Day 1068 Fathers Day at Pine Lake

June 25, 2017Leave a comment

It actually poured on us before we left so not a bright sunny day BUT who wants a swimming hole with no sun?!

One thing about painting you can make it sunny or overcast.

Pine Lake is the smallest town in Georgia with a population of less than 800 and used to be a weekend escape place for Buckhead elite when all the roads were dirt.

The lake is the center of the town with charming cottages and small houses built on the surrounding small hills.

Painted with my Ted Nuttall transparent palette plus green apatite in the trees and grasses.

Happy Sunday!

Margaret xoxoxox

Day 1067 Its Saturday

June 24, 2017June 24, 2017Leave a comment

Andrea was our model today. This is largish 18×24 largely painted alla prima which means first strike. I came prepared to draw and paint in a smaller sketchbook a 10×18 Superaquabee.

I liked the pose so much decided to go bigger. So first break I ran around getting larger paper together. George Dawnay gave me a piece of 90# Bristol paper to start over on. Thank goodness.

All I had were my waterbrushes which would NOT begin to cover that big piece of paper. Robert kindly loaned me his wonderful winsor Newton Series 7 brushes. They are now on my I need list!!

It was like painting on a thinner piece of hot press paper.

Al actually said it looked like a watercolor should. Be still my heart.

This was after the second break. I only painted on this about an hour. It needs more work on the background or not. We shall see.

The pencil sketch went much faster the second time around.

I washed her with cad yellow and cad red mixed. Then I used mostly Quin magenta and inathrodone blue on her for the shadows. A bit of Quin coral for cheeks. Hair Quin sienna Quin burnt sienna and inathrodone blue.

This was the smaller version I did in my 10×18 Superaquabee which loves watercolor. I never quite finished this one.

George Delaunays exquisite pastel. LOVE the feet. He’s a very energetic sketcher. Stepping back and forth to and from the easel as he works.

Drew Murphys large acrylic. He’s also energetic but in his use of brush sticks. Always like his work.

Al Beyer. A huge painting. Love the fabric drape. Always lovely paintings.

Iliana’s lovely oil. Rather Gauginish I think.

Tom Needham’s elegant watercolor done in washes.

Fred still emulating Mondigliani!!

Day 1064 Comissions

June 21, 2017Leave a comment

A problem when you are suppose to paint the same thing twice. Eeekkk this is the second one. Thinking it could use a few more greys in the center!?

This is the first one. I drew my friend Monica who giving her talk at the DuPont Planetarium at Ruth Patrick Science Center, USC Aiken. She really does a terrific job.

Kids come from all South Carolina to visit the Science Center and see the Planetarium.

It took me a while just to figure out how to transfer this identically to a piece of 300# lb watercolor.

I traced the original.

Transferred it with Saral.

Traced over it with a pencil.

Traced over it with my Lamy Safari.

And the. I tried to remember how I painted it. The whirlpool vortex was not easy to ain’t the first time let alone another time. Eeekk.

Finally it was time to splatter the night sky with white gouache stars. Be sure to use a stiff toothbrush. I got a soft one first. Oops. Worked much better with a nice stiff toothbrush.

Touched up the Whirlpool Vortex again. And calling it done. I hope!

Painted with lamp black, burnt umber , Ultramarine Blue, alizarin, aureolin yellow, and some Joe’s turquoise.

Margaret who has another commission to get done. Xoxoxox

Day 1061 -how many more?! And a beach party!!

June 17, 2017June 17, 2017Leave a comment

Still quite a few!!! 🤗We have no shortage of talking heads in this country. They offer great drawing practice. If you can pause your tv it even takes the pressure off of trying to draw them quickly.

And all they do is talk. And talk and talk.

And pass a lot of laws that half the country don’t like no matter which side you are on making the other half is unhappy!

The Decatur Businesses Beach Party in downtown Decatur on the square. Ponce de Leon became a giant beach!! Free beach buckets, beach balls and balloons oh and washable tattoos for all!!

An amazing stilt walker. The kids had no idea how he could be that tall! Several people on top of each other was their best guess.

And there he goes legging it down the block or should I say stilting down the block?!

And a rare shot of the old Decatur Courthouse with sun on its face. It usually sits in the shade. Bytw this is now an art gallery.

