Yesterday was using our Stillman and Birn sketchbooks which he and I both love. He likes he hard back ones I like the soft ones.

The picture he gave us to do a value sketch for homework on Saturday night. Hmm Homework on Saturday night. If I had taken this picture I probably would have hit delete. As for the camera he always uses – his iPhone. Like me he has a big Nikon with telephoto BUT also like me he uses his phone.

My sketch. I forgot to put all the heads at the horizon line duh. Even though I knew better.

By Iain Stewart

Like a college kid I went snooping on the internet to see if I could find anything similar to tell me what to do with this not so hot picture. I found this one.

Iains sketchbook sketch.

Eeek. We were doing TWO on Sunday. One in our sketchbooks and the same one on watercolor paper. WHAT? We had barely had time to do one the first three days.

Mine. I promptly got behind because I was yakking and looking at my French photos to paint one of those if I had time instead of drawing during lunch like I was suppose too.

Iains first sketchbook wash

Iains First watercolor wash.

Hmm my first sketchbook wash. That’s right you saw it already. Glad you realized that.

His sketchbook second wash. The spatters at bottom are done by a spritz with a spray bottle right at the end. Not salt. You have to be patient with these and let the colors mix on the paper and not futz around with them.

His watercolor second wash. He uses arches 140 lb cold press.

This is my wc on Fabriano first wash and uh second because I didn’t have time to do both. Oops. And yes I sprayed mine but it didn’t make any dots. Hmmm.

I did get some nice granulation in the sky from the cobalt teal and cobalt mix. Of course I might have been using Cheap Joes Andrews Turquoise by then. They are all the same color.

His third pass in his sketchbook

Third pass on his watercolor. He splattered it with Indian yellow gouache.

My second and third pass in my sketchbook. I may do these over again because I didn’t have enough time to do all three washes. Besides I hater the people because I was in a PANIC to draw TWO SKETCHES. 😱🤢

My whole sketchbook page. I took notes down the side.

You can see the list of colors. Iain’s a Daniel Smith guy. And LOVES neutral tint.

My watercolor. I was in a panic during most of the painting because I skipped the second wash and had to watch a lot of wet edges. I switched by Isabey #2 moo for my Davinci Kohlinsky sable 10 and my black #12 for fine line work.

As for his sketchbooks he draws in pencil not ink. Any old pencil will work. Loves Daniel Smith paint. And uses Escoda synthetic brushes not Kolinskys. An architect by training he loads information into his class. Would I take another ? Probably. He’s a great teacher!!

Margaret packing up in rainy Charlotte. Off to Cheap Joes for one more drool over the art supplies. Getting some paper because nobody matches their prices. Well maybe Blick but nobody supports more charities than our dear Cheap Joe Miller.

Xoxoxo

#france #provence #iainstewart #watercolor #transparent #danielsmithwatercolors #aquarelle #charlotte #nancycouick #sketching #cheapjoes

Stress loomed large over the class. No tears though lol

The picture the object of our attention.

Iains sketch

My sketch that I decided to paint. Oopsey. Try writing in a sketchbook with a wet painting in it.

I will say the glow in these paintings does not show up in a miniature photo on an iPhone.

His first wash. I forgot To take a photo of mine. 🤪😪

His second wash

My second wash. Success finally when I switched to my #2 richeson squirrel mop.

His third wash. And yes there’s another.

My third.

Adding darks and lifting lights.

These things look better in person.

In the pressure of running multiple washes you forget to do things that you wouldn’t if you were home. Like painting the people. And the tree trunks.

Oh and splattering with water. I seemed to have a hard time remembering that one. Lol

So many things to remember while running a wash and keeping the bead going. Eeekkk.

If the bead dries up it’s over. You have a hard edge. Double EEKKK!!!!

Margaret with one more day to do this thing. Xoxoxoxo

What a taskmaster. I don’t know who worked harder the students or the teacher – thinking the teacher.

Homework was to revise this painting into a sketch for today’s painting.

I did three. Well I do like to sketch.

This is Iains sketch. With notes as to tone and and how to rearrange or change it when he does the final sketch.

His sketch on the watercolor paper.

Mine

Iains First pass.

Mine. A little light and oops my spray bottle didn’t splatter right.

His second pass – hmmm didn’t take a pic of my second.

His third and last last pass.

My first third pass. A little light so I redid the darks in the foreground. And lifted some whites.

Done for today. Who knows how lifting complete

I may torture it tomorrow. Think I will lift that line where the dark stats.

Homework time!! Xoxoxox Margaret

At Nancy Couick’s Studio in Charlotte.

Lets just say he’s keeping us VERY busy. Iains a great teacher and I am think his experience teaching at Auburn University probably makes him an even better teacher.

Iains sky wash and his gradated wash.

He’s detailed in his instruction with multiple tasks and brings it all together with a purpose. And he gave us HOMEWORK?!! Omg. Haven’t had homework since I got my last masters degree which wasn’t yesterday.

