Life modeling Finally

April 18, 2022Leave a comment

We had a super model Christine. She held the pose like a rock never moving. Hurrah. And always reset after breaks. Something rarely done by models.

Lots of gesture drawings each 2-5 minutes. Her poses were challenging and interesting. Charcoal on newsprint.

Down in about an hour and a half. 16×20 ish. So I lost the blonde hair. Oops and I made her a little too fat but oh well it was just great to be back drawing. Also went a little grey.

First session. I was determined to draw her in the first 20-25 minute session. And I did hurrah!!! She still needs some work but she may just get tossed in the pile of nudes.

Fluid 140# paper M Graham watercolor

Made a quick trip downtown to the Aiken Center for the Arts. Nice fiber art show from the upstate. And that’s a wrap folks.

Margaret xoxoxo

Mary Whyte and Mom’s 96th Birthday

January 29, 2022January 30, 20222 Comments

Well the time has come to take a class from the famous Mary Whyte. Off to St Simons next week via Dick Blick class in Savannah to spend my gift certificates. You know I “need “ something. Right?

Best part will be hanging out with my friend Karen Schaaf who I haven’t seen since before covid. Karen recently got her NWS signature and will be in the next issue of Splash 22. We can say we knew her when. Met her at Cheap Joes taking a class from the late great Charles Reid. I think I have almost every book he wrote.

I painted this of my mom who turned 96 last Monday a couple of years ago. I call it
“I Told Her to Smile” because I did and she didn’t. Painted on Fabriano 300# hot press. 11×15”

Thinking about repainting it since it looks off to me now. Nose too long and the mouth twitched to the side. And what’s with the light streak across her chin. Bytw mom did NOT like this painting. Never pout mom, never pout.

This is the photo the painting is based on taken on her 90th birthday. A friend said she was concentrating. Maybe so.

Maniacally sewed this baby quilt for my nephew and his wife’s new baby Mary Rose. She is named Miryam after her mothers aunt who died in the Holocaust. And another who survived it.

The back. Kind of wish I had put the yellow print on the front. Oh well. It’s off in the mail hopefully to greet the baby when she comes home this week.

It has the baby’s name in one corner heart her parents in another, her dob in the third and place of birth in the last one.

Really got to finish this. An old 60s VW abandoned in a car port in Athens Ga across the street from my brothers house. And then take it down town to Art on Broad with my other vehicle paintings for Kristin to sell. Maybe a few prints?! Could be an excuse to buy a new printer!!?

Baking bread. One loaf going to a friend for her birthday instead of a cake. We went to see Kingsmen and I treated her to popcorn and a drink since we aren’t eating out right now. We loved it even though the critics didn’t. Kept us in the edge of our seated the whole time.

Bytw NOBODY is at the movies so quite safe. We had the theater to ourselves. Well the top half. A couple that came in after us sat way down in front. Socially distancing! Yeah!!

Slicing my load up to freeze it. Reheats so well as toast or nuke ten min in the microwave. Taste fresh from the oven!! Also tasty as a sandwich.

My favorite red socks. Wore a hole in my other pair. It’s a free pattern from hedgehogfibers.com. It’s called Sprouting. I have probably made a dozen pairs of this sock. This is my second red pair. Wore the heels out of the first which were Malabrigo no poly. These are Madeline Tosh sock. Wears like cast iron. I also have to them in gold, two grey pairs, and turquoise.

A blue heron we saw on our walk. Fishing in the rice paddy where I live. This used to be a river plantation 200 years or so ago. Silly bird thought he was invisible and didn’t budge as I walked toward him. Finally I flapped my arms at him and he took off.

Bytw it’s quite dangerous to get near one of these birds or an egret. They can stab you with their beaks according to the SC Wildlife Department.

My current snuggle quilt. Where are my knitting needles. One more pair of socks almost done.

Margaret under her quilt on the sofa who really needs to pack for her Mary Whyte class next week but heck I can do that tomorrow right?! Xoxoxo

Nuff said

January 23, 2022January 25, 20225 Comments

Snowy Morning
Hahnamuhle 140 Rough
15×20

Been a busy week. And I am tired.

Dada with a D. Aquaboard 11×16”
Think he’s finished. I also think I hate the way WordPress doesn’t work anymore. Makes everything harder. So I don’t want to use it because everytime I do it’s A royal pain.

Won’t load photos. Won’t let you type. “Corrects” words and makes them misspelled. Sigh.

Zoe my live model posing with her portrait. Lol.

Mostly sennelier Pastel on mi teinte 15×20”also used a few Unison. And a variety of other hard pastels.

Did I say I bought a new bigger set of pastels from Amazon. Sennelier of course. Yes I did!! I bought that. It will be here first of February. Can’t wait.

One set of Sennelier wasn’t enough. If Sennelier was good enough for Degas Monet and Picasso – well I need.

So nice and creamy but don’t drop them on the floor. Oops!! Hmmm maybe I need to put a rug down?! Or a towel??

The trees are brown for Pete’s sake yet my phone takes them as black. What the heck?! And the background is much lighter though not as brilliant as in the first picture. What do I need an $800 phone for if it won’t take accurate colors?! Please tell me. Thanks.

This is suppose to be the second to last block but uncooperative Word Press won’t let me move it. Finally got it to move. So aggravating. Makes me
Not want to post for another month or two. Sigh.

Got off my tired self off the sofa and took a picture with my iPad Pro. Much closer to the actual colors though it darkened a bit on the left. If it’s not one thing it’s another right?! See below. I told u the trees weren’t the right color in the photos.

I drew a penguin on this screen shot I took of a Porkchop Zimmerman’s sidewalk crack drawing. It’s a thing like looking at clouds and seeing Mickey Mouse. You can look at sidewalk cracks and draw whacky animals from them. Pork chops side wall cracks probably have SEVERAL animals in them. Lots of fun to do. I have a whole sketch book of them.

Margaret ready for bed. Xoxoxox tired from drawing all day.

Da da with a long Ā Also Known as David

November 16, 2021November 16, 20213 Comments

My youngest grandson Dada on Ampersand Aquaboard. 11×14 watched a NWS zoom video on how to paint on Aquaboard with Ali Cavanaugh then we painted on our own. Came together for a critique on Saturday.

I never realized David has my son Ben, his daddy’s eye brows til I painted this. Funny the things you notice when you paint people. The eyebrows on those two are identical shapes.

Lots of thin layers. Rather reminded me of the class I took with Mario Robinson a few years ago. Lots of sheer thin layers.

Hours later. I scratched his hit with my Olfa box cutter as I listened to the critiques.

Need to work on making the bubbly background Ali does which I love. This is a screen shot from her Instagram feed so you can go followed her. She also has a patreon page for $20 a month to encourage portrait painting which I think I will do sooner or later.

Margaret xoxoxo

Fall trees in my yard. If I could change anything about my house it would be to put some of my front yard trees in the treeless backyard. The previous owners cut them all down when they put in the pool. Anyone want a pool. Please come and get it. Trade you for a few trees and maybe a patio.

Waiting for this beauty to go red. Maybe by my birthday Sunday?! 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Margaret xoxoxox

A quick sketch

November 13, 20212 Comments

What I was looking at. Now in the trash. They always seem to mold before Thanksgiving.

Fun sketch along with John Muirs Law on Shopkeeparty’s YouTube. Give it a whirl! It goes live shortly.

I think I actually baked a perfect loaf of bread. Gorgeous and tasty.

Margaret who has a painting to finish. Xoxox

Inktober – 24 Down

October 24, 2021October 24, 2021Leave a comment

Seven to go. Used three pens. Lamy Ef or a micro uniball and sometimes a white pentel gel pen.

Here’s the star. She’s run me off the sofa except for the corner of one cushion. She needs the rest today.

If at first you don’t success try try again.

So I succumbed to too much white pentel gel pen. Might have been a good one otherwise.