Off to play with my grandkids. Hugs!!

Day 1052 – Take a Hike Mr President Key West #3

June 7, 2017June 7, 2017Leave a comment

Found a few more that I hadn’t posted. The Shark cruise. Guess they won’t be around. No clean water. It’s already pretty bad in the Gulf.

All this would be underwater.

And this fun whacky restaurant on the waterfront.

And my favorite wacky restaurant Blue Heaven. Such delicious food and awesome chickens. never tire of the crazy chickens in Key West.

And my other favorite spot Louie’s backyard eatting on the water enjoying delicious Caribbean breezes. All gone with global warming.

Sad that it would disappear.

My sis in law who doesn’t believe in global warming would be very said at Key Wests submergence beneath the waters. Here favorite spot in the world.

One of my favorites too.

Busy day. Off I go. Setting up for a flower painting. If only they stay alive long enough.

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 1051 Take a Hike Mr President #3

June 6, 2017Leave a comment

And what about where I live? Will the houses along the Savannah be in the Savannah?!

Will downtown Augusta be underwater?! And the island across from me already underwater sometimes. Will it be gone?!

Will the Savannah be 600 yards wide here instead of 300?!

I keep asking.

Nobody can answer me.

And you know 45 doesn’t care about our little spot of gorgeous earth.

Will

All

Be gone or

Bigger ?!

Or what?!

Ttyl Rachel Maddow is back tonite. I knew she wouldn’t be able to miss the recent NSA leak. Off to shower so I will be ready

Xoxoxox

Day 1049 Happy Birthday Ben

June 4, 2017June 4, 20174 Comments

Today is my son Bens birthday. I have drawn him quite a bit and his dogs even more. And of course his adopted hometown Atlanta.

Hanging out at Little Five Points.

Going to Weddings!

Binge watching Netflix!

Waiting for breakfast.

Video game player.

The Broken Arm

LIvie his Pitt bull

And Bear the stray that showed up on his porch.

Bear

LIvie

Bear

Ttyl Party time.

Margaret xoxoxox

Day 1046 – Let’s Make A French Omelette!

June 1, 2017Leave a comment

Ever since I read Julia Childs Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a child I have been in love with the notion of all things French and especially the quintessiantal French food – the omelette.

But I never could figure out how they made that neat rolled omelette.

Watching Jacques Pepins American Master show on PBS I thought YOUTUBE!!

Sure enough. There he was teaching how to cook an omelette.

Omelette Number 1 of course I had to draw it to commemorate the occasion.

First mistake I had been making was not using the right pan so I got it a big 10-12″ round edged skillet that was coated w the green coating that releases easily.

And I hadn’t been using the spatula to scrape around the edges as I cooked. Who knew?

And I stuffed mine. Trying to eat those greens and I had to have some Cheddar cheese.

The most delicious thing I have ever eaten. I swear. Not so pretty but amazing.

Omelette 2 Today.

Prettier shape but too brown.

Anyway colors used to paint it. Cad yellow light, cerulean, yellow ochre, green apatite and sap green for the plate, Ultramarine Blue and burnt umber for the shadow.

TIP: Splattered with palette mess left from painting. Has to be really soupy to splatter. Use more water than you think. And I just use a large paint brush in this case my 10 Da Vinci. I also painted this with the same paint brush.

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 1044 – That Dirty Dried out Palette

May 31, 2017Leave a comment

Now that I am home for a day or two I wanted to use my Ted Nuttall palette. This is actually Teds Palette.

All those lovely transparent colors.

And it helped with my procrastination mode getting started painting the Raisin and Harley painting

which is finally transferred to paper and ready to paint.

Of course my Palette has dried out and filthy. They always dry out!! It needed revival and cleaning. Another way to procrastinate!!! The spray bottle was not getting the job done. The colors were lumpy and nasty.

So how did I get it clean and get the paint smooth and ready to use!?

First I sprayed it and tried stirring each color with its own tooth pick. That did not do much for the lumps. I wanted to paint!!!

I got out my trusty old palette knife. It has a tiny blade on it compared to most so it fit perfectly in the wells of my porcelain palette.

I used a jillion Kleenex wiping wells out where there was just a dribble of old hard paint. NO LOTION On those Kleenex.

