Category: art journal

Day 215 Kitties Cleanup

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Kitties cleanup after breakfast this am. I was quite daring and left four of them inside last night. Nobody knocked on the bedroom door to wake us up this morning. However they were excited to go outside and eat breakfast. Tootsie Weenie and Hallie will let me pet them a little while they eat.

They seem to like “inside” and especially the tiled laundry room. So far no poo anywhere.

Namiki Fude so much fun to draw with but that Noodlers Eelskin ink which is suppose to be permanent smears even after its dry. 😩😩😩

Stillman and Birn alpha Caran d’ache Neocolor ii

Margaret ready to eat some dinner. Homemade butternut soup. Hope it’s tasty. Xoxox

Day 201 Venice Canal Part Deux

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Or should I say Duo?!

Think it’s done. The way I left it Sunday after The paint along with Vlad Yesileyev. I was not happy with it and thought about trashing it. Aka turn it over and paint on the back.

I actually used a large 1″ bristle brush to wash this off after I taped it up. It lightened up a lot. Thank goodness. Hate to waste half sheet of Kilimanjaro. Down to about one sheet of it. Eeek.

So I slowly stated adding color to it. Adding a lot of black and grey. Actually used ivory black. As well as mixed greys and blacks.

I also Added A grey unifying wash on the brown building on the left and across the bottoms of some Of the others.

I also added some blues-cobalt ultramarine cerulean and Andrews turquoise. And Browns burnt umber and burnt sienna mixed with blues and that darn Dioxzine purple.

Then I decided it needed some more black and some vague details on the right walk way. Oops I had forgotten them. Joes turquoise and grey to the rescue.

Subtle Changes so I didn’t kill it again.

And this is it now. Really like it a lot.

Scrubbing off color was so much fun I decided to scrub this one too. It too has gone to the dioxzine side. Duh.

Look how light it is now. This one won’t be so hard to fix. Not as much to do.

Margaret listening to the news. Xoxox. Stay safe and wear your masks people. Hugs!!!

Day 214 Kitty Doodles

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Got bogged down doing paperwork today but managed to draw the pot kitties on my back porch. Oddly once again two are missing. Last time that happened they turned up. So who knows. It’s a wait and see right?!

This morning they were busy playing inside and outside. Spent the afternoon snoozing. As I type they are waking up. Of course I Am done drawing them. Sigh

Anyway here they are. Used my Namiki Fude. Faber castell watercolor pencils. Was afraid to dampen the watercolor pencil because I knew the ink would run. Really need to order a bottle of platinum black. Never had these things problems with it.

Stillman and Birn alpha.

Zoe’s ready for Halloween. She was very excited when I put on her Halloween scarf.

The knitting is growing. 16″ or so now.

Margaret thinking abt a nap. Xoxoxox

Day 213 Upside down

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After the upside down drawing I got into a discussion with my dear painting friend Ruth Pearl also my guiding light for art critiques about looking at your art upside down to see problems.

So today I tried it. I want to see if I can apply what I have learned from Vlad Paint Alongs to this fairly simple photo.

I did my value sketch. It is a little big. Should be postcard size. Oops. And I should work on a wider range of values from dark to light but I have a good start.

I want to make the top right window the focal point.

Then I turned it upside down to sit and look at for errors. Why do errors show?? Because you aren’t looking at what you drew but the shapes and tones of the value sketch.

I noticed right off the bat that the building was wonky. Aka lines weren’t straight. A good thing or bad thing. I also noticed that the top window did attract your eye right off the bat.

I cheated and drew it first. Now I have to go back and make some Adjustments. Like a taller roof on the left building and the chimney on the right one.

I guess I should turn it upside down and look at it too.

Something else I like to do is take the color out of a photo to reduce it to the elements.

Ps don’t forget just because it’s not there in thenpainting doesn’t meant you can’t add it.

Been watching Frank Francese paint watercolors on Cheap Joes YouTube. https://youtu.be/EPSfkIL9nzs
There are several of them. Love his bright colors and his wild paintings.

Margaret ready to watch Part 2&3 of Frank’s Beach painting. Xoxoxox

Day 200 Drawing Upside Down With Danny Gregory

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Om his Thursday noon draw with me post on youtube. You never know what he’s going to draw. Usually interesting and free. Might have to add an Austrian stamp to this. What do u think??!

Could not leave my sketch alone but had to decorate it esp since my palette was open and wet. Quin gold w dabs of burnt umber and ultra marine blue. Splattered with burnt sienna.

The sketch with my micro uniball and my Namiki Fude. Stillman and Birn Alpha.

