Bird of the day well actually

February 18, 2023February 18, 20234 Comments

Been working on this bird for a few days. Maybe a week off and on.

This is 9×12 and done. I like a lot. So I decided to paint a bigger one. BYTW this one is available if you need her at your house.

The background wash went well but darn what was with the bird drawing. the back looks like spikes and regular ones at that. Regularity is an anathema in a painting. So how do I fix it without starting over?! So of course I kept on painting.

Starting the head. And then of course I forgot to take pics. Sigh. Really like the quin gold and the quin rose with cerulean on the neck and around the beak. But then no more pics. Sigh.

So here she is almost done but those spikes are still annoying me. So yesterday after madly painting with Vlad I thought slap some paint on the background and get rid of those spikes.

So I did. And it went well. I painted the horrible spikey look out. HURRAH!! But then I got the dreadful green run across the bottom of the beak. The 140 kilimanjaro was waffling like crazy with huge ripples making the washes run like crazy. To make it worse the green run was THALO notoriously staining of any paper. NIGHTMARE time.

Slapping cobalt on to give her some curves.

So her she is today. The paper dried amazingly flat for all the ripples it had yesterday. Maybe I can grey out the green streak. Tomorrows job! I do like the way she looks now.

Maybe a crop to take a couple of inches off on the right?? She’s a big girl at 16×20”. Did I say I have already drawn another one?! 😵‍💫

Tonite sunset was rather spectacular. I saw it out of the corner of my eye as I was heating up our dinner leftovers. We do love a good bowl of leftover soup.

Margaret ready for bed xoxoxox

Hand is now cramping

February 6, 2023February 6, 20234 Comments

Almost done. Twelve hours or so just today on this 1/4 sheet. Fabriano Artistico cold press 300#

Endless drawing. Third time. First trace was wrong second draw was lifted by masking. Spent three hours redrawing. Or was it four. 🙃🙃🙃😵‍💫

Now to figure out where to put the masking on the bottle. 😳😵‍💫

Jar masked. Kept dipping the brush in soapy water and drying it off. Also dumped the masking in the lid. Went much easier after I did that. I think asking the whole letter and lifting the mask to paint the dark will be easier than masking the highlight around each one. We shall see

Masking on jar removed. I think it looks awful. so hard to soften those edges that masking leaves.

Quitting for now. Need to work on the jar some more esp 1858 BUT my hands and shoulder are DONE.

Finally standing back from it i think it looks amazing if I do say so myself. since it’s sucked up most of my life for the last few days glad it does.

Margaret xoxoxo where’s the chocolate?

The boat has sailed

May 12, 2021May 19, 20212 Comments

I actually like this so far. The morning will tell. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

Yellow ochre cobalt and alizarin This layer will eventually disappear or appear to be white.

Sky wash cerulean instead of cobalt. Otherwise the same colors. Yellow ochre alizarin and neutral tint

My terrible blotchy trees that I dry brushed. Colors cobalt Dioxzine purple yellow ochre for the purple color. Indigo and cad yellow w a bit of burnt Sienna for the greener colors.

Well zap a lot more done. Too much to tell u even a bit abt it but omgoodness that dinky little boat.

Fixing mistakes. Well trying to. Adding blacks to the trees.

And done for now. So glad those overhead branches hide my terrible rigging on the boats or the blotchy trees. Thank goodness. A reprieve.

Margaret ready for a nap after four hours of madly chasing after Vlad today. Eeek.

Xoxoxoxo

Somewhere in Italy

May 5, 2021May 19, 20211 Comment

On the whole I like it but feel it’s a little light. I will sleep on it and decide. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

Even before painting I managed to smear the worst color of all to remove- Alizarin- on my lovely pristine white paper.
Eeek.
I did blot it off a little. By the end it seemingly became much less noticeable. Thank goodness.

First wash. Boy that took forever. While it looks dark right now it really dried to become very light. cobalt alizarin yellow ochre and cad orange

Sky wash done. I managed to keep my fingers out of for once. Cerulean neutral tint dioxzine violet

Adding shadows. Cobalt yellow ochre dioxzine and neutral tint

Suddenly those darks make the first washed look so light. How strange is that?! The blooms aka rocks on the foreground are made by splattering water on the greys once it dries a bit.

And done for now. You can only see a bit of the alizarin smears. Handy the lady has an alizarin top isn’t it!?

Margaret all in for tonite. Michael’s tomorrow for some fixative I hope. Otherwise waiting til I go to Blick this weekend.

Xoxoxo

You Can’t Have Enough Blue!!

April 27, 2021April 28, 20212 Comments

Ultramarine Cobalt and Thalo Blue!!

Guinea fowl Acrylic 12×12” gallery wrapped canvas

The photo. I do love these funny quirky birds. So like a mini dinosaur

The beginnings. This is all done with paint not adding water to the paint.

Colors used Ultramarine cobalt Thalo lemon yellow cad red alizarin titanium white.

I noticed that my liquified seemed to have dried out much more than the more expensive golden paints.

The brushes. Used a lot of those dirt cheap house painting brushes. Make great grass like marks.

Everyone needs one of these. It opens any jar or better yet tubes of paint. Opens the small to the large size. My youngest son said he wanted to inherit mine. I found them at Publixs in the kitchen section during the pandemic. He was thrilled when I gave him his.