The best one so far I think. Drawn w a micro uniball.

Kicking back. She rarely lies on her back.

Out my windows this am!! Love the light hitting the mist.

Margaret excited I have made it this far in inktober. Xoxoxo

More inktober

October 18, 2021October 18, 20212 Comments

Can scarcely believe I am keeping up. 18 days now and 18 drawings. That’s a first for me.

As you no doubt know my model is prone to rolling over stretching and turning her back on me if she’s annoyed. Does she care if she’s holding the pose like a good model?! NOPE!!

Margaret trying to keep the words to a minimum. Lamy Ef w Platinum Black ink black micro uniball white pentel gel pen and stillman and birn alpha. Small books are so much less demanding. Xoxoxox

Tweet Tweet Twice the Fun

April 30, 20214 Comments

A fun ink and watercolor sketch of a sparrow. My fav kind. Wet on wet splattering. Been in Jackson Pollock mode splattering and slinging paint. .

And I did two because it’s twice as much fun. Lamy EF Carbon Platinum Black ink and a permanent fine liner.

Thanks for looking.

Margaret xoxoxo

Field of flowers

April 15, 2021April 15, 20212 Comments

You know one of the things That is a good side effect of the pandemic is all the zoom classes with famous artists that you could never afford to take from in person. And no travel. Do it at your favorite painting table. A win win if there is one in this hideous pandemic.

Today I took a class with Keiko Tanabe on shopkeeparty.com. she just zips along. This class went alot better than thenlast one I took with her so I may do another.

Quitting now. I worked on my sky a bit. And splattered a lot with white gouache, cad yw, opera, and some Joe’s Andrew’s Turquoise. Softened a few edges. Lightened a few spots that had gotten too wet to paint the bushes on and gone dark.

The photo

Will try again with a different building on Hahnamuhle rough instead of Kilimanjaro cold press. Let’s see how it does.

The sketch. Not much to it is there?! Kilimanjaro 300# cold press.

First wash. Dry brushing once I remembered to. Oops. Scratching in the field a bit. And splattering the green to simulate followers. The sky omg. Puffballs. Eek.

Progress. Using my cheap Joe’s Scroggys loose goosy, a kind of saber brush, to paint the flowers – all those lines. It also makes great hair, branches and sometimes telephone lines.

Adding details and darks. Trees and bushes. It was still to wet to do a lot of these but I plowed on chasing Keiko.

NEVER drink espresso Before Doing phone lines. Wobbly lines. Sigh.

Finally remembered how to dry brush trees. Added some neutral tint and some yellow ochre and alizarin to the sky. More cobalt too.

Thought it was done. But eeek. That hard edge under the house bushes. Had to wipe them out some.

And done.

If you are interested in taking online classes. Shopkeeparty.com offers all kinds of art classes twice a week. Every Tues am there’s a one hour one that is free to the public on YouTube. There’s also an extensive backlog of videos on YouTube all free for the watching on Shopkeeparty. John Harrison who runs it has been doing these for a year now. Another COVID benefit. He’s in England. His artists are all over the world.

Margaret xoxoxox who should sell some art to pay for the expensive sliding door that’s getting g replaced. Salesman coming today. Eeekk.

WIP

April 14, 2021April 14, 2021Leave a comment

Tractor time. Found this one smack in the middle of Oakhurst in Decatur.

Slowly rusting away in a back yard near my youngest sons old house just off Oakview. As one of my friends said it already had a chicken. I think it might need one on top of the tractor too.

The sketch on 10X15″ sheet of 140# of hotpress Fabriano. Drawn with a .03 Derwent permanent marker.

Watercolor added. Cad red light ultramarine Prussian blue quin gold burnt sienna.

Done for the moment but I do think it needs something. I added some greytone Tombow markers.

Addendum: found out this is a McCormick Farmall Tractor probably from the 40s or 50s. Thanks have found a pic on line of the same one but doesn’t tell the model number.

Margaret ready for bed. Xoxoxox