Category: Cashiers

The Gallant Lady

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The Gallant Lady is done for the moment but thinking about working on the sand some more. I put those dark bands almost evenly spaced. Oops.

I was doing a mad online paint along with Randy Hale. This 12×16″ painting was done in 45 minutes. Oh my. A wild chase. Lots of wet juicy color.

The Gallant Lady is a famous 1997 Hurricane Mitch shipwreck off Bimini in the Bahamas. You can read more about her on this link. Hard to believe it’s fallen apart so quickly.

Love the way my sky turned out. It was done with ultramarine of cobalt and then opera was dropped in along with raw umber for the greys.

Randy has a great sky technique. I am terrible at painting skies. But this one I actually like. He’s doing a lot of online teaching as are multiple other artists right now. Such a gift to all of us. Access to these great paintings tees from our own homes.

First layers on. The sand is quin gold burnt sienna and raw umber. I should try to make it look less regular but not sure I care enough to try.

I think I used quin burnt orange on the boat or quin sienna along with raw umber. I don’t know why I don’t use raw umber more because I really like the color.

Water is Thalo blue applied painting downward. Also cobalt teal watered

down like tea. The purple is added after its dry. Coming along. I like that most of the color is transparent. Love transparency in watercolor. Gives a lovely glow.

Darker greens Thalos and purples added to give depth.

Done for now.

This kitty is off to get spayed tomorrow. Don’t ya wanna come help me catch her?!! Hard to believe she used to be a rack of bones. She’s a gorgeous cat now. Don’t you want her. All neutered with shots!!

Margaret xoxoxo

Another wild paint

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Boats off shore in blue water. Arches 280# cold press the photo an Italian coastline town

The sketch.

Half done. Orange roofs w a touch of red. Purple buildings w a touch of Van dyke brown. The start of the docks and the tops of the umbrellas. The hill is olive green

Three hours later. Done with every color in the palette in the boats and water. The water is Thalo blue, cobalt turquoise, and cerulean. Hookers under the boat. White gouache for the boat lines and the masts and spars.

Zoe does like some of the kitties. Just not the one who likes her. .

Margaret ready for bed because you really shouldn’t paint two paintings in one day. Xoxoxo

Too tired too

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To finish today.

A day spent in Prague. Still lots to do. List too long to write but… it needs a lot. Oddly I actually like it for once. Usually I don’t like them til the next day.Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

Vlads photo

The drawing on a half sheet of Hahnemuhle 140# cezanne.

First wash

Plus the sky. Took about an hour and a half to get to this point.

Really hated it at this stage. Yuck.

Added some details but there are sooo many to do. I will work on it some more manana.

Silly geese started honky at us. No clue why. Must be close to a dozen.

Margaret xoxoxo just tahred.

Another foggy day

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Arches 280# cold press paper Cheap Joe’s American Journey paint colors indigo, ultramarine, burnt sienna, dioxzine, quin gold and lots of water.

A fun painting to do. I could change several things and betting I will do another one with green fir trees next time.

What would I work on?! Less striped sky. Better firs. But all in all I like it. Masking the birch trees to preserve the whites before I started painting.

I would wear rubber gloves. Eeek. Time for scrubby dubby.

Also might try using some of these paints on another one. “. L-R Daniel Smith Payne’s Grey, Cheap Joe’s Payne’s Grey and Cheap Joes Moonglow

Love the blues in the Daniel Smith and all the purples and blues in the moonglow. Last one is so yum.

Zoe posing like the pretty princess she is. She does love a scarf or two.

Margaret xoxox

Calling It Scrubby Dubby

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because I scrubbed at this for over an hour I think. Maybe call it Mountain Mist?!

Before I started scrubbing. Everything was painted wet on wet. The trees were done with the liner and a chunk of kitchens sponge plus splattering. Only two colors were used. Payne’s grey and ultramarine. Arches 140# rough.

I had no idea how to do the fog which I wanted to do the fog because I live on a river that is frequently heavily fogged. I was following a YouTube video with David R Smith to practice for class tomorrow with my new liner brushes.

All my tools used to paint this. Red handled brushes are the scrubbers.

I was scratching my head when o realized his supply list for tomorrow said two scrubbers. On the video he did a tree with a Mr Clean Eraser. After scrubbing with the scrubbers for about an hour I realized duh. Use the Mr Clean. If it could lift off a birch tree it could lift off mist. I finished not long after that.

I used the scrubbers to make wispy strands of fog floating off the river. Yes there are wisps if you look. 😘

And done. Time to use the palette knife to loosen it from the block of paper.

Margaret xoxox

Sailing down the Dee

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An old derelict boat on the side of the river. Today in my inbox there was an email from Etcher.com to pay $5.50 for access to drawing a boat with Ian Fennelly. I was willing to throw five dollars away in case it was bad. Well it was and it wasn’t. NO PHOTO to draw from. What the heck. So I went to Ian’s IG feed and did a screen shot.

