Day 984 Alex and Willie

April 2, 2017April 2, 2017Leave a comment

Every Sunday I watch CBS SUnday Morning. My fav bits on it are the partsabout artists or singers people stuff. And this show is crammed with them. Alex was on this am talking about his 45 impersonations. Hard to resist sketching him. He morphed into 45. The mans definitely making me political!!

The background was Quin gold but not enough contrast w the head. Like the orange one better. After all he is the Orange One”

Have always loved Willie and meant to just draw him. He just popped onto the page. What’s not to love about an 84 year old who says “we woke up and we are still not dead!”??

Think they are done. Maybe. Trying to resist the urge to scribble on them in the background with a soft dark pencils. So many quotable quotes from them both.

Painted on 280# Arches Cold Press with Ted Nuttalls transparent palette plus cerulean, hematite and cheap Joes Andrews Turquoise. Pen pentel brush pen.

Ttyl Going to try my hand at horses today.

Margaret taking a walk in the park today too.

Day 982 Dr Sketchys 2

March 31, 2017March 31, 2017Leave a comment

Love the Chinese dresses Foxy wore at Dr Sketchys Wednesday. Gorgeous fabrics and they fit her like a glove. Classic Chinese dresses probably from her home in Taiwan.

This is my favorite sketch I think though the next one is nice too.

Both 11×14″ Super Aquabee tablet. Noodler Konrad WN colors in a whiskey painter box with a Cotman travel box full of Daniel Smith quinacridones. I used a gold Wink of Stella marker to sparkle these.

This was a challenge to add origami elements. I have folded thousands of those cranes and a few of the frogs. As a kid I loved doing origami since the first kit I received for Christmas. I think she’s slightly out of proportion. Head to big. Legs a tad too short but I like her anyway. A lot to draw and paint in 20 minutes!!

Day 982 Last Nite!

March 30, 20172 Comments

After several disastrous sketches I knew I could handle our beautiful Asian model when I did this watercolor in ten minutes or so.

All sketches are 11×14 in a Super Aquabee tablet. Love that paper. Painted with my whisky painter box loaded with WN and Daniel Smith Quin coral and an old Cotman palette loaded with every quinacridone I own plus thalo blue and green black and white gouache. Painted with a pentel waterbrush.

These are all two minute sketches. Some of these will probably be altered. And most are pretty awful. As in EEEKKK I Don’t feel good and I can’t draw a thing tonite. This one was the worst.

Better. I decided to give up my go to Dr Sketchys pen the Pentel Brush pen and use a Noodler Konrad. Life improved. I always think it’s interesting how a change of pen can improve your drawing skills when they aren’t going well.

Next We had a challenge to turn her into a fox. Evidently her stage name is Foxy. As some of you know I like to draw chickens. Follow them around at Key West to draw them or sit and watch them and sketch them. Never thought chickens could be so much fun but they are.

Really like the sketchiness of her body and legs in this one.

Ttyl another busy day. Haircut picking up paintings and back to aiken for a reception for a friends show.

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 980 A few of those 100 people

March 28, 2017Leave a comment

Painting the Farmhaus people

And a few of my tv sketches. Really liking the background colors. A lot different than my usual cerulean. Sometimes it pays to get outta the box you are in.

Painted with Ted Nuttalls transparent palette.

Book club tonite. If you haven’t read When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanathi do. Don’t know when a book has made me cry more. So poignant. Wonderful book.

Book club tonite. Off I go. Xoxoxo Margaret.

Day 979 -21 Days left

March 27, 2017March 27, 2017Leave a comment

Till 1000. The goal is nigh!

Taking an online class in extreme journaling with Julianna Coles. All my questing for a book at goodwill, salvation army, thrift stores and in the garage where I found a forgotten stack of books I found the perfect book in my son’s recycle bin in Atlanta. It’s a heavy thick very slick Saks sales ad. Since it was trash I didn’t feel bad about altering it. It also had some nice photos of women in it.

