Day482 Paris

November 5, 2015November 3, 2015Leave a comment

We should be touching down any minute in Paris. Can’t wait to get sketching in France. To stand in the haunts of some of my favorite painters Monet Degas Matisse Van Gogh and Cezanne will be amazing. To visit the Rouen cathedral that Monet painted how many times?! Got to paint it at least once.

In the meantime going to post some of my Inktober sketches that I painted with the palettes I am taking with me.

This one lit up my Instagram feed. And yes I did strip my kitchen floor. Evidently it also striped my fingernails even though I wore gloves but hey my floor looks brand new!!

A quick brush pen sketch of one of the audience members at Best of Augusta. I just loved her look and couldn’t resist sketching her. Sometimes I find the audience members much more entertaining to draw than the bands that are playing. Her skin is burnt sienna with ultramarine blue for shadows. The hair is ultramarine blue and burnt umber.

My dog Honey was painted with the Whiskey Painter palette only two colors. Ultramarine blue and burnt umber. Period.

Thanks for reading. Pass me a croissant please!!

Margaret xxx

Day 481 – one more day

November 4, 20154 Comments

Boarding the plane tomorrow nite at 11:21. Arriving in France at Charles de Gaulle at 1:30 pm!! Oh my it’s almost here.

One of the things I am taking with me unless I run out of room are my Winsor Newton watercolor markers. If you recall I bought them to use at the state fair and then lost my sketchbook.

I added to the original 6 yesterday at Binders at Ponce Market where they are on sale for $4.79 each. I still need to go by and buy a yellow one. How do you watercolor without yellow?!

The six grew to 14!! These markers are loaded with color and they are lightfast unlike my tombows which evidently fade when they are in a closed sketchbook!!😢 I really liked the Tombows but there is a lot more pigment in these WN watercolor markers.

They also have two tips. A fine point and a brush tip.
Another thing that I like about them is that the color can be dry and you can go back and blend it out later. When I did these samples I first drew all the squares then I wrote all the names and THEN I added water to show the range of the colors.
They really are very intense. JUICY even. I know they will be great fun to color some of my people accordion strip drawings.

I thought u might like to see what I have colored wit them so far.

I use the Tombows a lot at Dr Sketchys. This is the first Dr Sletchys I did with the WN watercolor markers. I think they were up to the challenge. They really blend out well. Very forgiving.

She was done with the markers too augmented with my friend Toms watercolor palette.

My first experiments with them why I only had six. I never liked this sketch much so I didn’t care if I messed it up.

He was done completely with the watercolor markers. I really like all the colors I got from just the first six. A lot of fun. Try a set. There are 36 colors to choose from. They may be the best thing since Crayola markers!

Here is a link to Winsor newtons page where there are a couple of videos about themhttp://www.winsornewton.com/na/discover/articles-and-inspiration/introducing-water-colour-markers-us

I bet there are some on YouTube. If I find any I will share them with u.

Day 480 – one day till

November 3, 20152 Comments

Lift off. My suitcase is packed and I have plenty of room for art supplies. When I went to key west I actually needed more sketchbooks. Not this time!!

So why am I taking to sketch with?!! I know u r dying to know!!!

My two small palettes. Been painting with them and they really have all the colors you need. The whiskey painters palette has all the basic Winsor Newton colors plus Daniel Smith Quin coral which I love for skin tones and two ceruleans because I use it A lot!!

The cotman is full of quinacridones and a couple of paints that should be in the Whiskey painters palette the yellow and Thalo blue.
Paint brushes. Taking the good ones since I have room and just in case. Most of them are Isabey sables including the mops but the big sable is my cheap Joes legend which I love. Curious to see how much the Isabeys cost in France the land of their birth. They are made in Brittany and are Charles Reid’s favorite brush. I wouldn’t mind another one or two.

Back up colors in case I run they the ones in the palettes.