The video also did weird things. I watched it in a window a little bigger than a postcard. If it restarted once it restarted four times. Never going back to where you were. Groan.

Here’s his. Love the silly birds. Seagulls of a sort.

First thing u do is lay out the shape using markers to fix it in your mind.

Then you draw it with a midtones grey tombow. I think this is a 25.

I finally made a key to the shades of my nine shades grey tombows. Got tired of opening each of them up.

So I got bored and went ahead of the video. The video was very cumbersome. If you had to restart it always went back to the beginning. WHAT?!!

My footprints got out of control. As a friend quipped they looked like elephant tracks. Eeekk.

What to do what to do. So much work and a massive screwup.

White pentel gel pen to the rescue. I may add some white watercolor paint to it also.

Here are all the pens. The tombows and pentel permanent liners. Mostly used the .3 on this piece.

Margaret watching Haregan and Oprah. Not sure I will stick with it. Hmmm. Xoxoxo

Every day a sunrise

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Making mist in the blue ridge. Arches 280#cold press. Cheap Joe’s American Journey paint.

Took photos of the process today. But it might be easier if you wanted David R. Smiths YouTube videos. This is the short one. Then the longer more involved one. Or you could sign up for his online class next Tuesday. Should be fun. His students give him rave reviews.

First layer wet the paper add yellow sun red ring and cobalt. Spray it with a spatters spray. Dry it.

First row of trees. Wet under the trees and spatter again. Lift some color form the bottom w a thirsty brush. Aka dry brush which will suck up the paint making the mist. Dry after the colors run and mix.

Repeat on the left.

And so on and on. Repeat repeat. Repeat. Getting darker with each layer. Load bottom of trees w water. Paint the trees. Spatter tops w water. Lift some off bottoms w a thirsty brush. And dry.

Last layer is the darkest. It’s wet here.

I lifted some with my thirsty brush and this one is dry.

Crash and burn

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Go round 2. Misty Mountains arches

Watched a free YouTube video on shopkeeparty with David R Smith this am. Very interesting technique. Uses lots of water. Wiping spraying letting colors run.

This was go round 1 on Kilimanjaro. I used too much alizarin and could not get the ring to lift. Oh well.

Too tired to type more.

Margaret putting her feet up. Xoxoxo

Composition- Provence or the Blue Ridge?!!

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I am thinking it’s the blue ridge. I love the views from the tops of the mountains with the towns snuggled in the bottom around a lake.

I think this paintings done. Going to sleep on it to be sure.

12×17″ arches 280 cp Cheap Joe’s American Journey paint.

Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

I took a class with Vlad Yesileyev on composition today.

Fascinating and educational as usual.

He said composition is THE most important thing in a drawing.

Typically you divide a drawing into thirds vertically and horizontally. And where they cross is your focal point. It’s the place where you should put the greatest contrast in your painting with less detail in the other areas.

MINIMIZE anything not in your focal point. And if you don’t like your value sketch then don’t start painting.

I highly recommend that class. He’s just THE best teacher. Willing to answer any question and stay as late as necessary to help if needed. He explains everything so well leaving no detail unexplained as to why he’s doing what he’s doing. And if you don’t understand he will patiently explain it again.

And he has a GREAT russian accent and a GREAT sensenofnhumor.

The drawing

First wash. I managed NOT ago sticky my fingers in the sky or blot it. My two fav things to do to mess up My sky wash. Yellow Ochre cobalt alizarin and neutral tint

Finishing first wash using the same colors

Adding trees. I can finally do lacy dry brush trees. Well more or less.

Still using the same colors and some burnt sienna and burnt umber and indigo for the dark greens.

Teacher critique. Too much splatter and pines too Lacey. Oops. Easy fix.

Can I whine but I like splattering. You should see the tv I watch the zoom on. Covered w specks of paint.

and yes he was right. Too much splattering of flowers in the foreground.

Do yourself a favor and sign up for his paintalongs and his classes. You will be glad you did.

Day 237 Undercover spying

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I like to draw random people when I am out and about. Get bored sitting in a class or in talk and then I draw the people I can see nearby but I don’t want them to see me drawing them. Thus undercover spying.

Spent the day going thru old photos of random people and tossing them into recycle. Or terrible print outed photos. They look blurry. Who needs them when they are on your iPad available for painting or running a slide show?!

Probably should paint them. Found my tiny whiskey painters box today when I was cleaning. Hurrah!!

Hahnamuhle journal with no idea of what pen. Probably a Lamy EF loaded with eel skin ink. Lettering done with my namiki fude today.

Margaret xoxoxox