My sky wash. I forgot to take a pic of my gradated wash. Oops.

Next he showed us how to paint this ok the gradated wash.

I think I got a hmmm FFFFFFF!!!

Next up painting Rossy church in Scotland over the sky wash. Iains.

Laying in shapes. My painting.

The shadow pass. Mine. Finally. With the last steeple.

Way too dark and darned if I didn’t forget one of the towers. OOOPs. Also mucked up the wash at the bottom. Better than the boat but maybe a C?!

Hoping today goes better. Definitely a VERY interesting class. Time for homework.

Ttyl Margaret whose not seeing a career in ethereal landscapes. xoxoxo

My three year old nephew LOVES snakes.

So I paint them for him on scraps of 300# watercolor paper. Needless to say he’s thrilled.

Hmm sometimes they don’t quite fit on the paper. He was slithering off. But I do love his yummy cad red spots.

So far he’s requested a boa and a cobra. Wonder what he wants next?!!

Lots of fun painting these silly guys. Hopefully tomorrow a report from my class with Iain Stewart in Charlotte. Excited but first off to Cheap Joes for some art therapy.

Oh and a sock hot off the knitting needles. One down and one more to go.

Margaret having fun with her nieces and nephews. Xoxoxox

Of course I am sure I have posted some of these but can’t remember which. Been hectic days with my sick dog.

Margaret Charlotte bound xoxoxox new victims to sketch and class with Iain Stewart. 🤗😘

Well I had a long post about my sweetie pie passing. And it seems to be lost.

No idea what happened to it. Will share again later. Suffice to say I am heart broken. I found her dead on the kitchen floor just when the vet thought she was turning the corner.

When she refused to eat her favorite food a biscuit I knew she was very ill.

Funny honey story. My neighbors all thought her name was Biscuit because the only way I could get her in out of her beloved yard was by shaking a bag of biscuits and calling Biscuit. When I got her she was a mere 75 lb but we fixed that. When she died she weighed 96 pounds. She was a big happy girl. As Dr Oz called them a true flabrador.

Farewell my sweet baby.

I will miss your kisses.

Xoxoxox Mama

The left eye drove me nuts. Finally used tape to block everything but the highlight out and wiped it with my dads old hog bristle filbert til I got the light back. Hate to loose the light.

Softened edges w lifting a little and manganese alizarin cad red light blobs of very dilute color.

Before she looked a little fuzzy. So I hope she’s more in focus now.

Next Foch g the divine Miss P a little more color. She’s half Indonesian. I painted her during Kim Johnson’s class. When I asked her how to darken Miss Ps skins she said she never did that she painted everyone the same color. She didn’t get that people like to be the color they are not the color you think they should be.

My guy. I darkened the left a bit with manganese more left the right the same color. I am not touching him again. Removing the taped edges as soon as I post.

Here he is earlier before I darkened the left.

A fun mixed media snake I painted for my nephew. Watercolor w ink and red grease pencil. Same colors I used on the others with a lot of wet on wet mixing of color.

And that’s all folks.

Hugs Margaret off to class with Iain Stewart in Charlotte xoxoxox

Waiting. #hotpress #watercolor #aquarelle #fabriano #fabrianoartistico #danielsmith #holbein #mgraham #transparent #aquarelle #aquarellepainting #watercolorpainting #watercolorartist #portrait

Is the title of this painting of my daughter in law. She was waiting for the server at Sun in My Belly. She was also pregnant. And I was waiting for my sick lab keeping an eye on her while painting it.

This is painted on 300# Fabriano hot press. Not quite done but getting there. I was trying to keep the colors transparent. Hot press paper seems to suck up the color when you touch it but gives a lovely glow if you keep it transparent.

The sketch w a soft lead pencil.

First layers. Loving the hair. Quin gold burnt umber and sienna manganese and cerulean.

Flowers were tough. It was as if every read was the same. And not very transparent. Eeekk. Cad red was not getting it down but vermilion helped. As did some quin reds. The leaves are Charles Reid greens viridian and an opaque sagey green with shots of quin gold and French ultramarine blue.

More Darks on her face and neck. Lots of manganese blue and cad red light. A bit of hookers green. Bits of serpentine green and burnt sienna. All the colors were kept very watery and transparent. Allowed to blend on the surface.

Darker skin tones using the same colors. First layers on the bucket. Blues manganese and cerulean alizarin all very watery. Probably mineral violet.

More of the same colors on the bucket burnt sienna mineral violet cerulean on the paper table cover. Same colors were used to paint the sugar salt and jar on left softening the edges as I go.

So what’s left to do? Darken the background wall. Work on her face. She still looks a little out of focus. And soften the edge on her hair.

Stay tuned for the finish!! Hugs Margaret whose madly knitting when she’s not painting. Xoxoxo

Waiting. #WIP #hotpress #watercolor #aquarelle #fabriano #fabrianoartistico #danielsmith #holbein #mgraham #jake #transparent #aquarelle #aquarellepainting #watercolorpainting #watercolorartist #portrait