Mary Whyte and Mom’s 96th Birthday

January 29, 2022January 30, 20222 Comments

Well the time has come to take a class from the famous Mary Whyte. Off to St Simons next week via Dick Blick class in Savannah to spend my gift certificates. You know I “need “ something. Right?

Best part will be hanging out with my friend Karen Schaaf who I haven’t seen since before covid. Karen recently got her NWS signature and will be in the next issue of Splash 22. We can say we knew her when. Met her at Cheap Joes taking a class from the late great Charles Reid. I think I have almost every book he wrote.

I painted this of my mom who turned 96 last Monday a couple of years ago. I call it
“I Told Her to Smile” because I did and she didn’t. Painted on Fabriano 300# hot press. 11×15”

Thinking about repainting it since it looks off to me now. Nose too long and the mouth twitched to the side. And what’s with the light streak across her chin. Bytw mom did NOT like this painting. Never pout mom, never pout.

This is the photo the painting is based on taken on her 90th birthday. A friend said she was concentrating. Maybe so.

Maniacally sewed this baby quilt for my nephew and his wife’s new baby Mary Rose. She is named Miryam after her mothers aunt who died in the Holocaust. And another who survived it.

The back. Kind of wish I had put the yellow print on the front. Oh well. It’s off in the mail hopefully to greet the baby when she comes home this week.

It has the baby’s name in one corner heart her parents in another, her dob in the third and place of birth in the last one.

Really got to finish this. An old 60s VW abandoned in a car port in Athens Ga across the street from my brothers house. And then take it down town to Art on Broad with my other vehicle paintings for Kristin to sell. Maybe a few prints?! Could be an excuse to buy a new printer!!?

Baking bread. One loaf going to a friend for her birthday instead of a cake. We went to see Kingsmen and I treated her to popcorn and a drink since we aren’t eating out right now. We loved it even though the critics didn’t. Kept us in the edge of our seated the whole time.

Bytw NOBODY is at the movies so quite safe. We had the theater to ourselves. Well the top half. A couple that came in after us sat way down in front. Socially distancing! Yeah!!

Slicing my load up to freeze it. Reheats so well as toast or nuke ten min in the microwave. Taste fresh from the oven!! Also tasty as a sandwich.

My favorite red socks. Wore a hole in my other pair. It’s a free pattern from hedgehogfibers.com. It’s called Sprouting. I have probably made a dozen pairs of this sock. This is my second red pair. Wore the heels out of the first which were Malabrigo no poly. These are Madeline Tosh sock. Wears like cast iron. I also have to them in gold, two grey pairs, and turquoise.

A blue heron we saw on our walk. Fishing in the rice paddy where I live. This used to be a river plantation 200 years or so ago. Silly bird thought he was invisible and didn’t budge as I walked toward him. Finally I flapped my arms at him and he took off.

Bytw it’s quite dangerous to get near one of these birds or an egret. They can stab you with their beaks according to the SC Wildlife Department.

My current snuggle quilt. Where are my knitting needles. One more pair of socks almost done.

Margaret under her quilt on the sofa who really needs to pack for her Mary Whyte class next week but heck I can do that tomorrow right?! Xoxoxo

Robert Dutton, Yorkshire Artist

January 25, 2022January 25, 20224 Comments

I took an online zoom pastel class with delightful North Yorkshire artist Robert Dutton a while back on ShopKeeparty.com and been meaning to post this for a while but as you know when I think of how annoying Word Press is and I just don’t do it.

Anyway Robert is my new fav teacher. So enthusiastic so sharing….he’s one of those teachers that wants to pour everything he knows into your little brain.

He’s extremely supportive. Will chat with you on Facebook and on Instagram and answer all your questions. I just need to hop a plane and go take a class with him in the wilds of Yorkshire, don’t I?!

In the meantime I will make do with Shopkeeparty and a new site he’s teaching from. You can sign up for that class here. It’s £15 and will be worth every penny!!

Starting with a piece of vine charcoal.
Fabriano rough 20×30”

This is a large drawing on a full sheet of watercolor paper. Fabriano rough. 22×30″. Starting off with vine charcoal sketch and a few pastels.

Adding more details and colors. More pastels . I have an assortment of Senneiier(if they were good enough for Degas Manet and Picasso they are good enough for me-sold on the left bank in Paris or on Amazon), Unison both soft pastels and some Rembrandt pastels which are much harder.