Pens loaded mostly with Platinum Carbon Black. Top to bottom Kuretake Brush Pen, Black pitt pen Fine, pentrl brush pen, sepia pitt pen Fine, two Noodler Konrads (one has Deartementis document brown ink in it) Platinum Carbon pen, and two of my favorite pens the Noodler Creaper ahab.

I am taking these with me in case I want to paint as I sketch. I usually paint when I get home because I hate to make my sister Jan wait while I paint. Bad enough that she waits while I sketch.

Lots of ink and cartridges.

Lots of paper. The two hand made sketchbooks have Cheap Joes Kilimanjaro, 3 strathmore mixed media sketchbooks(my current fav) a tablet of Fabriano squarely 149# cold press, some Canson post cards and some Strathmore 500 watercolor cards oh and a stack of accordion folded Stonehenge paper to draw strings of people and maybe a chicken or two on?!

Thanks for reading.

Margaret who is taking clothes I her suitcase and backpack too!!

Day 479 Two days to Paris 😳

November 2, 2015November 3, 2015Leave a comment

Well at least we leave then. Lol. Be in Paris by 2 pm Thursday.

Been raining cats and dogs do I am posting all of the family dogs but one today.

A quick sketch of my lab Honey. She walked off before I finished it but decided to paint it this am. Painted with ultramarine blue and burnt umber.
Grant – my sons newest put bull. Drawn with a Lamy Vista using Carbon Paltinum Black ink.

Drawing a new dog is always a challenge. To top it off he’s black and white. I smeared the ink with my finger to try to make his black more solid. I actually drew him three times before I was happy with him.

I wish I could give u some dog drawing tips but the only one I can give u is that a dog like a person or a horse is just geometric shapes. Check out Richard Schmidts wonderful Alla Prima book which is what he says about drawing anything. They are all just shapes.

Livia my sons other pitty. Small sketch with a Kuretake brush pen loaded w Platinum Carbon Black ink.

Lucy dog my youngest sons Briard Colie mix. Such a good puppy.

My other dog Zoe watching me pack. Maybe I should stick her in the suitcase?! I have enough room.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 478 – finishing up

November 1, 2015November 3, 2015Leave a comment

WIP??? Mermaid Lorelei and Mermaid McKenzie 11×14 super Aquabee tablet

Not sure these are done but at least they have some color now. Getting into travel mode so I used my travel Palette with Winsor Newton colors and my cotman palette with quinacridones.

The background in this painting is cerulean and yellow ochre. I may darken with ultramarine or inathradone to make the mermaids pop.

Remember this is what it looked like?

WIP – Mistress Princess Augusta – 11×14 drawn when I was done with one of the long mermaid poses. Her right arm still has problems. She was not posed so she was moving a lot and I drew her right arm too long. I shortened it with negative painting but now I think it is a smidge too narrow.
TIP: Really love her skirt. Both of these paintings were done wet on wet after watching a how to impressionistic watercolor video on Marcon Chews website http://www.marvinchew.com/ (You will have to scroll down for the video. Could not copy the exact irk for u! 😐) about wet on wet painting.The skirt turned out especially well I think. Done with ultramarine and burnt umber added to a wash of water that I painted on the skirt first. The background was done the same way.

I added the bowler hat to the original sketch.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 477 – last of Dr Sketchys

October 31, 2015November 3, 2015Leave a comment

Happy Halloween!!

The first three are all drawn with my Noodler Konrad and Lexinton Grey ink. The colors are all Winsor Newton watercolor markers a few tombows and Wink of Stella Glitter pens.

Mermaid Lorelei and Mermaid McKenzie. What librarians do when they are not working!! Wear mermaid costumes and makeup like a character from Avatar.

My two favorite mermaid sketches. Thier costumes were awesome which is why I saved them for Halloween. This was a twenty minute pose that had ten minutes added to it.

I was done in twenty minutes so i started sketching Princess Augusta our hostess.