Despite babysitting the grandchildren single handedly, lecturing to middle schoolers about art quilts aka show n tell and driving about four hundred miles I bounced out of bed to start the monster mash process this morning.

I worked on the cover since I did not like the big script Saks on the cover.

Oddest thing happened when I opened a huge old Bartletts to cut out poetry. I don’t think I even turned a page. It opened to a page that held a poem about “locking all your heart aches inside” and “hide it in your trunk” “will hide all your failures””will rise to meet you yet” and of course I cut them out and glued them on.

I don’t think it’s quite done the more I look at them. Bout maybe they are never done? They will tell me. Lots of fun. Go sign up.

The first double page spread. Thinking it’s still too busy.

I painted stamped collages scribbled and painted and lettered and I could go on but it’s time for French. Acrylic paint caran dache neocolonial ii prismacolor paintstiks paint marker.

The books about the size of a piece of printer paper. Can’t wait for the next chapter.

Margaret xoxoxo #julianacoles

Day 976 Time for some News

March 24, 2017Leave a comment

Been obsesssed with the news as many other Americans have and I take notes and draw the talking heads. Monday I was almost late to class listening to Comey FBI director talk about their investigation into the Presidents claims against Obama which of course as most people knew even before the testimony were completely unfounded.

His other bomb shell was that the FBI has been investigating the Trumps campaigned connections to the Russians since July. And I am keeping track of what they are saying and how it’s interlocked.

It’s just all to incredible.

About the picture. I had a few problems with Comeys face. His eyes and mouth should be parallel. They weren’t. I fixed him by adding a dark left corner to his mouth which raised it slightly.

The purple brown on his face is Daniel smiths piemonite. Love that color. Makes delicious darks combined with blues too. And stays transparent.

I think I nailed Schiff.

Most of the red is a grease pencil. SO much fun. Loved them. Got a box of 5-6different colors on Amazon. It’s like a crayon on steroids.

Otherwise the colors are Ted Nuttalls transparent palette plus piemonite on their faces for shadows.

Ttyl Margaret xoxoxo Where’s my Dick Blick 40% off coupon?? Heading that way today. Art store shopping!!

Day 975 One more St Paddys Day

March 23, 2017Leave a comment

Could not resist drawing this great pirate ship passed by loaded with people tossing beads to the crowds. So much to draw and so little time. I really like parts of this but the foreground people watching are all assorted sizes. The middle group too tall for the other two groups.

And I completely forgot to draw the buildings in the background. OOPS!!!

Oh well that’s the thing about live sketching. Some you win some you mess up. Lol.

One more to go. The Whiskey Bar Lamy Safari. Lexington Grey ink in a Stillman and Birn Alpha.

Colors used. Every green I own. Pants are all some combo of ultramarine blue and burnt umber. Sky peacock blue I think.

Ttyl off to delve into Atlanta after talking to two groups is middle school art kids. One was awesome second one ready for lunch. Fun classes though the kids are so cute. Just hungry.

Margaret xoxox

Day 974 More St Paddys Day Parade

March 22, 2017March 22, 2017Leave a comment

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

Day 968 Hmm I know I have something to post.

March 15, 2017March 15, 2017Leave a comment

Number three does this mean it’s a series. Still not colored because I am sitting in a dental chair. Eeeekkk. Woke up and thought about it last nite. How to color it. Leave it plain like the others or alter it. We shall see.

Options. Watercolor acrylic pens gel pens paint markers. We shall see. Oh and collage.

I spent most of the day working on these two in photoshop and test printing Sacred Heart on various papers. Oddly my big HP did as well as the Epson. Hmmm.

I want to stitch the big Mill together to get rid of the seam. No success yet. Soon I hope. And the colors are off when I print. Waiting for one more cartridge for the epson which I know is archival. I did run a piece of watercolor paper thru the HP without a hiccup. Who knew you could do that?!

Ttyl

Margaret xoxoxo more photoshop and printing adventures to come.

Day 957 It’s Saturday

March 5, 2017Leave a comment

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.