We also used water on some of the charcoal to get the grey on the top right and sanded some charcoal to paint with on the bottom middle…great fun but what a mess!!!

Anyway..its done. Might be my fav…as soon as omicron calms down I am taking it downtown to frame…so I can hang it on a wall and not worry about the dog or the cat smearing it….

I also highly recommend Roberts book which is selling like hot cakes on amazon. Drawing Dramatic Landscapes for $21 and worth every penny…jam packed with how tos and what to dos. Heres a link to Robert talking about his new book on YouTube.

There are ten more videos you can purchase on ShopKeepArty with Robert along with my other fav cutie Ian Fennelly. You feel like you have run a race when you are done drawing with them both but you have learned a lot from both of them especially Robert….take a class you won’t be sorry!!!

There are at least three of Robert’s videos available on Shopkeeparty’s YouTube. Here’s one of them – the one that hooked me.

Kitty Ecstasy I
It’s what you do in a cold winter day.

Kitty ecstasy….Weenie Cat found her love Zoes bed and was in seventh heaven wallowing in it today in the sunshine. Too funny.

I think she wants to be a house cat. What do you think!!?

Margaret who just told Word Press tech support that on. a scale of 1-10 I give their new user interface a big fat ZERO. I would NEVER recommend WordPress to anyone…maybe I need to go back to blogger. time for bed!! XOXOXO

Nuff said

January 23, 2022January 25, 20225 Comments

Snowy Morning
Hahnamuhle 140 Rough
15×20

Been a busy week. And I am tired.

Dada with a D. Aquaboard 11×16”
Think he’s finished. I also think I hate the way WordPress doesn’t work anymore. Makes everything harder. So I don’t want to use it because everytime I do it’s A royal pain.

Won’t load photos. Won’t let you type. “Corrects” words and makes them misspelled. Sigh.

Zoe my live model posing with her portrait. Lol.

Mostly sennelier Pastel on mi teinte 15×20”also used a few Unison. And a variety of other hard pastels.

Did I say I bought a new bigger set of pastels from Amazon. Sennelier of course. Yes I did!! I bought that. It will be here first of February. Can’t wait.

One set of Sennelier wasn’t enough. If Sennelier was good enough for Degas Monet and Picasso – well I need.

So nice and creamy but don’t drop them on the floor. Oops!! Hmmm maybe I need to put a rug down?! Or a towel??

The trees are brown for Pete’s sake yet my phone takes them as black. What the heck?! And the background is much lighter though not as brilliant as in the first picture. What do I need an $800 phone for if it won’t take accurate colors?! Please tell me. Thanks.

This is suppose to be the second to last block but uncooperative Word Press won’t let me move it. Finally got it to move. So aggravating. Makes me
Not want to post for another month or two. Sigh.

Got off my tired self off the sofa and took a picture with my iPad Pro. Much closer to the actual colors though it darkened a bit on the left. If it’s not one thing it’s another right?! See below. I told u the trees weren’t the right color in the photos.

I drew a penguin on this screen shot I took of a Porkchop Zimmerman’s sidewalk crack drawing. It’s a thing like looking at clouds and seeing Mickey Mouse. You can look at sidewalk cracks and draw whacky animals from them. Pork chops side wall cracks probably have SEVERAL animals in them. Lots of fun to do. I have a whole sketch book of them.

Margaret ready for bed. Xoxoxox tired from drawing all day.

Really liking this painting

January 11, 2022January 25, 20224 Comments

Was bored on Friday and decided to take a class from artist network taught by Johannes Vloothuis Paint Along 84. How could you go wrong to get three classes for $18.99 on three consecutive Saturdays?! One is acrylic and the last is pastel. What a deal right??!

The reference photo. He also provided a template to trace onto your paper if you needed too. But it was quite easy to draw it.

To quote my friend Mike it was the best watercolor class she had ever taken. I think she might be right. You could text with him on live messaging during the whole class. He explained everything from how to alter your photo to painting a tree. The class was thorough well prepared and the video broadcast was excellent quality. No racing to keep up like you have to do with Vlad Yesileyev or Don Andrews.

People would say demo a fir tree or a palm and he did. Five solid hours of how to at a terrific price.

I finally left while he was demoing a wave. Zoe had to go potty!!

Margaret xoxoxo