Mermaid Lorelei and Mermaid McKenzie

Twenty minute sketch. If I ever sit down to watercolor these this one will be great. I barely had time to start painting.

This was a ten minute sketch. I spent most of the time on the tail. Much more fun coloring than the human part. I really like the tail part but the human part not so much.

Mermaid Lorelei

Looking at that part of would be an easy fix. Shave a tad off the right side of her face and draw in her right upper arm. Oops the things u miss when unate drawing fast. The last one with the Kuretake brush pen. Sometimes I just draw better with one than the other. I changed to my Noodler Konrad.

Day 476 – Dr Sketchys part 2

October 30, 20154 Comments

One more day in Inktober. The end is nigh!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Love this mermaid pose. Mermaid Lorelei who is on Instagram was great. Held poses like a pro not the librarian she is in real life.

This one needs her pretty quotient raised. Murray body. Face not so much.
All the poses and sketches are fast fast. Some poses are a minute. Some are five minutes. Longest pose is usually twenty minutes. The models though fascinating are not professionals. Sometimes they never hold still so you better draw fast. Draw the head draw the shoulders and work on down. Don’t go back. After three hours and ten large sketches I was exhausted. I intend to go back and finish these but between going to school packing for Paris, babysitting grandkids and dogs I haven’t. I will I promise.

This was a great drawing that turns into a disaster when I tried to color it. The eye ran. I changed pens after that.

More tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 475 – Dr Sketchys

October 29, 20153 Comments

The faun 14x 11″ 20 min Kuretake brush pen, platinum carbon black ink, Winsor Newton watercolor markers, wink of Stella metallic pens.
5 minute sketch her feet were like hoofs!!

Was great last nite. Lots of fun. Great costumes!! Contests, a drink or two and wild music to suit the fast sketching.

After ten 11×14 watercolor sketches I was totally exhausted when I got home last nite. 😳
WIP – Let’s play a game! Trivia anyone?! Noodler Konrad, Lexington grey ink. Winsor newton red watercolor Marker.

Even our hostess Princess Augusta was dressed up. I drew her when I finished some of the other sketches but she’s not done.

Her stockings get black stripes. And her clothes are black.

A teaser. There’s more to this mermaid!! Noodler Konrad, Lexington grey ink. Winsor newton watercolor Markers, wink of Stella glitter pens.
Stay tuned for more faun and the piece de resistance the MERMAIDS!!!

Thanks for reading!!

Margaret xxx

Day 472 – A Toasty Day

October 25, 2015Leave a comment

Aquabee sketchbook with a fine point sepia Pitt Pen.

And more Inktober. Danny Gregory http://www.dannygregory.com the guru of Sketchbookskool and Everyday Matters is posting a Friday Challenge. The first one was draw your toast in INK. You should try it. Takes a while to get all those books and crannies.

Thought u might like to see it I stages. I also did a flipagram of it that I will post at the end.

Lots of seeds on this Costco multigrain organic bread.

And lots of holes for non artisanal bread.

The seeds as something to the sketch but the bread made with cane syrup is too sweet for my taste.

Everything seems to have sugar added to it lately whether or not it needs it – like chicken salad and pimento cheese and Krogers pie crust. Sigh.

Almost done.

All done. It took about an hour. The sketch is about 5×5 inches.

Now get those pens out and sketch your toast!!

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 464 the last Best of Augusta #4

October 18, 2015Leave a comment

Another favorite of Bill Karp. Bytw he’s playing at the Cotton Patch in downtown Augusta this Saturday nite.

I really like Bill’s stance in these. Especially the first one.

Hand is a little rough but otherwise I like it. My excuse??

It was 9 pm and I was tired and on a sugar high from all the sweets at Best of Augusta.
Oh what was my favorite food?? T’s out on Mike Padgett Hwy. They kept the hot hush puppies and fried catfish and tartar sauce flowing. And it was perfectly cooked. Everyone else had chicken chicken and more chicken.

The last sketch I did of Bill. Not a perfect hand but I like it.