The Gallant Lady

March 17, 20213 Comments

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

Sailboat anyone?!

March 11, 2021May 19, 20214 Comments

Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev. So I thought I was done but I already find one thing to do. Shadow on the bow of one of the boats.

All I can say about today’s painting do NOT use cerulean thinking you are using cobalt. Combined with yellow ochre it makes MUD. Non transparent MUD.

Vlads photo

Vlads sketch.

The sketch on a half sheet of Hahnemuhle 140#

First wash

Working on midtones.

and now.

Margaret done in. Also cleaned up the pantry and the fridge and finished two other paintings. Too busy today!! Xoxoxox

Another foggy day

March 10, 20212 Comments

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

March 9, 2021March 9, 2021Leave a comment

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

March 8, 2021March 8, 2021Leave a comment

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

A Quick Trip to England

March 7, 2021March 7, 20212 Comments

To draw the Harp Inn on the River Dee with Ian Fennelly and Sketchbookskool. A lot of fun but like chasing a greyhound painting with Ian.

The photo. The Harp Inn, Little Neston, England near Liverpool has quite a history including coal miners getting stuck here during floods from the River Dee across the street. The interior is on Yelp and looks quite interesting. Ian said the building was more than 200 years old.

Really wanted to do this view with the great Harp sign but hard to change from what the teachers doing without getting confused.

A quick sketch with my light grey Tombow pen – the pointy end. The lines are all slightly tilted. Nothing is square in the drawing though in reality the inn is square aka plumb.

Adding ink with my .5 pentel permanent pen. Don’t know where my thinnest one has gotten. Oops.

Laying in some watercolor. Got a little too dark with the ultramarine and burnt sienna on the roof at this stage. Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Yellow ochre, a dab of cad red and cobalt teal.

Painted with a 1″ flat and a rigger. Yes a rigger.

Using various grey tombows to color in the letters and other darks. Then a .3 pentel marker for line work and cross hatching.

I lifted a lot of the dark sienna and ultramarine off the house. Even though this is hot press paper the fluid paper is user friendly and lets you lift some of it. It even let me lift some of the pen when I took off the paint. Oops. But that was permanent ink. Not something u can usually lift.

I added a lot more crosshatching. Also since this house is daub finish dots all over with anything I could make dots with. Winsor Newton watercolor markers. Yellow ochre and turquoise. More line work with the .5 and .8 pentel pens and the uniball micron pen.

Now I am tahred. The kitties and the puppy want my attention. Margaret Xoxoxoxo

Around the World in 60 Seconds

March 5, 2021March 5, 2021Leave a comment

Drawing each icon of their country for 60 seconds each with Danny Gregory today on YouTube. He had a slide show of each of the icons that let you view it for 60 seconds. Then on to the next one.

Quite the challenge. Also trying to get them all on one page was a challenge. Eeek. And no time to plan. Double eeek.

So not bad considering EXCEPT the first time I didn’t realize it was suppose to be on ONE page. I used SIX!!

These are quite large. The sketchbook – a handprint journal is 5 1/2x 8″.

This set was drawn with my pentel brush pen which is always fun but makes a big thick line. I only used two colors. Quin gold and cobalt teal. Together they made a great mucky green.

So second time around I used my Namiki fude. Love drawing with them making thin or thick lines easily. Check out the weird tip on it. Does a great job.

No I didn’t cheat. I didn’t pause the video either time except to get the dog in. And then I started it right back up.

It’s time for pot kitties again. They have grown a lot. Halley looks gorgeous with an orange glow from the sunset on her back.

Margaret xoxoxo

Oops meant to post

November 20, 2020November 20, 20204 Comments

This yesterday.

Drawing Van Goghs The Room with Danny Gregory. Always a fun activity on YouTube. Low pressure. Everyone yaks away via chat while Danny yaks. Last about an hour. He’s always relaxing.

As to The Room. Drawn with Caran d’ache neocolor ii which are crayons that turn into watercolors. I wet them with my fingers aka finger painted. I was too lazy to get up and find a brush so I stuck my fingers in my nearby water glass and smeared the color around.

Did u know the actual painting has turned purple. Some reaction to the underpaintings color. Oops Vincent what happened?!

Margaret xoxoxo

Composition- Provence or the Blue Ridge?!!

November 13, 2020May 19, 20212 Comments

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 231 So many Spots!!

November 10, 2020May 19, 20215 Comments

On the Farm down Florida way. Arches 280 cp. Nice paper. Scratches so well. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

The photo

Vlad’s value sketch.

My sketch. Did get tired of drawing a jillion little cows and all those legs. 😜 My dad used to joke to us on trips to count the cows by counting their legs and dividing by 4. That was the best part of drawing a jillion cows. Remembering the joke.

First wash. Cobalt cad yellow alizarin dioxzine cad orange yellow ochre

My cows are too light I think. We shall see.

Painting the background trees. Still using the same colors and burnt sienna and umber.

So I painted my cows a little darker grey. Cobalt yellow ochre and alizarin dioxzine mix. That mix will give you all kinds of grey.

Greens mixed with cad yellow cobalt and indigo. Oh and cobalt teal on water tubs.

Think this one is different but I can’t tell. Shadows under white spots? NOPE. Since these are Holstein cows painted lots and lots of grey and blackish spots made with that same grey mix. I think I added ultramarine and a dab of alizarin to mine.