Day 112! So i cant count 🥴

August 30, 2023Leave a comment

Day 112! The Mermaid. A conundrum painting someone under water. A big experiment!!

The reference photo

How do you paint light skin tones covered w green water. Hmmm. Had to think abt it for a while. Like a week or more. Lol.

For skin tones Quin rose and quin burnt sienna lightly covered with andrews turquoise which is an opaque color if you get too heavy handed.

Hair – My chinese brush splatted flat and the dagger brush loaded very light yellow ochre with shadows of burnt sienna and quin burnt orange and cerulean and cobalt probably ultramarine and burnt umber aka anything that seemed to work.

Background aka the water cerulean w a dab of burnt sienna. Multiple washes of Cheap Joes Andrews turquoise w raw sienna or yellow Ochre. I even used a very light lilac. Hmm. Lost some of the light bubbles but oh well.

I think its largely successful. One day i will take my time and run a smooth wash but evidently not today. 🥴

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Thanks, Judith @jyportraitchallenge and @glimpsesofyellowroad2

Haley is finally done

January 25, 2023February 1, 2023Leave a comment

Over painted her with muck on my palette instead of using fresh color. Then I added some white gel pen to our sweet girl. Even the turquoise was already mixed on my palette.

My amaryllis had finally bloomed. Fighting the urge to write what took you so long a little late for Christmas on it. Was trying to take a page from the late great Charles Reid’s playbook when I painted this. Loosing some edges. Hard and soft edges. Really needs fresh paint for it.

Nap time. Starting Watercolor live 2023 tomorrow. Runs 10-9 every day for three days. I will really need a long nap on Sunday.

Margaret who hopes she’s ready! Xoxoxoxo

Haley is finally done

January 25, 2023January 26, 20236 Comments

The Very Vera chocolate pound cake overflow that I turned into cupcakes. They were actually better than the pound cake. Super soft and moist. At book club we all voted we liked my lemon Very Vera pound cake better. I bought her book just for the lemon pound recipes but it’s actually the same one on the back of the Swan Cake flour box. The cream pound cake with an extra teaspoon of vanilla and two teaspoons of lemon. Yummy.

Nap time. Starting Watercolor live 2023 tomorrow. Runs 10-9 every day for three days. I will really need a long nap on Sunday.

Margaret who hopes she’s ready! Xoxoxoxo

Another Monday with Crystal

May 26, 2022May 26, 2022Leave a comment

The long pose – 40 minutes – pentel brush pen and watercolor in my superaquabee tablet. Crystal of @crystallinecreative did a terrific job as usual during this live zoom session thru Townsend Atelier. She’s doing online modeling sessions via Townsend Atelier about once a month on Monday at 5 EST. You can contact them at mailto:peggy@townsendatelier.com.

Ten minute pose

Fishing again today. That’s my husband up at the top of the dam – the blue dot. You run up and down that hill to land fish. Not me. I sit at the bottom and paint. Of course I didn’t finish anything today. Maybe I will get them down tomorrow. Some dummy left most of her brushes at home. Duh.

Maggie xoxoxo

Somewhere in Italy

May 5, 2021May 19, 20211 Comment

On the whole I like it but feel it’s a little light. I will sleep on it and decide. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

Even before painting I managed to smear the worst color of all to remove- Alizarin- on my lovely pristine white paper.
Eeek.
I did blot it off a little. By the end it seemingly became much less noticeable. Thank goodness.

First wash. Boy that took forever. While it looks dark right now it really dried to become very light. cobalt alizarin yellow ochre and cad orange

Sky wash done. I managed to keep my fingers out of for once. Cerulean neutral tint dioxzine violet

Adding shadows. Cobalt yellow ochre dioxzine and neutral tint

Suddenly those darks make the first washed look so light. How strange is that?! The blooms aka rocks on the foreground are made by splattering water on the greys once it dries a bit.

And done for now. You can only see a bit of the alizarin smears. Handy the lady has an alizarin top isn’t it!?

Margaret all in for tonite. Michael’s tomorrow for some fixative I hope. Otherwise waiting til I go to Blick this weekend.

Xoxoxo

Day 147 always meant to draw

August 7, 2020August 13, 2020Leave a comment

Vultures on the side of the road as they fed. Today was the day. You know when u like to draw birds any bird will do. Vultures aka Buzzards hold still longer as they either eat or HOPE to get a turn at dinner.

Did you know their heads are naked so nothings from their dinners will stick to them?!!

Nature is interesting isn’t it.

These sketches only took about ten minutes in my small Venezia sketchbook. 4×6″ Drawn with a fat juicy dark Derwent sketching pencil. Love those. Kinda fond of the Venezia too. It was too nice to use for quite a while. Almost full now.

Here’s to vultures cleaning one roadkill at a time. Very interesting to watch as one defends the dinner from the others who lurk in hopes of a taste or two.

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 133 Really Calling It Done

July 15, 2020May 19, 20213 Comments

I worked on making the people walk in different directions. I think they look better now. Added a lot darks. A few more lamp posts. A flag. Darkened the church towers. Lots of darks. And a few highlights.

Paint alongs with Vladislav Yesileyev

Got this lovely treat Paris in The Rain by Vlad Yesilesev in the mail today. When I looked at it I realized I needed to go a lot darker with my blacks. And whiter w my whites so today I cheated and used masking fluid to reserve some whites.

Margaret Xoxoxox worn out from speed painting.

Day 67 Palafruggel

May 19, 2020May 19, 20214 Comments

Hmm maybe I will like it better tomorrow. Right now I am my own worst critic and want to change quite a few things but probably won’t. Too Tahred since I painted from ten-5 today. 🤪Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev.