I drew the inside the other day and decided to draw the outside when I was downtown yesterday. It’s a beautiful old colonial style church. Really like the way this painting turned out.
All the main colors were done in one wash of color and then other colors dropped in while it was still wet.
Here’s the inside again.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
Anniversary was yesterday. 100 years ago everything down from 8th Street and east of Greene Street to the river burned.
We went to the Tuesday Music Live Concert at historic St Pauls which commemorated the anniversary with one of their Tuesday Convert series. 100 years ago yesterday the congregation gathered to pray the colonial era church would be saved from blaze devouring downtown.
I drew this while I listened to the wonderful pianist.
Here’s a shot of the sacristy and a video by a local historian Bill Kirby about the fire.
A quick sketch I did a couple of years ago of the church from the street.
And an exterior shot.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
This weekend my sister Jan and I tagged teamed my sweet grandchildren Henry and Livia. Henry slowed down enough for me to sketch him watching Care Bears and playing with his cars his gramy bought him at Mc Donald’s and Publixs.
His dad asked me if I bought him a car at Publixs and I said Yes of course he asked for one and a rabbit for his sister and flowers for his mom but we knew daddy didn’t want anything but that ham we cooked!!
They also went to the zoo. When I asked Henry what his favorite part of the zoo was he told me you Gramy. What a kid. Lol.
Last a bit of ink fun with my Kuretake brush pen. I just like the quote. And it’s true. Hard to be perfect.
I got the quote from the strathmore art on line sketchbook Art Ninja Graham Smiths class. Check it out. It’s free. I wish I drew glad as well as he does. Here is his website.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
Reasons.
Urban sketching at Costco. And NO I did not eat a hotdog when I drew this. I usually do though. Probably good snacks this day whxib everybody knows are calorie free right?!
I did hide in the corner behind my purse which is of course big enough to carry my sketchbook and pants.
Tip: when you take the grandchildren to the zoo you don’t want your bevy purse loaded with sketching stuff when you pick up a 45 lb kid to look at the snakes Be sure to take your over the shoulder sketch purse with sketching stuff and the other important thing MONEY for the gift shop train and carousel!! 😋
These people were drawn as we all stood in the return line. I love to buy stuff and bring it back to Costco. They ALWAYS take stuff bought there back no questions other than can I Have your members card please. I do LOVE Costco!!
Off to class. Need to go by Costco and fill up. Gas is always 20-25 cents cheaper!! And Booking a trip to Paris and maybe Lindon and Dublin via Iceland. No time to list colors but I did use the usual ones.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
A few quick pen sketches I did today at the Augusta Area Newcomers luncheon.
I actually was hiding the sketchbook under the table. I warmed up with the lady on the left and proceeded to our auctioneer Ken and then one of my friends hiding behind a huge basket. If I paint them they will know who they are by their clothes. They don’t look a lot like them. 
This one however does look a lot like our esteemed adorable sweet president Susan. Warming up does help!!
I actually won the silent auction on this wonderful acrylic by friend and Dr Sketchy/Saturday life modeling sketching friend Ruth Pearl. LOVE it. Now where to hang it?!
Noodler Konrad and strathmore 500 Moxed Media sketchbook. Stick those sketchbooks in your lap and get your pens busy. If I can sketch in the middle of 200 people I know you can do it too.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
Arrowmonches Les Bains in Normandy near the D Day invasion site. Charming quintessential French village by the seaside. Some of the WW2 beach defenses still remain out in the breakers.
We had a delicious coq au vin lunch at Brasserie 6 Juin.
I almost missed the bus drawing this picture. 😳 I could have happily sat there drawing the village all afternoon while the others went to the landing sites but it would have been a LONG walk back to the boat moored at quai in Rouen.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx dreaming of France
30×40″ acrylic
Is done. What else can I say. Hmm should I add at least for today?! 😊 you never know what I might decide needs fixing when I look at him tomorrow BUT I really do think he’s done.
He will be entered in the big show in Anderson SC next month so let’s hope he doesn’t talk to me anymore.
