaret xxx

Day 382 Key West Food Tour – A Commission

July 26, 2015Leave a comment

I drew this in my sketch book after we went on the Key West Food Tour. The tour director Analise had to have one for herself so I spent a couple of days tweaking the small one and painting it.

She was tickled pink with it. I am sure it will be framed shortly and gracing her office walls soon!
Let me know if you need me to do one for your business! Or your town!!

What you do with all those maps and ephemera you pick up on your trip. Draw on them!!

Yesterday was our last full day in Key West. We are packing to leave now. It was also the culmination of the Hemingway Days – the Pamplona bull race key west style and the winner of the Heningway Look alike contest is announced.

The guy on the left , Pat, won the contest lady eat. All the guys with the red ribbon and medal are previous winners. There were 175 entrants this year. Mostly old guys with big white beards. As my friend Siobhan quipped Key West is where Santa goes in the summer!! Lol   A rowdy crowd follows the papas around the block.

We also went to the Audubon House. His paintings there are gorgeous as are the gardens.

Out the Audubon house window to the Customs house. We included a tour of it on our SEVEN Mile GUT it out tour. Next year we are doing the hemingway five K. lol. Going into training NOW!!

Incredible philodendrons and pothos we grow as house plants tower fifty feet high in the yard.

My favorite plant in the garden.

A lobster plant. I think.

The ginger plant beautiful and smell heavenly.

Orchids hang off the trees.

and banana plants abound.

Stay tuned for more Key West tomorrow.
Thanks for reading
Margaret xxx

Day 382 – Higgs Beach

July 25, 2015July 26, 20152 Comments

Higgs Beach original watercolor

$150 plus shipping

app 8x 40 inches long. Stonehenge paper

I like to sketch people as they walk by and draw fast impressions ok long accordion folded paper. I found the perfect place to do it yesterday-Higgs Beach. You can sit in your car in the cool as people stroll by or stand around at the beach.

I generally start with the shoulders and head. I try to vary the people. As in not all guys. There were alot of men on this beach so when an occasional child strolled by I drew them or short people. Or add bikers and dogs. Chickens too wild work. But it was too hot for chickens or dogs.

A lot of the people are painted with straight burnt sienna or Quin gold. Others are heavy on the red with yellow ochre for a sun burnt look.

Finally decent palms. Started with a yellow green and dabs of red. The leaves were painted mostly yellow green with streaks of red. Then dabs of green apatite. After they dried I added Inathradone blue in slashes.

Generally I keep the background to a minimum but I thought I would try to give it a beachy Key West feel by adding the palms the blue blue water and the volleyball net.

The water is cheap Joes Andrews blue aka turquoise and marine blue.

Pen is my Noodler Creaper loaded with Carbon Black. Generally I like to use a brush pen on these but when I was drawing chickens earlier the Pentel brush pen and I weren’t getting along so I switched to my Noodler.

The paper is Stonehenge ripped into long strips with my bone folder and then accordion folded.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 381 – sketching like a madwoman

July 24, 2015Leave a comment

today. Only one more day before we head home. It may be hot here but it’s even hotter at home. And not nearly as beautiful. However we are going into training for our Paris trip in three months. Even more walking and NO carbs. I hope. Lol.

Hotel Pegasus on Duval and Southard.