Day 158 Update

August 19, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

The Finger Lakes Upstate NY

Fabriano 300# rough 15×22″Paint alongs with Vladislav Yesileyev

Done. I lost a lot of whites and can be almost impossible to get back.

Had fun drawing white lines on it with my white pentel gel pen. It easily lays down a really white covering line. If it’s not getting entered in a Watercolor Show doesn’t matter if it’s gouache or gel pen does it?! Yesterday. I added ALOT OF DARKS today and tried to finish the water. A few more windows and darker ones bigger shadows more shadows. Greyes the power pole down. Built a fence and a dock well sort of.

Somewhere in Paris
Fabriano 300# rough 15×22″

Done

Added more darks and some whites with my white pentel gel pen. The darks really make both of the paintings pop don’t you think!??

I think when it comes down to it I just like to draw with something. A pen is good a crayons works so does a dark juicy pencil.

Fabulous clouds tonite.

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 138 Maryland Farm vc

July 22, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

So far. Was completely worn out when this paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev was done. Already making a list of improvements.

I couldn’t help but think that Frank and Mike on American Pickers would be Gaga over this old army truck. Vlad cracked me up by saying wonder what color this truck used to be. I wanted to say how about army green?!!!😂👍🏻

The photo

The sketch. Half sheet. A major undertaking. Eeek

First wash. Only a few colors cerulean sky neutral tint alizarin dioxzine purple cobalt yellow ochre cad yellow and red cobalt turquoise burnt sienna. That’s about it for now.

Accidently shot the barn up close. Thought u might like a look. Really nothing there is there.

and not done yet. Half sheet Fabriano rough.

Worn out. Had a glass of wine which I do about once a year. Today was the day.

Another way to look at masks. Better to wear and not need than to not wear and need aka be ill.😘

Hugs wear a mask stay safe.

Margaret Xoxoxox

Day 136 Giverny

July 18, 2020May 19, 20212 Comments

Pronouncing this one done. I added lines to the sidewalk and stone effect. A few whites with Gouache. More reds on the taillights for sparkle. More black lines. Adding details here and there to improve contrast.

Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev1/4 sheet Fabriano rough press. Lucas wc paint which I think gives a cloudy effect.

Last time. Can you tell the difference???

I am told this looks just like Giverny. When we were in France we didn’t go because it was closed. Closes in Nov I think.

But we went to Auvers where Van Gogh painted his last 6 months and finally died. It still looks just like it did when he lived there.

Do you know if you had gone to Van Gogh funeral you could have taken home one of his paintings.

I painted this during a five hour long class with Vlad on drawing cars which I draw a lot and people ditto that. He always brings something new and fresh to the table that you have never thought of.

Margaret xoxoxo tucking into my Ina Garten Bianca pizza.

Day 64 when u start talking

May 17, 20201 Comment

To an onion you know you have been alone too long. Told it I had drawn a really great picture of it before I copped it up for ratatouille. I even cried. Onions always make me cry when I cut them up. 🤣

Told you it needed paint.

Margaret watching As Time Goes By for the jillionth Time waiting for the bread to finish rising.

Day 36 entertainment never

April 18, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

Stops around here. Took another paintalong with Vlad Yesileyev. Maybe I will like this better tomorrow.

Vlads. Better pic on Fb tomorrow.

For some reason I seem determined to cross every t and dot every eye though I have known from freshman art that’s a no no.

My value study.

Loved his explanations that surround it.

Use the biggest brush you can.

Heads are on the horizon line.

Start drawing and painting in the middle.

We are not cameras. We don’t see everything. We focus on what we think is important.

Give an accident a chance.

Use your eraser too much you are an illustrator.

First sketch. I had to eliminate quite a few things.

First wash now that it’s been thinned out.

Coming along.

is Vlads.

Margaret who need a nap now or to go to bed.

Day 1028 More Flowers

May 16, 2017Leave a comment

My best of the three attempts I made painting this bouquet. I thought painting white flowers was hard till I did this one. Those yellow flowers were a pain.

Funny story. When I showed it to Joe Miller aka Cheap Joe he quipped if I asked Charles Reid to sign it I would have TWO charles Reid flower paintings.

So I did. Darn he didn’t do it. 🤗He did laff when I told him Joe told me to do it.

I do have this very tiny Charles Reid sketch in my class notes where he explained to me how he would paint the yellow flowers.

Unpacking almost done. Now I have to go to the grocery store for something healthy to eat. All I have in the house is a couple of apples and I want to paint them BEFORE i eat them.

