Day 355 – like elephants better.

June 28, 2015June 28, 20152 Comments

Now I am done. The letters are Reinked with platinum carbon black ink in my favorite Noodler creaper Ahab. A great pen and so reasonably priced. Mine was $20. And it holds cats of ink.

In my 93# Super Bee Deluxe sketchbook.

Problems problems. I guess that’s why I like watercolor. It’s prone to misbehave.

I had started out with a yellow green background to go with my band of “kente cloth”. It was terrible. I painted over it with green. Also bad. Just not so bad. So I added cerulean blue to it. Improved. Then I added some cobalt blotches. And was happier with it.

The cad red light outside band was to cover up some of my ink smears.

For a while it looked like this. Decided the blue band on the right had to go. Made it to match the right side by adding the same colors.

So what colors did I use on the elephants?! Quin gold and Quin Sienna mixed with a grey made by adding Inathradone to burnt sienna or burnt umber. The darks are made with the Inathradone with cad orange added to it while it was wet. I also saved a lot of whites which makes the elephants sparkle.

I do still need to go over the lettering. It always seems to dull out when I paint over it.

Thanks for reading!!

Margaret xxx

Day 354 love that fabriano

June 27, 2015Leave a comment

If you love to use Watercolors and aspire to paint like Hmm Charles Reid or Fealin Lin or Thomas Schaller try some Fabriano cold press. It lifts back to almost white like a dream even staining colors.

This is 140# cold press. I don’t know that 300# cold press will lift like this but have no reason to think it won’t. Fabriano makes lovely paper. Their hot press as with most hot press paper is notorious for NOT lifting. Colors just don’t budge on it. You can literally push the paint around on the cold press with a flat brush. The whole highlight on her forearm was lifted when I raised her arm 1/4″ higher. And her nose and her brow and well I could go on.

This pose was quite a challenge. Foreshortened legs just are TOUGH!! Measure and measure and they can still go wrong. These did. Her thighs are too long and so were her calfs and feet. I managed to erase at least half an inch moving her feet up so she didn’t look so strange. I also moved the arm up about 1/4″. The upper arm was just too long.
TIP: My friend Ruth told me that when painting goes awry like the thighs did on this one to deemphasize them. Make the viewer look elsewhere which is why all those dark blue blobs are there. To lead your eye way from the offending body part.

This was after a half an hour of drawing and painting. I rather like this better than the finished one but oh well. I got her too blue. Added flesh tones to brighten the blues not thinking I had mixed Quin coral with opaque yellow ochre. OOPP!! Ah the trials of water color painting.

Here she is getting too blue. OOh well!!

Sometimes the chair is your favorite part. Lol!

Thanks for reading.

Margaret ️xxx

Day 352 – Super deluxe Bee

June 25, 20152 Comments

Rommel 6×9″

Decided to give it a work out last nite while watching the Secret Life of Elephants on GPTV last nite. This was the last sketchbI drew off tv the big bull elephant Rommel.

Most of Rommel was painted wet on wet to loose the edges. I downloaded several of Thomas Schallers videos from Northlight. Good deal for $13. Though he does not paint animals I thought why not try out his techniques on this elephant. He’s big on transparent colors, letting the colors blend on the paper and loosing edges by keeping the paint wet. I do wish II had thought to add in some blips of others colors like orange and purple but I can use my handy fine spray bottle and do that later.

This was a very wet painting. The Super Deluxe did not wrinkle anymore than a 140# paper would. I lifted some of the shadows off the left back leg and as usual it was easy to do with this super sketchbook.

Colors used Elephant and dirt – yellow ochre, burnt sienna, and Inathradone blue. Sky cerulean trees green Apatite and Inathridone.

I did a pencil sketch first. As you will see in a bit the sketchbook loves the pencil.

This is the sketchbook. Just in case you did not see the last post about it.

Another sketch of Rommel a huge bull elephant that showed up on the Samburu Reserve in Kenya where the show was filmed.

I really like the way this pencil sketch turned out so I doubt I will paint it. It was done with a cheap HB mechanical pencil from Office Max.

One thing that’s great about sketching off tv is that you can pause it. Only thing I don’t like about pencil sketching is its tendency to smear. I need to spray this with fixative.

