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 1059 – How many did I draw?

June 15, 2017Leave a comment

12 I think. As my friend Ruth pointed out I probably spent at most five minutes drawing each person since they only spent ten minutes taking.

I will say they took longer to color than five minutes. I spent the last two days coloring them in the evening.

My friend Dee asked me why in a gen cent Target notebook. I didn’t want to look back in a sketchbook and see some if these faces.

Bytw I did get out a sketchbook for the next time I get the urge to document this madness.

And people love to look thru my sketchbooks.

This sketch of Susan is the worst one I think. She’s much more attractive than the drawing. Chalking it to I had to warm up!

I do think they look better colored which I find odd because I love ink sketches.

Colored with my Prismacolor art sticks. Thick juicy color like their colored pencils but cover a lot of area quickly. The scribbles are grease pencils. And or a 6B pencil.

Off to Atlanta. Stand by for more.

Margaret documenting this madness one hearing at a time. Xoxoxo

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 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 1040 – Canyons – Blowing Rock!

May 27, 2017May 28, 20172 Comments

Mike and I had lunch at the Canyons in Blowing Rock because as she said the view of the mountains was spectacular from dining room. The food was delicious too and the service was great.

Spring green was the key color out the window covering the trees and the mountains.

Painted with Charles Reid palette leftovers. He only uses 12 colors. All Holbein. The greens are hookers and Oxide of chromium. He also likes cobalt violet. Uses all of those a lot on flowers.

I guess I need to do a sample of them so you can see the colors. Just normal old colors. No Quins though I added my favs Quin gold and burnt orange which I sub for ochre and burnt sienna at times.

I kept trying to get a pic of this interesting guy when he was sitting at the bar inside but he was back lit which does not work in a photo. Don’t u love all the trash can background?!

Funnny story. I went to the trash cans when we got in the car to throw some junk out that I pick up like a pack rat and guess who was there!? The guy. And a waitress who had been watching me draw she told him to pose for me because I was a really good artist. Lights not great but it might work. I have more of him not smiling. Do t like painting teeth showing.

Should have told him to take off his hat but that would have ruined his charm. I did get him to turn around but still no light.

The Mountains from the porch.

In the restaurant from our table. What a view. Love this place.

Ttyl Margaret xoxoxo

Day 1038 Drawing for days now.

May 25, 2017May 28, 20173 Comments

Finally getting the big painting of this ready.

As Charles Reid says “There are just some days I can’t draw.” And apparently this painting involved that for me.

The new painting has involved a lot tweaking. Harley is one big horse and he’s not in this painting. He’s too small.

I took a comparison pic of Raisin and Harley when I was in Bristol to see just how big he was. His head is about three times as long as Raisins plus his ears. In the first painting he was a little small. I think his head needed to be twice as big. 😳

I had already started drawing her on a whole sheet of watercolor last summer but there was no way I could stuff Harley onto that sheet of paper. Oops! I had ripped five previous inches off. Double oops.

So I traced her to transfer her to an elephant sheet(30×40″) of arches cold press. And drew one eye to low. Eeekkk. I couldn’t even trace!

I drew him and

Worked on him. Eyes too big. And her hands too small.

And tweaked him. Too narrow in this one. And what’s with that eye.

And I shaded it. And he’s too sleepy.

I drew more and I searched my fifty or so photos of Harley

and I cropped it

and lightroomed it for better contrast.

and printed out more of him.

And drew some more.

And this is Harley now. Time to transfer them to the elephant sheet I hope. Unless I walk by them on my circuit thru the house and think NO that’s not right. Sigh.

But there’s plenty of room for a bigger Harley now!!

Ttyl Margaret who needs a nap before she transfers this and paints. Xoxoxo😳🤗

Day 1035 Its about a dog!

May 22, 2017May 22, 2017Leave a comment

I took a great photo of my friend Raisins white English retriever Lucy lounging around on the window seat.

This is a small practice painting for bigger painting. Note to self LOOSE THOSE EDGES! It’s very hard to do a loose painting when it’s so small.

It all starts with a great photo of a gorgeous dog.

