Day 2092 Phillips Collection

At the High Art Museum in Atlanta is fantastic. Each painting a jewel.

Degas My favorite in the whole show.

According to Phillips the best landscape painter ever. I concur. Oskar Kokschka

Bonnard a Charles Reid fav and mine.

Another very large Bonnard

Poussin A Fav since college and evidently a Phillips fav

Daumier Such expression and energy 1848

Degas and his dancers I would keep it!!

A wonderful but dark Matisse Mad Fauvist that he was

Caezamne self portrait often compared to Rembrandts as well it should be. Powerful

Monet incredible ethereal to thinly eh great man touched this canvas

Van Gogh never met one I wouldn’t keep. If only I had been at his funeral I could have gotten one free.

So if anyone has a spare $100000000 would you buy one for me please especially the orange Degas. I have just the wall for it.

In the meantime I will drool over the show catalog and postcards from it.

Hurry and go. This exhibit is just marvelous like a who’s who in European Art from 1800 – 1930. Every one a show stopper and this is just a fraction of show. Ends July 14. I hope to make it back there soon.

Margaret ready for bed. Xoxoxo

Day 2089 Chelsea

15×22″ Spent two and a half hours chasing Chelsea as she would turn from full frontal to the right. As soon as she relaxed a little she would loose the pose because she was twisted in her seat.

First break. NO pencil. 😵😵😵Rough block in on Co fluid watercolor paper. 140#. The paper is really a bargain for great paper. Six full sheets for $24 on amazon. Always dries just about flat no matter how soppy wet I get it. Second break not making a lot of progress. Adding more darks and the blouse. Lack of progress I think that was due to the continually rotating head. No excuse for that left eye. But an easy fix on this hp. Most hot press would not let you move it at all. One shot and you are done. Last break. That left eye shoot me. But I brought it around. Add more darks to the hair which was ultramarine and burnt umber or van dyke brown. Also I didn’t want to get the shadows dark since that would age her. She has quite a very young face. Deep shadows age people in portraits especially babies. For now. I have a to do to her list. May or may not do them. BYTW her blouse was painted in two shots with my size 16 Cheap Joes sable. First was a glaze of very watery cerulean and burnt sienna. Then after it was dry lines of the black hair mix.

Colors used Quin gold French yellow ochre burnt sienna burnt umber ultramarine cerulean vandyke brown. A hint ifocad red light

Margaret ready for a nap. Xoxoxox

Day 2086 St Maclou

Saint Maclou Église is looking close to done. Hurrah. Because I don’t feel like painting today. Sharing the pics of the process so far I darkened the sky in this one w a mix of cobalt and a dab of Vlads neutral tint.

Built in 1436 or should I say started, St Maclou is a late gothic style known as Flamboyant. It’s over the top in its frills. Gleaming in the sun it looks like a large wedding cake.

Before I darkened the sky to make St Maclou pop. I also added a red orange mix – cad red light and cad yellow light – to the church door to demand your attention. Aka focus your eye. Still needs a lot of work on the left building but thinking right buildings may be done. Adding the people. I used Cheap Joes Andrews Turquiose and cad red which are opaque colors to make the jackets stand out all of which I dry brushed on taking advantage of the opaque color. adding details and detail washes on buildings. detailing buildings Dumped my photo into waterlogue to see if it would have a clue or two on how to paint. Love the red building but it would detract from my focus the church. Have always thought this could make a great painting. Rouen Cathedral in waterlogue. A free ap that turns your photos into watercolors. Sometimes doing s great job sometimes NOT. The sketch which took forever. Drawing on rough paper is NOT easy. especially when you want alot of straight lines.

The sketch I did of St Maclou when I was in Rouen in the square sitting in front of the Église aka church in a drizzly rain like today eating a meringue from a nearby patisserie. Of course not all the people were there at the same time. I just added them as they walked by. Then finished drawing the background houses. the medieval house on the right is the one to the right of the church in my larger painting.

Another artist painted St Maclou back in the 1890s. He turned the square in front into a fairytale story book like setting.

Margaret hoping she gets busy soon. So many paintings to paint and then there’s the house that needs a good cleaning. xoxoxoxo

Day 2084 – the kid

At this point. The Kid 15×22″‘hp Fluid. Forgot to ask his name yesterday when he modeled for us.

Started without a drawing. Drawing large shapes Like oil painters do.

Both light and dark. WHERE are his glasses?!! Took til almost second break before I notice oh wait I can’t see his eye because he has on glasses. Duh.

Started adding

And adding. How did I not notice his mouth was too small too forward?! 🤪

More shadows but that mouth. I am an idiot? The things you don’t notice when you have a live model. And YES I got up and walked off and looked at it.

Finally his mouth is where it belongs. Sigh.

When I went to bed last night.

And the way he looks right now. I moved his right eye up and widened it.
Burnt sienna cerulean cobalt burnt umber hematite burnt scarlet or other. Vlads neutral tint. White Gouache mixed w cad yw light. Ultramarine
Andrews blue Alizarin dioxzine violet vandyke brown indigo

Hmm is that all of them.