Save the Elephants http://savetheelephants.org. The show was all about an effort that is being made in Samburu to increase the numbers of elephants which were dwindling drastically. They seem to be turning around now due to the efforts of Save the Elephants.

I love drawing animals and now want to go to Samburu on a sketch safari. Would that not be fabulous fun?! During dry season they flock to the water holes in Samburu, prime time for sketching or photography.

Think about it. I know I am.

More about the Super Bee tomorrow!!

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 351 – Tomato Pie Time!!

June 24, 2015June 24, 20156 Comments

Nothing says summer like an heirloom tomato pie! I made two tomato pies today and since this recipe is frequently requested I decided to draw it.

I am going to take u thru it as the recipe evolved.

The pie fresh out of the oven. Lots of yellows, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cad red light, green apatite and dark neutrals.

The ink sketch. I usually pencil in a recipe to be sure I don’t run out of room for anything. Then I ink it.

I laid in a yellow wash first. And dropped bits of yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cad red light, green apatite and dark neutrals while the pie was still wet.

Line green background added and more dark neutral around for the pies edge inside the crust.

I added the cad red line because as usual I smeared the bottom edge into the white. Maybe one day I will learn to keep my band out of the paint. MaYbE!! I can only hope. I also added more dark neutral around the edge of the pie inside the crust fluting and wiped some of the purple under the leaves off. Too purple.

Listening to a thomas Schaller video yesterday. He said you could tell when a painting is done when u start telling yourself I need to do one more thing. I Reinked the letters after I thought I was done not sure I like them.

I also sponged on a little dark neutral to make the surface shadows and it’s done.

I found this recipe from a book called ‘Pon Top Edisto when I was looking for my copy. It’s a great cookbook. Some people add onions. A little or a lot. Cooked or not. Thought garlic might be a tasty addition. And grits would be oh so tasty or fresh corn on the cob.
Thanks for reading

Margaret xxx

Day 349- Key West Finale

June 23, 2015Leave a comment

The scourge of Key West. Iguanas ravenously devour the landscape on Key West. I do love this watercolor though.

B.O.’s Fish Wagon a shady place on the corner of a parking lot made from an amazing collection of found junk. Awesome food!!

Delicioso what else can I say about B.O.’s Fish Wagon?!

Love the look of Bo’s.

Blue Heaven Garden

Was my favorite sketch before I colored it with my watercolor pencils. I know it’s getting a redo when we go.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 348- Key West Dreaming Part Two

June 23, 2015June 23, 2015Leave a comment

One of my favorite sketches. All things Key West. Chickens, motor scooters, Blue Heaven, palm tree, sea shells and a beachy drink. This was drawn in pencil and added to as inspiration hit starting with the scooter.

Zany celebrations abound in Key West. The dachshund parade which was around one square block followed by a chihuahua flash mob!! Next trip Hemongway look alike contest to celebrate his birthday. Can’t wait to sketch hairy old men and mustacheoed young men a la Hemingway.

Banyan trees fascinate me. One is so enormous there are shops inside it and a sidewalk.

A view down the street towards the Custom house I think. One of my fav sketches. Love that tall towering Palm.

A few more Key West sketches tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 348- Key West Dreaming Part Two

June 22, 2015June 22, 20152 Comments

Banyan trees fascinate me. One is so enormous there are shops inside it and a sidewalk.

A view down the street towards the Custom house I think. One of my fav sketches. Love that tall towering Palm.

A few more Key West sketches tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 347 – Key West Dreaming

June 21, 2015Leave a comment

We are off to Key West for fun and sketching in a few weeks. I know we are going to be eating at a lot of great restaurants.

Key West A sunny place for shady people!!

El Meson de Pepe. Lots of atmosphere but the margaritas were weak and the conch fritters rubber.

Blue Heaven aptly named. The food is amazing. Atmosphere funky with loads of chickens who beg.

My review of Blue Heaven. A definite we shall return.

The double page spread.

If being wrapped in palms is cozy the Bistro on Duval is a must. Food was ok. Great waitress. Great atmosphere. Killer deserts.

Watercolor and ink in a moleskine landscape watercolor book.

