St Paddys Day Parade ladies from St. John’s tower. They were actually riding another truck but I liked this one better. Augusta Ga
A dab of gel pen on the antennae. I loved those. And they were riding in chairs.
#stjohnstower #augustaga #stpatricksday #watercolorpainting #sketchbookskool #urbansketcher #undercoverspy #urbansketching #usk #georgia #ink #lamysafari #lamy #stillmanandbirn
Gotta run. Heading to Atlanta. Hope to sketch there. I am Ready!!
Margaret xoxox
Decided to quickly draw my Sunday brunch before I ate it. Hmm it’s an omelet. Got a little dark. Aka lost my yellows. But on the whole I like this a lot.
The tulips were really standing up but they are so pretty decided to draw them flopping so they would fit.
Since I also used a Prismacolor art stick or two and a white gel pen this is really mixed media.
Lamy safari Arches #280 paper Lexington grey ink.
Margaret xoxoxo
On photoshop I forgot to blog. Oopsey. 
A few of my sketches from last week. Three generations at chic Fil a which is cool. Heard one of the managers talking to them. The grandmother mother and son who was too cool to sit with them.
Typical teenager.
Business man reading the paper and eating his lunch.
Ttyl.
Margaret
Xoxoxox
I drew these two guys last Thursday as part of my #oneweek100people2017 as they pushed and shoved the heavy scaffold into place that would allow them to hang the new Augusta State Univeristy sign four stories up in the air.
I have two say these guys were working very hard and were as good as having dancers to draw with their interesting poses. This is the first page I drew.
Here is page two. Drawn with my Lamy Safari with Lexington grey ink in my Stillman and Birn Alpha.
You can see the scaffold better in this painting. Drawing three of the big event. They almost had shoved it into place when I drew this. 
UPDATE: And a week later they are still working on top of the building. It’s very cold today. Hope the finish before it goes down to 24 tomorrow. Who turned off Spring?
Here’s the original sketch. I painted these after I got home. Colors used Quin coral, gold,burnt orange. Cerulean and hematite geeen on windows with ultramarine and burnt umber shadows. The building is Quin coral and burnt umber. Their jackets are Lemon yellow and hematite green. The sign is ultramarine and mineral purple.
I have a giclee quality printer that I am finally getting set up for print making. It’s been in the garage for quite a few years because it’s about two feet long and takes up the whole desk but no more.
It’s hooked up and it works. I was told it might not. New cartridges cleaned the print heads and it looks like we are in business.
Hurrah!!
Will let you know when I start making prints. Soon. I promise.
Ttyl
Margaret xoxox
Well I made it. Added another another 14 people yesterday when we were at the Standardbred Harness Races yesterday at McGhees Mile Track in Aiken. Starting from the last one draw to the first one drawn at the end of the post. I am going to paint some of these today I think since this is day 7.
All of them are drawn with my Lamy safari in Lexington Grey ink in my Stillman and Birn Alpha. Most were drawn from real life except the 20 or so talking heads. 
In the window at the Mexican cafe on Laurens street in Aiken. 
At the races. I was afraid to shop out my sketchbook after I did this because a certain bird was busy telling people what a great sketched I was. 
Off MSNBC Friday nite. 
ditto that
Hanging the new Augusta State University logo sign at the Dental School Friday. These guys were working hard. Two guys only but they hardly stood still pushing and shoving the big scaffold that would take them to the top of the four story building.
More of the two guys. One worked continually nonstop the whole hour or so I was drawing. Pulling and pushin. And backing the truck up.
Contour drawings because they were moving fast. The angles they got on their bodies were as good as any dancer or yoga as they pushed and shoved the heavy scaffold. 
In line waiting at chic fil a and the dental school check in.
Too right luck at chic Fil a and a guy waiting to see the dentist at the college. 
A three generation family at chic Fil a 
More tv talking heads. 
My heroine Rachel Maddow. So brilliant. 
Talking heads MSNBC especially like the Bernie Head. 
Lawrence O’Donnell taking heads. Love him too.
Rachel Maddow and her talking heads 
Panera sketches Tuesday
Panera Tuesday 
Panera Tuesday the rest are at Panera Monday and a few more talking. Heads from MSNBC. 
Heads on Morning Joe.
As I said will paint some of these. I love having my own coloring book. Total people. Depends on how you count them. 141 if I count all the contour drawings at the Dental College and in the crowd at the races.
Ttyl
Margaret who has to paint. Xoxoxo
Well kind of sort of. Been busy posting about our show and getting it a write up in the local paper. In the meantime here’s a watercolor for you. I have to do it on paper for my friend Monica who is in it.
Monica works at the DuPont Planetarium at USC Aiken also known as the Ruth Patrick Science Center. She leads tours of school kids and gives them talks about the stars.
Follow the Drinking Gourd is the black history month lecture about how slaves used the Drinking Gourd the Big Dipper to find their way north to freedom.
I paint across the parking lot from her at USCAiken Etheridge Center. She invited me over to hear her Drinking Gourd talk. Monica did a dynamite job and I had to draw her. It was almost pitch black by the time I finished.
