Day 570 – A quickie

January 24, 2016Leave a comment

Thought that would get your attention. I shop too much at Costco and these are just Some of the things that I bought on two trips- one to pick up croissants and one to pick up those luscious new crop strawberries.

I also bought a dog bed and four pounds of butter. 😋

Two friends and I were doing lunch when we started talking about we had on jeans we had bought at Costco the Amanda by Gloria Vanderbilt.

And of course we had a good laugh about what else we were wearing that’s as bought at Costco like my boots.

Next time we need to do lunch at Costco aka sample heaven in the afternoon. Hard to resist those impulse purchases.

Yesthe Florida strawberries are in!!

I may go back and paint the background yellow. I meant too but got carried away on a map for my sons weddings save the date in September.

Colors. The letters started out as cobalt but were too pale so I added Inathrodone to them. Cad red on strawberries. All the green is hookers w cobalt. Same on the hydrangea and strawberry tops. Blacks are Inathrodone and burnt umber or burnt sienna.

Currently dyeing a mouse brown scarf red.

Right now it’s a nice rust but going to dunk it in food coloring since I already used all the koolaid. It’s soaking in vinegar and water for the next go round. If that doesn’t work back to Krogers for more tropical punch.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 569 – Rolling down the River -Moisson

January 23, 2016Leave a comment

I was really into the sketch out the window by the time we got to Moisson. Or should I say floated by Moisson.

If you go there you won’t see this exact landscape started with the church and kept adding interesting houses as we passed them. The foreground trees were added last.

A fun challenge to see how quickly you could draw the passing buildings.

Odd now that I think about it we didn’t see people in the landscape. Or maybe I was so fascinated with the unique character of the buildings I didn’t notice the people?

The trees lining the riverbank were often a frothy light green and always loaded with mistletoe. As one of our guides said ” We French like to kiss a lot so we leave the mistletoe in the trees.”

Colors used Apatite green and hookers. The apatite green granulates into lovely purples and Browns. Quin gold and red orange in the rusty trees. Winsor yellow to lighten the greens. Greys are burnt sienna and cerulean or Inathrodone. Blacks Inathrodone and burnt umber. Sky water blues cerulean.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret watching the grey muddy Savannah River rush by during another deluge. Xxx

Day 568 – The Seine at Mericourt

January 22, 2016January 22, 2016Leave a comment

There are huge locks at Mericourt to let the boats sail the shallow Seine River. Everybody on the boat was up top to get a good view of our trip thru the locks. Did you knw it’s a good way to get a bath? As you pass under the lock gate it drenches you with the water accumulated as its raised from the river.

Again a compilation of houses. Mostly from Mericourt and Roche Guyon.

There was almost a disaster. There was a big black blob of ink fell on it in the pine grove. Eeeekkkk. I managed to save it by watering the blob down and painting the pines dark. Can you find it??

The locks.

When painting these it’s necessary to use a lot of negative painting and contrasting colors to get the light buildings to show up. They can get lost on the riverbank if you don’t.

TIP: I check values by using my phone camera and turning the painting black and white. You will see if you have lights and darks or if everything is painted in a midtone which is what most people tend to do.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret whose hoping the Savannah doesn’t flood Augusta again with all this rain. Xxx

Day 567 – Up the Seine to Rolleboise

January 21, 2016Leave a comment

Don’t you LOVE the name??! Rolleboise!!!

As we floated up the Seine to Normandy the most charming scenery floated by. Every building was unique but they whizzed by so that I could only draw one or two at a time.

The a light bulb went on!! I could compile buildings on the hillside just like I do people. I drew several pages of them before I was done.

This is the first one I did. And yes the hillside was surprisingly green for fall.

Hillside is Hookers green and green apatite with Quin burnt orange and Quin gold with bits of Inathrodone blue.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret off to painting class. Xxx

Day 566 -Quai Grenelle / Radio France

January 20, 2016January 20, 2016Leave a comment

Quai Grenelle / Radio France building as the sun was setting. It does that early in Paris because it sits at such a northern latitude. That said the walk along the quai was bustling with people going for evening walks.
The people were added as they walked across the path at the top of the quai. I really think people bring a landscape or cityscape to life.

This part of Paris had a lot of interesting modern buildings which I would still like to draw. The terrorists interfered with my plan.

This is painted with a bottom coat of Winsor Yellow and bits of Quin gold.

The blue is mostly cobalt blue which is a good transparent color. Harder to get muddy colors if you start out with transparent colors.

Greys are cobalt and burnt sienna or inathradone blue and burnt sienna.

Trees are Quin gold and hookers green and green apatite with Inathrodone blue.

Day 565 – St Maclou

January 19, 2016January 19, 20162 Comments

St Maclou Neighborhood Rouen

Noodler Konrad Platinum Black Ink Strathmore 500 Mixed Media journal

I sketched this late one grey afternoon sitting under an old tree in the square in front of St Maclou which is a lovely Gothic Church surrounded by half timber buildings. People continually walked by and I dropped them in here and there in the drawing.