Detail of his hands
Tip:The smallest brush he was painted with was a 1″ hog bristle filbert. Impossible to get to picky with these brushes. He was also painted with a three inch house painting brush.
The only work done with a small brush was the original sketch. It was done with a 1/4″ Winsor Newton monarch filbert. I do love those brushes.
I also finished her up yesterday but she reserves the right to talk to me and say MORE!!
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx whose drowning in the early pollen. Green snow covers the world in Augusta Ga.
Spent a delightful day yesterday with Ann Gilmore and Cyndy Epps painting on Mary Futrells back porch in River Island. We were the features artists on Augusta Symphony 7th Annual Kithcen Tour of homes.
This is one of the things that I painted while I was there. The red trees are red oaks. Did you know that this is the only time of the year you can tell they are red oaks- because they leaf out with a red blush.
Yesterday was a deliciously perfect spring day to spend on a back porch painting and talking the day away. What fun!! This was our view.
I guess I was actually Plein air painting for once outside. Usually I stay out of the weather and paint in the car or thru the window at my house because it’s often far too hot or too buggy along the river.
Colors used alizarin Winsor yellow cerulean cobalt dioxzine purple hematite green ultramarine blue burnt umber burnt sienna Quinacridone sienna.
Thanks from reading.
Margaret xxx
She’s been thru a lot of changes now. Really love her wings. In fact really like EVERYTHING except one tiny thing. Her right breast. How did it get so round?! But that’s easy to fix. At least I think it is.
Hardest part will be going downstairs to the garage to get the paint out of the car.
Here are a few before and in he process photos.
Saturday after an hour and a half. Maybe she was better then. I dunno. Anyway she told me she wanted to be an angel.
Monday. At some point I think I for her left foot to light in the bottom. Hmm how?! And I didn’t like the stripiness of the wings.
Knocking Back the gold and dark streaks in wings. I added a lot of brushy dry white.
And the bottom part brushes out whiter. I also added a lot of iridescent gold and a smidge of copper which is impossible to see in a photo.
Ok so I will fix her foot and her breast. The foot makes her look floaty somehow. Took me till Judy now looking at all these photos to figure out why she looked that way. 👀 And I thought the problem was her breast.
Thanks for reading.
M who needs a nap now. Xxx
Margaretxxx
I have been playing with my stick bamboo stick all week. Done a sketch everyday. The Carbon Black ink from Gouletpens works best with my stick. Not the India ink. It seems to load on the stick better.
Anyway after I tried to shade the ibis in the back grey since he’s in the shadow I decided to do negative painting in the background letting the ink puddles bleed into the brush water to make various shades of grey.
It seems impossible to get control of that ink flow. It leaves a lot of hard edges which are great for Key West underbrush but not on a bird.
After the grey puddles dried a little I went back in and drew ink lines in for sticks on the ground.
If I could change this I would get rid of the grey on the farthest back ibis.
This is yesterday’s ibis. I actually like them except for all the black. These are young ibis and have a lot of mottled grey on their necks.
Maybe I will redraw them and add some background? I think they are funny. The Ibis at the Key West Wildlife Center are beggars and wait for snacks aka dog food that was fed to them.
My favorite still are the chickens. I don’t know why but I LOVE chickens.
Did I say writing with a stick does not produce the most graceful writing?
Here’s another chicken sketch done earlier. I can’t imagine dong this on location. I would have an inky mess everywhere. Not good when it’s permanent and very black!!
I also had a paper problem. I used my beloved 93 # Aquabee first but the ink is so thick from the stick that I got out my #98 Canson mixed media sketchbook and used it. No more ink soaking they the paper. At least not yet.
And here’s Livia again. One of the first sketches withy the stick from last Sunday. I don’t know why I didn’t notice one of her legs is smaller than the other. But that’s an easy fix. Sketching frequently had a lot of surprises like a too skinny leg.
Enjoy your day. Happy stick sketching.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret xxx
Margaret McCarthy Hunt Art 