Done well maybe

January 8, 2020Leave a comment

Calling Henry done for now but may mess with his right eye some more. Going to look at him a whole and then decide.

Here he is like he was this morning when I started. I darkened just about everything.

Lifted a highlight or two like the one on his index finger. Added some fingernails. BYTW u add the line denoting the nail ABOVE THE FINGERNAIL not under the it. A little blush of cad red on the nail and you are done.

So what else did I lift. Some weird yellow ochre dots on the background that looked like I hit it with the brush accidentally. Always surprised how easy it is to lift on Fluid hot press. I think it’s easier to do on hot press than cold press.

Added the background wash on the left. It’s made up of Cheap Joes Andrews turquoise yellow ochre has mineral violet with maybe a little alizarin.

So I stayed up til 2 am knitting on this sock. I had to draw a pattern for it first. I know you are thrilled to know that. Calling it Jos sock for the polka dot socks Jo March had on in the latest version of Little Women. Gorgeous movie but NOT faithful to the book. After I watch it a few more dozen times I will I hope get over that like I did with Under the Tuscan Sun.

Margaret taking a nap before Book club. Do I have to go?!! Xoxoxox

Splash

January 3, 2020January 5, 20202 Comments

Have three paintings I am finishing up to enter in the splash competition. If I don’t enter I won’t get in will I?!

Been working on Gypsy today.

Here she is now. Can u tell the difference?! Got to take a better picture on a sunny day when the colors are not so dark. Stupid smart phone thinks it knows best but it doesn’t.

Just little things like more detail on the beads. More sloppy dots as we call them.

Added some white gouache on highlights like around her glasses and in her earrings.

Before. Also darkened her moth a little. Small drips and drabs.

About those dots. Try to never make two the same shape or in a line aka systematic. It’s so easy to just put the dots all in a line without even realizing it. And change colors. I don’t do that enough.

Onward to Henry and a commission.

Cold press Fluid watercolor paper. Fealing Lin palette colors

Margaret whose trying to decide if she wants watch season 3 of Anne with an E or not.

Ps listened to an interesting book for book club while I painted. A Well Behaved Woman about the Vanderbilts. Interesting. Xoxoxox

Happy New Years

January 1, 20202 Comments

Naomi 15×22″ 140 lb cold press fluid paper.

Busy painting – the GWS deadline is looming.

And going to movies. Little Women yesterday. Richard Jewell today. Enjoyed little Women but I always love them. One of my fav books as a kid.

Naomi earlier today. I wanted to brighten her hands. And get rid of drips which I did yesterday with a mr Clean eraser.

I lifted the hands with the Mr Clean too and masking tape to keep the other nearby colors crisp. I also did some negative painting with darks on her pants to brighten her hands. Added bits of yellow ochre or raw sienna.

I also worked on her hair. Adding dabs of darks Andrews turquoise and mineral violet to make her hair fuzzy.

Using Fealin Lins palette colors.

Margaret who needs to paint but can’t resist a bit of fun on New Years.

Christmas in the WNC

December 28, 2019Leave a comment

Not a sketch of the cabin but a random house on the road into Brevard from Sapphire. Scene Looks pretty in the morning sun so I pulled into a loggers driveway across the road and drew it.

Drawn on some random loose paper in the car with a black ultra fine uniball pen.

Almost a week with no wifi no cable. We twitch our noses at it will start up fro a second or two two bars of u are lucky. Then without even moving the signal is gone. 😵🤔 So didn’t even bother with blog posts.

Time to get back in the swing of things. Hmm why didn’t I draw my croissant. Sooo good at Bracken Mountain Bakery in Brevard.

Headed into Brevard to meet a freeing from USC Aiken to do an art gallery walk in Brevard. Hard to do when you have young grandkids along. We tend to hit the toy store and the ice cream shop which are also a lot of fun.

The wild flower field in front of the cabin. Now brown but it’s so gorgeous when it’s full of purple Dutch iris and lupine. Later Joe Pye weed fills the field.

And the mighty Thompson Rover from the front porch of the cabin. Best wild fly fishing river publicly accessible in the WNC aka western North Carolina. My son is lucky enough to own that stretch. The rest is in the Nantahala National Forest.