Go buy one. You will be glad you did.

Quitting for now because it’s annoying me greatly!!

Zoe who the kitties love but she does not love them back.

Margaret xoxoxo

Over the hill

April 16, 2021April 16, 2021Leave a comment

Rather like this. Might be my fav watercolor I have done lately.

Quarter sheet Hahnamuhle Cezanne 140#

Took a fast 1 hr class with Graham Booth sponsored by Shopkeeparty as an ad for his longer paid class next Th. You can also purchase a downloadable video of the session too and have permanent access to it. As I said John at Shopkeeparty is doing a great service to the art community. It was posted on YouTube today.

I have followed Graham on YouTube for a while and do like to paint along with him when I have time energy and like his subject. The videos he posts are shorter but still interesting.

Graham lives in N Ireland. At what other time could you be in Ga and take a class from someone live in N Ireland?! Zoom makes it possible.

The photo. Somewhere in Scotland but could be in the Blue Ridge so that’s what I am going with.

First wash. Sky way to pale.

Always amazed at how it changes when you add some darks. Mix of quin gold and ultramarine. I think.

Hmmm🧐🧐

Splat the buildings were done. Some of the foreground. Cad red on the roofs. Burnt sienna ultramarine for greys. Ultramarine and alizarin for the purple. More green in the foreground. Splattering red for flowers and I think yellow.

And then we were fine. Adding a few shadows and more darks in the foreground.

Zoe telling me to get up yesterday.

Ttyl Margaret xoxoxo

Archibald Butt Bridge

March 19, 2021March 19, 20212 Comments

Done for the moment. Quarter sheet of fluid hot press paper. The bridge is an Augusta landmark on 15th Street and spans the Augusta Canal. The mills in the background once were powered by the canal. Archibald Butt was an Augustan who died on the Titanic giving up his seat in a lifeboat. He also served in President Roosevelt and then Tafts administration who came to town for the dedication. Butts is buried at Arlington.

The ink sketch. This stage was not easy for me. Took about 4 hours of thinking and scheming deciding how to draw the bridge.

Watercolor washes. Colors used Thalo blue, quin gold, quin burnt orange, dioxzine purple, cad red.

Last step adding more pen and tombows.

Gorgeous early spring day today despite tornado warnings. Lots of gusty winds.

Margaret who didn’t sleep a lot thinking about all those tornadoes that never got here. Xoxoxox

Day 235 Urbansketching in Decatur

November 4, 2020November 4, 2020Leave a comment

The view from our lunch table at Taqueria de Sol on W Ponce yesterday. Thought my fingers were going to freeze off.

My favorite hamburger joint the original Farmburgers and Chai Pani Indian Street food the home of blistered tongues from their hot food. Give me a farmburger please. Sooo good.

Stillman and Birn Alpha and Micro univalve. Meant to post yesterday but was too busy watching the election returns. Swore I wouldn’t but oh well. Now I needs a nap.

Margaret still listening on NPR. Xoxoxo

Day 217 Assisi, Italy

October 18, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

Flew off to Assisi Italy today with Vlad Yesileyev on his paint along. So far. Leaning toward this is DONE but might change my mind in the am.

The photo

The value sketch by Vlad Yesilev. I am bad. I don’t look at the shades. Rather look at the painting.

First wash.

I use a muffin Pan to mix the first wash-yellow ochre cobalt and alizarin – in so I can save it for the next painting instead of tossing. I do have to stir it up before use because the color settles. Moving along flowers started.

Same colors as first wash and burnt umber dioxzine and Andrew’s turquoise.

Well underway almost done. I forgot to take photos. Oops. We added indigo mixed w cobalt to our colors. Should have had two windows but I messed up. So I have three up top. Another oops.

I decided I needed to fix the top of the left door. It was NOT aim perspective.

So now I am done. Pot kitties fed. Chicken pot pie in the oven. Time to put my feet up and snuggle Zoe for a while.

Margaret xoxoxox

Day 164 Sweating in Barcelona

August 26, 2020August 26, 20207 Comments

Another wild paint along with Vlad. Can’t wait for the next one Sunday. Painting boats. Love boat paintings

10×15″ Kilimanjaro 300#. I decided to use Kilimanjaro to see if it scraped like the nasty arches did.

The Arches scrapes great to do leaves, branches or grass. Maybe it will scrape for boat lines. Or I can use my dads antique arches that’s probably 20 years old. I know it scrapes great.

The photo. Kind of a nothing photo don’t you think except nice sunny light, umbrellas and a beautiful old building.

The value sketch

First wash- the water stage

Colors growing. Aka more first wash. Umbrellas really orange but odd it looks so red in this photo.

The second darker washes more pigment. The tea stage.

The last layers. Lots of milk. Aka thicker paint. I think mine moving be too thick.

And the way it is now. Kinda wishing I had not added the Browns and the grey trees on the left. Sometimes I get up in the morning and like them a lot better. We shall see right?!

Had fun drawing all over it with my white gel pen zip zip and always solid unlike white gouache.

Margaret ready for bed but has to watch one more episode of Schitts creek-my current binge. Soooo funny on Netflix’s. Watch more than one before you pass judgement. Xoxoxox