Hopefully more tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Margaret xxx

Day 346 – Goat time!

June 20, 2015Leave a comment

since taking Sketchbookskool classes online. Highly recommend them!! I have foud that I love to draw animals and people. I could have spent the whole day at the zoo drawing the animals and the people.

This was drawn with my Noodler Creaper Ahab in my spiral bound Stillman and Birn Zeta. A lovely book great paper that dries flat even with a lot of washes. Now if you want a paper that dries very flat this one is for you. I normally use small binders clips to hold my sketchbook paper down as I paint because I have yet to find one that does not curl when you wet it. The most important thing is does it dry flat and I can say YES Stillman and Birn Zeta does. My Stillman and Birn alpha which is much thinner paper does NOT ever dry flat. Most annoying since the Super Delixe Bee does. Both the Alpha and the Bee are the same weight paper. Hmm.

Before splattering.

Back to the goats. The only thing I did different than usual was to splatter the left goat with white gouache using an old toothbrush. Why?! The goat is a kind of roan color peppered with white. Hard to Dow I th watercolor. I could have used masking fluid but this is just a sketch so I opted for splattering. More fun than masking fluid anyway.

That’s it for today. It’s Henry and Livia time in Decatur!!

Thanks for reading!!

Margaret ️xxx

Day 345 – That Paper!!

June 19, 2015Leave a comment

Gets five Gold stars in my book.

as I said yesterday I bought a landscape tablet of Aquabee Super Deluxe paper when I was at Binders at Ponce Market in April. Great store!! How often have you had an art store manager ask you what you would like to see carried in their store?! Told her a class with Charles Reid. I hope I hope!!

Anyway I had read in David Millards great watercolor books about Super Deluxe Bee sketchbooks. These books are 140 pages each just packed with information on watercolor. The price can not be beat. $4 or less on Amazon. Why do you ask?! The books are from the early 80s. The author died in 2002. Sadly I can’t take a class from him. He is big on sketchbooks big lots of tips on drawing crowds and buildings. The man knows sketchbooks. His favorites took all the water I threw at them and flattened out when I was done. Rare in a 93lb paper. And reasonably priced. Amazon has the big 11×14 listed for $22 and full price is $25 for a 100 pages!! I am stopping by Cityart in Columbia on my way to Charleston to pick up an 11×14 for Dr Sketchys and a smaller one to take to Key West in July. And maybe a tube or two of paint. Last week Randy the owner had Holbein paint half price. Why didn’t I order some?! Cityart is the store that Charles Reid and Mary White use to supply their classes. Great store down in the Vista. They also have a great website and shopping is almost overnite and so reasonable.

I drew this last April in my super deluxe bee 6×12 landscape book with my Kuretake brush pen from an overlook in Gatlinburg. Never quite got around to painting it. I was too tired from all the running around. The brush own had loved the smooth paper. Would the watercolor?! Despite what Millard said I am always a sceptic. And as Roz Stendhal says one thing you can count on is that paper will change. His books are 30 years old.

Thank goodness he was right. I lost count of the washes I threw at this paper. Big watery wet washes layer after layer. While the paper buckled a little as I painted it was almost perfectly flat when it dried!!! Hallelujah. A 93# paper that dries flat and doesn’t cost a fortune?!

TIP!!! Bytw I started the lower hills with a wash of light yellow Aureolin for the trees and gradually darkened it with very watery layers of red for the red oaks in the spring and darker greens and blues and mineral purple. Really like using the mineral purple as a dark. Using lots of layers of this colors let me keep the colors transparent. Aka didn’t make MuD!! Sky is a couple of layers of cerulean.

This is another sketch from the same overlook up in the Gatlinburg bypass. I meant to fill in the town but never did. It started raining. It rained a lot the week we were in Gatlinburg. And the pen ran out of ink. My kuretake converter holds a drop of ink. I swear. I did later find cartridges of platinum carbon black that fitted it so now I am good to go.

Another plus for this paper. I just realized that the Pentel brush ink supposedly permanent but so often runny in my Stillman and Birn zeta did not run on this paper when I went back over the lettering and decided to add yet another wash. Hurrah.
Thanks for reading.

Margaret who needs to get packing!!!xxx