And I want to paint this great Mother’s Day bouquet before it does so off I go.

I did collage the cover of my notebooks from Charles and Peggi Habets class. It’s a Strathmore Mixed Media 500 sketchbook which has such a dull brown cover.

Ttyl xoxox Margaret glad she’s more unpacked than packed.

Day 1011 Some Grafitti aka Extreme Journaling

April 28, 20177 Comments

Well let’s hope I don’t accidentally delete this post this time. ROUND TWO!!

This is the assignment for week five of the Juliana Coles The Book of the Night class. Based on the Persephone Demeter Greek Myth. As usual first we journaled. Then I painted it out.

And I painted collaged and stamped it.

I added some red paint wiping it off and some purple on the spring side.

Added the white lettering with caran dache neocolor ii and scribbled on it some of the neocolors.

I also used my new favorite toy a 6B lead that I bought at Cityart last Thursday for $1.29. They have a storefront and gallery in the Vista.

The lettering on the leaves was done with the lead. I also enhanced the skulls in Hades on the bottom right with the caran dache neocolor iis. They didn’t show enough

Then I added some more red to the wrap on the girl on the left. I was hoping it would add to the flames of hades. Not sure it did But it’s done for now.

Ttyl. packing one more day til I leave for Charles Reid class. Margaret xoxoxox

Day 1102 In the Bag

April 19, 2017April 18, 2017Leave a comment

This is what yesterday’s page should have looked like.

Part one of The assignment was A creepy forest above the horizon. A graveyard and Frankensteins bride.
First up was to take only five minutes to cut out ten animals and people to assemble into Frankensteins bride. The hands are Jacques Pepin. The gravestones and wings are more of the altered citrasolv National Geographic.

Then the forest then a letter then a graveyard and then reconcile it.

Lilly as I call her was a lot of fun. Her head used to be a really cute little toddler I cut from an ad. Not anymore.

I dressed her for her wedding day with Frankie. She’s excited of course. I added some gold gewgaws to her. She still might need a purple plastic purse.

The tombstones are not quite as journalie as they should have been. Milestones in my life. Instead I wrote ancestors names. Seemed a little creepy to do my life’s milestones.

Bottom layer is a letter to a dead person. I chose Abraham Lincoln. We could use his wisdom right now.

Thinking of adding some large letters. Frankie and Lilly were sweethearts!!

Masking tape, black acrylic paint, white gel pen, Prismacolor art sticks, caran dache neocolor ii and Lamy EF.

Ttyl Margaret xoxox off to start her haunted doll house. Lilly needs a home.

This is the list I have brainstormed for my house so far.

Door flaps

Birds behind it.

Victoria or Queen Anne spiral staircase

Tower Jacobean?!

Bridal room for Lilly

Doll house. Whole cover comes off.

Widows walk w telescope

Flag skeleton

Open in middle of page

Gothic throne chair w wigs and a hood

Attic room w bed.

Arched gate

Window wall

Hotel de ville.

Day 988 Wow 13 more days

April 6, 2017April 7, 2017Leave a comment

Til the big 1000!!

Since 13 is a mystics number surrounded by bad luck impending done a journal page on palm reading seems like an appropriate post. The assignement this week was to completely cover a two page spread with masking tape. Then study a palm reading chart and react to that. I am not exactly a girl who believes in palm Reading so this was a little difficult for me.

I pondered the assignment of reading your palms for 4-5 days. Then I did all these pages in less than an hour. I was flipping thru the old Bazaar magazine looking for images to collage on another page and found the red headlines. I thought perfect. I glued them on. The grey was a scrap from ripping out collage items for the other page. Perfect color.

I literally pulled a couple of pieces of somerset collage paper out of this heap and traced my hands and glued them down quickly. Then I started scribbling with Prismacolor artstiks and gel pens.

Next I stamped some old Teesha Moore stamps that I had for years and never used. I still had the third page blank. I lettered with the paint pen and drew some arrows. Then it popped into my head to do an X-ray hand for the scar page-write down all your scars-because some scars are visible but some you can only see in an X-ray. Still have to journal those.

This is a WIP. It will change. I got some transparent purple ink to paint on it just not had time. And I have a list of things to still try out. Here are what I brain stormed.

Yellow gold aura. Lightening bolts

Light green on x ray hand thalo blue thinned on background

Outline letters in yellow?

Green glow

Heart Malagra

Anyway time to get going. Busy day.

Margaret xoxoxo

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