Paper is 140# hot press fluid which has stayed oh so flat despite my repeated drenchings of the paper. Love this stuff. Need to order MOH from amazon. AND you can even lift on it which never happens on hot press. Once it’s there it’s there on most hot press.

Margaret who just got a new grand baby today David Christoper 8.8 lb. A BIG boy just like his dad whose birthday was today. Super birthday present for my son Ben.

Xoxoxoxo

Day 2083 Devastated

That my beloved watercolor teacher Charles Reid the master of all American watercolor painters according to the man who knows them all Joe Miller of Cheap Joes died unexpectedly Saturday.

My dear friend Mike and I were hoping to take another class from him in Sarasota in the spring all figure painting but it’s not to be.

He will be greatly missed by his family dear Judy and Sarah and Peter, all his students and friends all over the world.

Early on he distinguished himself as a wonderful teacher.

Dearest Charles and Judy Reid in Boone at Cheap Joes.

He touched us all making us better artists and better people for knowing he and his darling Judy.

One of his fabulous flower paintings. I am so lucky to own one.

Rest In Peace Charles.

Margaret xoxoxo who will be forever grateful to the great man.

Day 2080 Drawing like

A crazed person

Deadline for Georgia Watercolor Show is June 10. It will be here soon.

Looking toward St Mcclou in Rouen Normandy France. Half sheet rough Fabriano 300#

This one took quite a while and still needs some people added to it. Remember you can add anyone if their heads line up with the dark dot which is the vanishing point on the horizon line. A tall guy could be a little higher but a shorter lady on that horizon line. By doing this you can add anyone into a painting even if they were never there.

Ps remember adding odd numbers of people is better than even. And assorted sizes would be more interesting.

Looking toward Van Goghs blue church in Auvers sur Oise France the town Van Gogh died in. Half sheet Fabriano rough 300#

Also where he’s buried just to the right of this church. Near the wheat field with all the crows that he painted. Too bad we didn’t make his funeral. His brother Theo gave everyone there one of his paintings if you wanted one! Not six months later Theo died and was buried next to Vincent.

All those wobbly 900 year old medieval buildings made it Difficult to sketch this. Add in all the gothic spires on St Maclou – well shoot me. So I gridded the photograph and the sketch. I used a light grey watercolor pencil on the drawing so hopefully it will melt away when I paint it tomorrow.

I also have to move the girl in the foreground either right or left. Broke one of the Dean of watercolor painters rules by sticking her in the middle. Never do that either. Drop in one or two more people and I am ready to painting this one too.

And I started the day off drawing at the dealership while I waited for my Prius’ check up. I am too lazy to get up and take a pic of those.

Stay tuned. Manana!

My evening visitor. Zoe did NOT like him a bit. I think he or she is kinda cute. Just a little small young raccoon.

Margaret putting her feet up for a well deserved rest Xoxoxoxo

Day 2079 did I say

More museum. I also loved this Chinese guy. A seated dignitary. I wouldn’t want him looking at me. He’s scary looking. I tend to think I should have left him in sketch form. Same thing with the bodihsattva from yesterday. Oh well.

Same colors as yesterday. Bytw my twisbee has started dripping ink. Eeek. No idea why.

Somebody shoot me if I buy any other pen that a Lamy. Sooo reliable. Always work. Never drip. Guess I will toss it in the drawer with my Noodler pens. 😢

Margaret Xoxoxoxo who’s sleepy and ready for bed with my guy David Baldacci. New load of books from second and Charles. 🤗❤️

Day 2078 Love the Asian

Statues. A bodhisatta and a Buddha. Can’t decide which one I like better. The curves of the bodhisatta or the sweet expression of the Buddha.

Before I erased the 2 b pencil writing

background erased

Deartrementis Ink. My twisbee. Hahnemuhle journal cad red light yellow ochre burnt umber burnt sienna neutral tint. 2 b pencil background

Margaret ready for bed. Kerchoo Allergy day. Xoxoxox

Day 2075 Back at the Museum

I loved these slightly primitive statues. So old.

Sketch in Deartrementis Brown with my Twisbee. The inks almost gone so next I will be using a Noodler Brown recommenced by Brenda Swenson.

Hahnemuhle journal yellow ochre cerulean cad red light cobalt burnt sienna ultramarine and a dab of quin gold.

I used a 2B pencil to write the info from the museum all over the background of this page to add texture and lightly erased it before I painted it.

Margaret who is book club tonite. Xoxoxo

Day 2074 Rue de Gros Horlage part deux

Been working on this all day today. Takes a while in between washes to dry.

Rue de Gros Horlage in Rouen Normandy France. Thinking maybe it’s done or close?! Now to stare at it a while. It will tell me one way or the other. rough 300# fabriano

adding more darks to windows and doors and people.

Wash on wash.

First wash

The sketch.

Now Officially too tahred to type more

Margaret staring at the painting