It’s Saturday

December 14, 2019Leave a comment

15×22″ coldpress fluid paper

Was having a terrible time drawing Ilaina this am so I turned the paper over and painted her without a drawing. This painting took about an hour.

Here she is after about 40 minutes sooo wet. The paper just rippled. Thank goodness I found a hair dryer under the bathroom sink so I could dry her.

She may get some tweaking or maybe not. Right now thinking her ear needs to be cleaned up with a Mr Clean. It should be similar in color to the rest of her face. and those silly little pieces of hair. I had to play with my Cheap Joes Scroogys loose goose just once.

Colors used alizarin cad orange cad red for skin tones. Alizarin shadows with cobalt mineral violet and Cheap Joes Andrew turquoise. Hair burnt sienna and ultramarine.

Fred’s mondigliani. Told him he should finish it.

Drews acrylic. I made her look younger. I think he made her look older. He’s using a new brand of acrylic paint. Old Williamsburg. Their oil is suppose to be THE best oil.

Only two more people came. Did get photos of theirs.

Capturing friends

December 13, 20192 Comments

Rich Klein listening to Joe Kameen talk at USC Aiken. I am sure one day I will look back thru my sketchbooks and say I remember him. He’s the guy who started buying Lamy pens!! Aka he fell down the rabbit hole with the rest of us. Prof Rich can frequently be seen leaning on his chin while he listens intently or hmm maybe he day dreams. You can follow him at richkleinvisions on instagram. Inside his head might be quite interesting if his art work is any indication.

Lamy EF Noodlers Eelskin Ink handprint journal.

And yes he will get painted if I ever quit knitting. Christmas stocking half done. Did I post this?! For youngest grandson. Down to the heel now so on the downhill run.

Margaret whose glad the icy cold rain has stopped. Xoxoxox

Sometimes

December 10, 2019December 10, 20192 Comments

I like to illustrate my class notes with sketches of people in the class so that I remember them later.

This sweet couple from Indiana Mary and Jerry were so much fun. Jerry loved to tell jokes and Mary well she was terrific. They had only been married five years so we called them our newly weds.

Lamy Ef Noodlers eelskin Black Ink handprint Art journal

I finished that hat despite the bum finger. Usually more done shaped but this time just glad I got it done.

Margaret busy with her Christmas shopping. Xoxoxo

Ends and Beginnings

December 8, 2019Leave a comment

Quitting on her for now. Taken in direct sunlight today. I did fix her arm. Too much purple on her left arm but oh well. And still a bit to lift on top of her thigh or maybe some of my friend gouache.

Sunlight thru the window. She’s darker. Hmm.

and last nite while she was still wet under some pink lights. Hard to take photos when the paper is waving like that because she’s so wet.

Beginnings. Time to get a painting done for GWS. I don’t know why I procrastinate but this one needs a bit of study because the right hand is def off. So must be fixed before I paint it. And no clue what’s wrong with the hand. M

Margaret off to bake some banana bread muffins for a drop in tomorrow am. Xoxoxo

One must

December 7, 20195 Comments

Remember to try to post when one can. At Bees Knees in augusta full of their delicious avocado chop chop heading to the Nutcracker in a few minutes. Let the holidays commence.

A sketch I did of Jerry Nadler during the hearings. I would have posted yesterday but I tried to cut my finger off with my new Costco extra sharp knives. The guys at Costco said I need a steel glove. They could be right. First two times were knicks. This one could have taken my left index finger off.

Today I did zero but try not to hit my finger while I knitted a hat for my newest grandson. Not easy to knit when one index finger is out of commission.

Back to Jerry N. I couldn’t listen to the next guy. Made me ill so I left. Maybe I will draw more of them later?! I did think the Constitutional lawyers were quite interesting but some of those congressmen- well I couldn’t care less if I ever saw some of them again anywhere.

Margaret nursing her finger. Xoxox

A Fine Fall Day

December 5, 2019Leave a comment

In Graniteville SC. On a beautiful fall day after lifemodeling I discovered a miniature English gothic village when I turned down a street I had never been down curious to see what was there. The road parallels the main drag to Aiken thru Graniteville and you can’t see this church or all the charming cottages that surround it.

I liked it better as a drawing in Noodlers Brown ink. Oh well. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. Liking the pen sketches better.