Been feeding the birds on the back porch rails. I have been giving them red hot seed that the squirrels won’t touch. Not do the raccoons seem to.
Twins My fav pic of the jays. There are up to four at a time on the porch.
Keeps them out of range of the back porch wild cat Gus who loves to be fed but won’t let u touch her. Got to catch that baby making machine and get her fixed.
Lamy EF Namiki Fude
Caran dache neocolor ii
Eelskin Black Noodlers Ink
Margaret Xoxoxox
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
Notice the numbers have gone down. I counted today exactly 143 days since IT started. I had been using Gov Cuomos count. I guess NY started before Ga.
Today I decided to repaint Giverny on different paper with different paint. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev. I spent an hour this am talking to a customer service rep at Cheap Joes. Great guy, very helpful, stuck out in the boonies near Boone NC where Cheap Joes is located. We talked each other’s ears off.
The gist of the conversation was I don’t like my cream colored Fabriano rough because it’s c ream colored. Great paper except it’s NOT white. And it takes the brightness away from the watercolor.
Turns out there is Fabriano rough white. Some is wafting it’s way to me as I type.
So I pulled out that annoying arches 140 block. Did I say it’s bright white. Paper may be rotten but it was the right color.
It was taped up ready to Paint. I also used my Fealing Lin palette full of non Chalky Daniel Smith M Graham and lovely Holbein plus A bit of cheap Joes Andrews turquoise and his alizarin permanent.
I think the whole thing is much brighter due to the white paper and the paint. The bottom one is the one from today. Top is the Fabriano cream w Lukas paint.
I should have listened to my friend Mike abt Lukas paint. Best I can say is it’s cheap.
I splattered the flowers while the green was wet like Charles Reid used to do. I may had a bit of pink w some gouache.
I also got better darks w my regular paints than I can ever get w the Lukas.
Wild storm tonite. Power out again. Sigh.
Goodnite all Margaret and Zoe tucked up in bed. Xoxoxo
Pronouncing it done from a photo out my back window a couple of weeks ago. I added the tiny kayaker. They go by in droves when I am painting.
The photo
First wash with very thin cerulean and cobalt mix. Yellow ochre alizarin and neutral tint thinned down with water. 90% water 10% color.
Moving along.
Then I forgot to take another photo. Opps.
So done I also added some white gouache splatter in hopes of giving it a focal point. Probably should have been red to give a contrast w the reflected area on water.
I sprayed the edges of the trees with the mister to soften the edges. Added more blues and greys to the sky.
Scratched tree and bush branches with a chopped up credit card. Did a great job but hard to catch it in time to do it. Too dry it won’t scratch. Ditto if too wet.
This is 140# rough Fabriano which waffled like crazy with all the water I dumped on it but amazingly dried almost flat aka flat enough as my friend Kristin would say.
Finished this one up. Added more darks especially in the shadows and on the trees. Some whites for highlights.
Margaret
Today’s painting. Mellow Mushroom On Broad St. – FOR SALE 10×15” watercolor
Might be done. We shall see. Course I say that all the time so could be I will change it by this time tomorrow.
I started it a few weeks ago. So glad I can scratch it off my to do list. I should always have an espresso in the am. Get so much more done. House squeaky clean and a new painting. Not bad for one days work. 
I also worked on Dubrovnik some more. Tried to take some of the purple put of the wall. And wipes out some color on the right. I might need to wipe out some more. Who knows. It ak be done when it’s done right?! Lifted the handle of the par with some tape and a sea sponge.
Wipes out the signs dark shadow with the tape sponge trick and the black shadow under the truck.
Those two black shadows under the truck and around the sign screamed look at me. As did that white shirt on the girl in the foreground that had to go too.
Margaret contentedly tired but who needs to do her Powerplate xoxoxo
Hard to believe it’s been 140 days since our lives changed. Hope you and yours are staying safe and wearing masks.
These sit on my kitchen island. A bank for my change and of course the now required hand sanitizer because sometimes I just get sick of washing my hands. I do think I am slightly addicted to hand washing though.
And a page to commemorate the to shortage aka wars. Signs of our times right?!
Namiki Fude in my Fabriano Artemis journal.
Done
Today’s bake. A cheesy cauliflower deep dish pizza. Not my fav. Next time back to my fav red onion garlic and zucchini topped with mozzarella.
Xoxox Margaret who thinks these would really look good with some paint.
Finally got around to the last page in my sketchbook. Been sitting on the table w all the junk to get around to it. No idea why I haven’t been. 
I do intend to draw this blue jay but wanted to do that in my new sketchbook not last page in the old one. Another 90 plus pages done. Didn’t want to stick this blue boy on the last one. I do think jays are so pretty. I have been hand feeding them all week. They won’t go to the feeder. Instead they eat off the porch rails. Three of them show up every day to check the offerings. 
This might be done now BUT I couldn’t get my saber brush to work today – odd since it worked fine to do the electric lines yesterday. So I may need to do that or not.
Bakes two loves of my favorite back of the King Arthur bread bag bread today. 
One sliced and in the freezer the other on its way as soon as it’s cool. Shouldn’t be making white bread but it’s sooo good. My grandson Henry asked me to mail him some. I would if it would get there fresh but it won’t.
Margaret xoxoxo ready to knit. That scarf might be done by Christmas as this rate.
So far. Was completely worn out when this paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev was done. Already making a list of improvements.
I couldn’t help but think that Frank and Mike on American Pickers would be Gaga over this old army truck. Vlad cracked me up by saying wonder what color this truck used to be. I wanted to say how about army green?!!!😂👍🏻
The photo
The sketch. Half sheet. A major undertaking. Eeek
First wash. Only a few colors cerulean sky neutral tint alizarin dioxzine purple cobalt yellow ochre cad yellow and red cobalt turquoise burnt sienna. That’s about it for now.
Accidently shot the barn up close. Thought u might like a look. Really nothing there is there.
and not done yet. Half sheet Fabriano rough.
Worn out. Had a glass of wine which I do about once a year. Today was the day.
Another way to look at masks. Better to wear and not need than to not wear and need aka be ill.😘
Hugs wear a mask stay safe.
Margaret Xoxoxox
Quite pleased with it now. What looks like a simple painting is really quite complicated. Truly it is.Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev
Worked on the bubbly sky adding greys. Sorting out screwed up roofs and chimneys. It’s easy to get lost in all the different planes. Trying not to loose the Light. Tweaking the background. Adding highlights to the church steeple and some darks. The list goes on. Adding lots of shadows and more greys.
Yesterday. Can you see the difference?!
Margaret who almost forgot to post and does have some sketches. Xoxoxo
Suddenly quite Tahred so will make this a short one. May be done. Maybe not. Lol. BUT a BIG improvement over the last time I did rooftops. Paint alongs with Vladislav Yesileyev. 300 # Fabriano rough 
Those were a disaster well comparatively speaking
The Eglise somewhere en Provence
Vlad did the value sketch. He knew this one was going to keep us busy.
The sketch. Talk about a pain. Following all those roof tops trying to be sure to get them all in.
First washes. Mine got a little runny because I used my kolinsky sable which holds much more water than the Escobar sables do.
One more time before we go.
Vlads always saying something funny that tickles me. This was one today. Scribbled on my color test scrap.
Margaret reading to watch Grantchester. Hope I stay awake that long. Feeling the zzz.
Margaret McCarthy Hunt Art 