St McClou was probably my favorite church. A gothic pile of confection like a wedding cake encrusted on every surface with lace and gargoyles and embellishments of every kind.

The church is on the small side in the sketch but I like it a lot anyway. Originally I had the church too light. I was trying not to get it too dark but the house was too dominant so I had to darken it.

I also darkened the sky which made the very light church pop more.

Colors used. The ones I usually use aka I can’t remember which ones. Oops. Sorry!!

Thanks for reading.

Day 564 A -Ilenia part deux

January 17, 2016Leave a comment

Uses a one inch and an one and a half inch hog bristle to lighten the offending darks. I also added white and cobalt blue to the background using sheer layers. Lightened a lot of the face shadows with a watered white.

No beards on Ilenia!!

Of course I lightened the background w a dry white and cobalt blue. It helps soften some of her edges. Probably could do more but I am leaving her alone for now.

Thanks for checking in!!

Margaret who is off to knit and contemplate another painting. Xxx

Day 564 – Ilenia time!

January 17, 2016January 17, 2016Leave a comment

After forty minutes work. Other than her eyes were a little close together I think I like this one better than the more finished product. Like the immediacy and the brush strokes – the looseness of it.

This was painted with three colors. Goldens Nickel ago gold, alizarin Crimson and titanium white. I did add ultramarine and burnt umber to the hair.

Here she is now. Looking a little too old and what’s with the stripe on her tummy!? And the neck. An old lady chicken neck. Not good on a thirty year old. Too many hard edges.

That’s ALL got to go. No more small brushes! If it’s not a big hog bristle I can’t use it. Lol.
Back to the easel!!

Repost her when she gets better!!

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 563 – Auvers sur L’Oise or How to make a Map!

January 16, 2016January 17, 20162 Comments

Auvers is a small French village best known as the town for Vincent Van Gogh spending the last summer of his life here. He also painted 70 paintings in the 90 or so days he was there.

A short bus ride from Paris Auvers is a part of France that has been preserved as a historic area. It can never be changed. No new buildings can be added so it’s like a walk thru Van Gogh’s last days.

Vincent’s room is still there in the Aubeege Ravoux. A tiny room in the attic what the British call a box room.

Auvers Hotel de Ville July 14 1890 (The Town Hall, Bastille Day, the French Independence Day)

You can look out the window and see the Hotel de Ville which of course he painted. It still has the flags across the second floor Windows.

Turn right out of the Auberge and walk up Rue de Sausonne. The lane the stone gate the steps and the house are still there. The only thing that changes are the trees.

Climb the steps and walk down Daubigny to the Eglise Notre Dame de l’Assomption.

Turn left, walk up the hill to the famous wheat field.

Another right front the field will take you to the Cemetary where he is buried with his brother Theo.

A lovely little village. I was just sad I could not draw one sketch while I was there. zip zip zip we ran up and down the hilly river town.

Auvers je reviens!!

Oh before I close. How do I do these. Usually I start with a rough sketch of the route walked penciling in buildings I want to include.

Then I draw it out as I want it to be. I also make a mental list of embellishments for it. People or in this case sunflowers and crows and Van Goghs paintings.

Pencil sketch.

Inked map.

Thanks for reading. Off to draw in Aiken aka I am running late doing this post.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 562- Happy Anniversary

January 16, 2016Leave a comment

My blog is one year old today!! WordPress has been great!! Already twice as many followers as I had on my old Blogger blog after 9 years.

I have been putting off painting this sketch I made one Saturday nite when we sat under the Eiffel Tower enjoying watching it sparkle.

So many people were there including the guys who hawked these twinkling Eiffel Towers and bottles of champagne. I imagine someone would be busy picking your pocket while you bought one.

Pick pockets are terrible at the Eiffel Tower but we had nothing with us but our room cards, a sketchbook, and a pen or two in my pocket. No money.

They gave up trying to sell us one when I sat down on the curb and started drawing. Once again I drew the people as they drifted by.

So Happy Birthday blog. Thanks for following me.

Oh TIP: How I painted this. Wish I had taken photos. First I painted the tower with Winsor yellow and let it dry. Then I painted the people with a mixture of mineral violet and cobalt and bits of burnt sienna and burnt umber.

Then I painted the ground and the tower with Quin gold. Shadows got added wet on wet violet and cobalt.

The dark sky was painted TWICE Inathrodone and burnt umber mixed. Let it dry between coats. If this were not in my sketchbook I might paint it again. Last I added shadows where the girders crossed.

Trees. Ooops forgot them. Quin gold and Daniel smith green apitite with some of the night sky color painted over it.

Is the tower accurate? NO! But it does give the feel of standing under the tower on a dark nite enjoying it twinkle with the rest of Paris.