The sketch sat around while I decided how to draw the star field and the whirlpool galaxy. Never done that before.
I realized I could paint the night sky black and then splatter it with white gouache which worked out great.
I also wanted to make the galaxy bright in the center and fade at the edges. As I painted the sky with a mix of indigo alizarin crimson and hookers green I bled the edges around the galaxy with clear water. I coated it with very watered down Quin gold just to give a glow. Let it dry.
Coated the sky with the indigo mix again and bled the edges again. Then I added dabs of watery alizarin crimson and marine blue in a circular swirl. Let it dry. Added more of those colors and grey and purples to define the galaxy spin. Trying for that glow.
Finally I splattered the galaxy with white gouache and a very small brush. I should have used a tooth brush. Next time I will.
Highly recommend the Ruth Patrick tour!!
Happy Sunday.
Still in my Jammies relaxing on a chilly Sunday
Margaret xoxoxo
One of my best so far I think. Al and Ruth said it is. So did Drew.
I decided to use my liquitex flesh as the darks with a little orange added to it. The lights are primary yellow flesh and white. The red is Quin red. I also used golden Indian yellow. The darkest darks are burnt umber and thalo blue.
Not quite done. Still need to paint out the hash marks on the left. Or at least not end the brown like that.
At the second break. The lighter dark is working well. Still a lot to do
And only half an hour left. Eek. After break will tackle the face and then the hands and whatever else I have time for.
First break. Forty minutes Of painting.
I started by carefully measuring how many heads wide and tall Emily was. For Example how many heads down was her right hand. I also used plumb lines to line up things like her right shoulder with the right side of her face. Her left wrist w the left side of her face.
I also decided that though the shadows on her face were very heavy purple was too dark and looked a little grey. So decided to make the darks peach w white and red orange made from Indian yellow and Quin or pyrrole red. I started w pyrrole red and ended with the Quin red.
Al Beyer’s lovely huge oil -3×4′ in an hour and a half! 😳
DrewMurphys large nude. Love the face. And the drape. Actually love the whole thing.
Iliana Van Pelt oil. She’s growing an artist by leaps and bounds. 
AC Daniels lovely transparent oil.
Marilyn Hartley’s lovely sketch w a little color.
Kathe Dennis great swirly conte crayon. 
This one is hers too. Always love her lines all over the place.
Rachel Millers beautiful small watercolor. This girl is so talented.
Fred’s tough lady.
Tom Needham’s lovely watercolor.
A very young mans pencil sketch. Great job!!
Thanks for stopping by. Still worn out from the show which was a great success.
Margaret xoxoxo
The show is hung and it looks awesome.Can’t wait for you all to see it. 
Join us tonite at the 600 Building on Broad Street in Augusta 6-8 pm. The reception is today but the show will be up all month and the gallery will be open from 10-4.
Where else will you see TWO stories of art in Augusta?!
The building was designed by IM Pei and is very retro late 70s.
The old Chamber of Commerce building is now the Greater Augusta Arts Council Gallery.
See ya tomorrow nite. Oh did I say we have wine too!! 🤗👍🏻
Time to Get ready! Xoxoxo
Yesterday we had at lunch Kathe Drew and I had a big discussion on gridding our paintings or not. Drews currently working on a huge painting of downtown Augusta. The view is five floors up and he’s frustrated trying to get all the buildings in to the scene.
I told him about drawing this view of downtown Knoxville last May. I was five stories up too at 7 am drawing away. It took about half an hour to draw this.
Most people looking at it would think that yes that’s exactly what Knoxville looks like but it’s not quite.
No matter how hard I try to plot the drawing of a cityscape like this I usually run out of room by the time I work right or left to the edges.
I end up leaving out buildings. I told Drew that as long as you get the important buildings in the skyline is recognizable. What would the Knoxville skyline look like without the Workds Fair golden globe or the the big basketball from the basketball hall of fame.
Some buildings are musts in the skyline. Other nobody will ever notice they are missing. Nobody has yet to say where’s xyz.
These are actually what I was looking like. 
I didn’t even paint it so it looked like this.
I added nice dawn colors. Layering buildings with a base coating of Quin gold letting it dry and then painting it the colors of the buildings. It gives a nice early morning glow to the sketch. 
Anyway that’s it for today. Ttyl
Margaret xoxoxox
Last nite was Dr Sketchys at Chat Noir one of my favorite times of the month. This is one of my favs of the ten or so sketches I did last nite. I did not feel like dealing with her legs which were very heavy so I swathed her in a gossamer white gown and called her Cleopatra complete with a deadly snake.
All sketches done with my Whiskey painter watercolor pallette loaded with Windsor newton WC and one lone Daniel Smith Quin coral and painted in a super aquabee tablet with a Pentel brush pen.
A warm up doodle with my Noodler brush pen and a Noodler Konrad with sepia ink.
2 minute sketch. Pentel brush pen.
2 minute sketch. Pentel brush pen
2 minute sketch. Pentel brush pen
Five minute sketch. Pentel brush pen. Tombow marker.
Stay tuned for part two tomorrow.
Margaret off to Aiken for an art show opening. Xoxoxo
Margaret McCarthy Hunt Art 