Click the link for a short video on how to draw your own dog.

Think I will draw Zoe. It’s been a while and she’s curled up ready to be drawn.

Colors used Winsor yellow, ds carmine, cobalt violet, mineral violet, oxide of chromium, viridian?, cerulean, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, cad orange, cad red light or scarlet lake.

Ttyl Margaret who had to get walking again. Been on vacay TOO along now. Xoxox

Day 1034 Best one yet

May 21, 2017May 22, 20174 Comments

This is number ten flower painting. And all my friends think it’s the best one. I agree. I softened all the right edges and lost some. I let it drip and run and mingle the color like watercolor does so well. I got the essence of flowers without the exact flower being painted.
I think it’s actually due to the change in paper. I used up the last of my old Fabriano block so I dug out a pack of fluid 140# cold press which is what Charles Reid recommends.

It seems to have a slidy effect due to the sizing when you add water to the color. This was painted by adding full strength watercolor on a dry #10 da Vinci brush then adding water. It uses a lot of paint but well worth it for the effect.

Of course the slidy effect could have been due to the fact that I had painted this at almost a vertical angle.

So I googled it to read reviews of it. North Light said

“Work wonders in watercolor with Fluid watercolor paper!

Fluid Watercolor Paper is crafted in a European mill (Schut) which produced its first paper stock in 1618. Mill masters craft small batches at slow speeds allowing for finer control of quality. This slow approach produces a sheet of great strength that shares much of the working integrity of more expensive mold-made papers.”

And Roz Stendhal who is diligent in her art material reviews uses it all the time. She said it’s 100% cotton hand made artist grade paper. The blocks are much cheaper than arches and you frequently can find a deal on it. Right now Cheap Joes is offering it with a free sample pack of 20 8×10 sheets with the purchase of three packs.

However she’s not so fond of the hot press. Has a slight pattern when it dries.

I will say I found it annoying when the paint slid off these fruit to make dark shadows under them but today I quite like the effect.

Time to go fruit and flower shopping. I ate the apple and the orange yesterday and the flowers well they are looking raggedy!

Next up trying the ferrier on this fluid paper. If it’s good enough for Charles Reid and Roz it’s good enough for me. Hmm evidently their paper was in the republished Audubon catalog in 1972.

Ps Cheap Joes is offering a good deal on Fluid paper. A 20 sample pack free when you buy three Fluid products. I do love JOe and his company. Great humanitarians spreading the joy of art!

Colors used Winsor yellow, ds carmine, cobalt violet, mineral violet, oxide of chromium, viridian?, cerulean, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, cad orange, cad red light or scarlet lake.

Ttyl Margaret getting ready for brunch and a lazy rainy Sunday. As Oprah says no demands on a rainy day! Xoxoxo

Day 1033 Those darned teapots!

May 20, 2017May 20, 2017Leave a comment

In every class you take there is usually very useful fact that sticks out that you learn.

I have learned that rubbing alcohol dissolves and removes acrylic paint even when it dries.
I learned about Mr Clean erasers in my first Charles Reid class in Atlanta and have been using them ever since.
In John Salimens class I learned about masking taping your painting when you use a Mr Clean on your painting. That way you can hone in on an exact spot.

For some reason when I drew the above painting I decided it would be a great idea to put the teapot behind the leaf. DUHHHH!

I absolutely loathed it when I was done. As no doubt you know that might mean the painting was ruined. So yesterday I decided to lift it with a Mr Clean and masking tape. It couldn’t hurt it.

Here is the top of the teapot taped off and the star on top of it.

And here it’s all erased in one swipe and a blot with a Kleenex.

I had to do the spout twice. Once to remove the leaf over it. And once to correct my not so great painting of the inside of the spout.

This is the tape job before I lifted the color off the spout.

And here’s the spout after I swiped with the Mr Clean. Be sure to use clean water and a clean sponge.

Here’s the spout and the top repainted after lifting with the Mr Clean.

And here’s the painting now. I also went back in and added some carmine to the lilies in the left. They were too purple.
And I tried to soften their edges. Those darn Lilies are asuch a pain. Always sticking out.