We drew from this upside down Egon Schiele sketch of his wife. They both died from the Spanish flu in Oct 1919. He trained under Gustav Klimt and does wonderful strange sketches of people. Maybe he drew them upside down like we did today?!

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 198 One more down Edisto Way

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Having a binge tv do nothing day unless I had no choice. Driveway visit with a friend I hadn’t seen since hmm well about 198 days- not since Covid started. Hard to believe we are almost at 200 days since lock down begun. 1000 deaths per day for 200 days and no end in sight. Cheery thoughts on a gorgeous fall day.

I meant to draw some people in this sketch but of course they hopped in their go cart and zipped off down the beach about the time I sat down to draw this scene. Oops.

Hope I didn’t share this already. My granddaughter and I got out at the crack of dawn to take this pic. Did u know the birds start flying away from their roost almost the minute dawn strikes. It was like 3 2 1 liftoff dawn is here. And off they sailed. Next time I will have my good camera and get out there 15 min earlier. 😩😩😩

Margaret xoxoxo

Day194- Down Edisto Way

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A quick sketch while on the beach today. Micro uniball Fabre Castro watercolor pencils stillman and birn Alpha

BYTW you can own this house for a mere $4.9 million. 5 bedroom 9 baths on the front.

My favorite watercolor pencils. Buy please tell me why there a pthalo blue instead of cerulean or cobalt. Someone please explain.

Margaret ready for bed. Another busy day manana xoxoxo

Day 182 Tractor time

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Ok so I like to draw vehicles. If I had my big sketchbook and fav juicy Derwent sketching pencil I probably would have drawn the cars at Costco or Chic Fil A drive through today.

BUT NOPE so I drew the tractor at Good Earth a local store that sells local produce. Great tomatoes green beans corn peaches apples and some locally produced items like my favorite popsicles King of Pops.

Today o realized there was a convenient place to draw the tractor and it’s trailer. I added some of the plants and moved some around for a more interesting arrangement a la Vlad recommends. Why take the class if u don’t give it a try?! If I had a pencil I would have done a value sketch.

Pilot micro pen Fabriano Venezia sketchbook. Tiny thing postcard sized. Sooner or later paint when I get around to it. It would love some paint. Maybe when I finish this one tomorrow.

Kitty taming coming up tomorrow. Aren’t they adorable?

Top-Bottom

Tiger 1 or 2 (twins), Blackie and Halley short for Halloween kitty. Her twin sister is Weenie. 🤣

Xoxoxoxo Margaret Tahred from shopping hauling groceries upstairs and then washing them all. Endless washing washing washing.

😘

Day 181 – Value Sketching

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Today I took another fascinating Zoom online class with Vlad Yesilesev in Value Sketching today. He always does one before he paints a scene or a photo.

These value sketches will be used for this months paint alongs on Sunday afternoons.

He says a value sketch determines your Composition and Value which are the most important things in any painting.

After you determine your Composition you do Value with the highest contrast in your focal point with lightest and darkest. There will also be more detail in this area. NEVER copy a photo.

It does not have to be pretty.

So here’s what we did today. The photo. Kind of Ho hum boring.

Cortez Fl Cottage cropped. changed a lot hasn’t it??!

The value sketch. The Adirondack chair is the focal point. I think these things are really cool. That chair just really pops when you see it in person.

Venice

Cropped.

You can highlight what you want to like that great arches bridge.

Provence

This one was not cropped.

My value sketch. Now to try to do this on my own before I forget how. So little time and so much to do.

Margaret putting her feet up for now. Xoxoxo

Day 170 – The Way I Like Costco

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#2 Derwent Sketching Pencil small Stillman and Birn Alpha.

EMPTY. A couple of times a week I drive to Costco on the hunt for that elusive tp and sundries like Chlorox wipes and alcohol.

I drew this one to show the empty parking lot. Today when I went there were five cars there before me. Loving the early hours M-F for people over 60. They actually card us. This one old guy in front of me quipped can’t they tell my white hair and wrinkles mean I am really old. They need a card. But card they do anyway.

Got to say I feel safe in there. Sanitizing stations everywhere. The carts are sanitized too. And more wipes available if u want to do your own wipe. Hand sanitizer abounds. And miles to walk in the cool air conditioning. Just leave your debit card AT HOME. Wait they only take plastic. Touchless check out. LONG Sheets of plastic between you and the clerk. Just think most of the stock is never touched by human hands. They unload the palettes and stack them high.

Anyway pay a visit to your Costco. You will be happy. They go the extra mile!!

Margaret who can clock two miles in a Costco visit. Xoxoxo