I started bending my antique palette knife in some of the paint. Oh NO!! I kept going. What palette knife is supposed to last forever!?

I decided to rearrange the colors. Here and there I had added colors I MUST have to the basic Nuttall Palette like Cerulean, Andrews Blue, Daniel Smith Piemonite and Green Apaptite.

The Kleenex and the palette knife left crusts of color in the corners.

Then I realized I could fill the wells with water and used an old brush to swirl out the bits left in corners. Hallelujah clean wells at last.

I used a sharpie to rewrite the colors on the edges of the wells and I even have a few leftover slots.

So it’s new clean and lovely at this point.

What I learned while cleaning my palette.

Wear rubber gloves while cleaning your palette unless you want to have colored fingernails. 😱
Those dollar store Kleenex with lotion have something wierd in them. They gave me a rash when I used them on my nose. 😱😱 Now gone. 🤗🤗🤗
Now I know why some people have stacks of these palettes. It might be easier to just buy a new palette than clean the old one out.

Margaret who has some painting to do. Xoxox and no more reasons to procrastinate because I even cleaned up the studio and moved to the summer one aka the kitchen table and island.

Oh wait I need to use the glass cleaner on the winter studio table. It’s looking hazy. Procrastinate procrastinate. I need some flowers to paint!!

🌼🌻🥀🌷🌷🌸🌺🌼🌻🥀🌹🌷🌸🌺

Day 1042 – Happy Memorial Day

May 29, 2017May 29, 2017Leave a comment

Which somehow seems an odd thing to say when you are remembering the deaths of millions of young men in battles.

American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandie.

The 73rd anniversary of the D Day Invasions is coming up June 6 so Memorial Day seems like a good time to revisit the invasion sites in Normandy and remember the many brave young men who died there so long ago.

Bytw Rick Stevens visits all the places we want to in Normandie including Rouen the Norse capital and of course d Day sites.

Arrowmanches les Bains, Normandy, France in the heart of the invasion zone.

Last night I watched a Pbs show about a group of D Day survivors who returned to Allemanche and the landing beaches on the 75th Anniversary in 2014. They had not wanted to go do fear the French would reject them.

The D-Day Landing map

It was so touching to see how much the French of all ages opened their arms to the returning soldiers now extremely old men giving them many hugs and kisses and thanking them for giving them their freedom that they still enjoy 70 years later. In Normandy they still celebrate the arrival of the Allies every June 6 so that it will never be forgotten.

The Pegasus Bridge Commander, General Hill, and the US Divisions who were at Normandy.

The one of the old men said they were not the Beatles but to the French of Normandy they were something better. Men who had fought and died to free the French. Such a touching show.

This is the Canadian WW2 Cemetery at Bien Sur Mer. A touching spot it’s a beautiful parklike place where 70 years later everything is in pristine condition bushes trimmed gravestones scrubbed and flowers planted everywhere.

The Canadian Museum at Juno Beach. Gleaming in the afternoon sunshine if viewed from the air it looks like a large maple leaf. The exhibits are all up to date state of the art interactive exhibits. It sits on the bluff above the beaches and La Manche -the Arm- what the French call the English Channel.

Pegasus Bridge. The spot where the Brits lead by Gen Hill parachuted into Caen, Normandy the DAY BEFORE the D Day Invasions. And of course many died there. Some never touched the ground. One hung from the church tower acting like he was dead and lived to tell the story. Brave Man!!

This fascinating museum is shaped like one of the gliders they parachuted out of.

Pock marked with bullet holes, Eglise de Ranville, the site of another allied cemetery, where even on a cold grey November day there were bright flowers marking the graves. This Ranville, Basse-Normandy, France claims to be the first village freed by the Allies in June 6 1944.

Another Map of the D Day Invasion.

The full spread from my sketchbook.

And a journal page of a few other places we visited on our trip to Normandy to the D Day sites.

Happy Memorial Day!

Margaret xoxoxo whose going to listen to old WW 2 movies on TCM while she paints. #usk #urbansketcher #traveljournal #watercolor #aquarelle #ink #strathmore #viking #strathmore500 #arrowmanches #normandy #normandie #normandietourisme #vikingcruises #PegasusBridge #bayeux #Ranville #beny-sur-mer #Rouen #omahabeach #junobeach #dday #alliedinvasion