Day 179 Cortez, Florida

September 9, 2020May 19, 20211 Comment

Fifty miles from Sarasota lies the small fishing town of Cortez. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev.

15×22″ of well behaved Cheap Joes Kilimanjaro cold press. LOVED painting on it esp when I consider the price of $54 for ten sheets. What a deal. I also used ALOT of Cheap Joes American Journey paints like yesterday’s cobalt of the paper tests. Why you ask?? Good bright colors. HUGE 37 ml tubes for the price of 15 ml tubes. When you paint with Vlad you go through a ton of paint so the American Journey never gets a chance to dry out. Once it’s dry it won’t rewet easily like my favorites Holbein and M Graham.

Ok Needs some more work like why did I stop the water on the right side. Hmmmm and a few more darks.

The photo

Vlads value study.

Getting sketch started .

Finishing that up.

First wash. Always interesting how the little grey marks that are so pale in the water show up in the last washes.

Lots of greys yellow ochre gold cobalt and some Andrews turquoise on the left boat. In the end that turquoise looks white.

Interesting I think.

Sky done. Andrews turquoise cobalt and some neutral tint on the blue side. Then last minute indigo on the left.

Trees done and boats starting to appear. Trees are cad yellow cobalt neutral tint and yellow ochre oh and burnt umber. All mixed to the green side.

And now they are really showing up. Why did I forget to paint the back end of the left boat. Duh. The things you do when madly painting. And how did I twitch the one piling on the building to make it crooked?! A real duh. Hate things like that.

The boat has a nice glow doesn’t it?! Who knew.

Scratched some poles and masts into the left tree and a few branches on the right tree.

Suddenly most of it’s done. Time for details.

Wires and lines dark darks. People in the restaurant. And there’s that wash I didn’t Finish. That hard line is going to be difficult to fix.

And here it is now. I did work at fixing the piling. I am going to put a dark dark over the wonky one. See if it will knock it back.

Quitting for tonite. More manana.

Tv time. Been watching the Rob Lowe cop show on Brit Box. He’s the police chief in a Lincolnshire town called Boston. Good show full of strange quirky people.

Margaret xoxo w her feet up.

Day 169 Cadaques Spain

August 31, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

Verdict out on this one. I know u are tired of that line but maybe I will like it better in the am. Usually do.Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

Vlads photo

My drawing

First wash

Still first wash on sky and boat.

Background trees washed in.

Done for tonite.

Margaret watching kitties play. Xoxoxo

Day 162 Out My back door

August 23, 2020Leave a comment

Scribbling the birds eating and the lush greenery from all the rain.

No pencil in this sketch. Just using the Caran D’ache Neocolor ii crayons which are a lot of fun.

May hit this with water. The colors will really pop but it would loose all the scribbley lines which I like. What to do what to do. Stay tuned.

Caran d’ache Neocolor ii stillman and birn Alpha

Margaret off to Laguna Beach CA to paint with Vlad Yesilesev. You should come too. Get ready for paint to fly. Xoxoxo Have a wonderful Sunday.

Day 160 – Wow

August 22, 2020August 23, 20202 Comments

We are already 160 days into the corona virus epidemic. Hard to believe but then I guess 170000 dead says it all. Right?!! 😢😢😢

So I entertain myself with drawing my back porch birds and the other animals in my life. I do love to think about what they think. So I give you the Beauty contest page 😬

Lamy Ef, Caran d’ache neocolor ii, Noodlers Eelskin Ink, Stillman and Birn Alpha.

Five kitties on my back porch. Anyone need one. Wild cats one and all but hopefully tame soon.

Terrible pics. They really are adorable playing the way kittens do.

Margaret xoxoxo who hopes you all are safe and healthy. Bet I will be drawing kitties soon but first I better wash those windows. 🤭🤭🤭

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 150 worse ways to

August 12, 20204 Comments

Spend the pandemic than virtual painting travel with Vlad Yesilesev

St. Martin du Mont

Almost done. Had to put my light pole back in. Oopsey.

Before I scraped the light pole in.

This paper loves to be scraped. Not sure what it is. Thinking 300# Kilimanjaro cold press.

I scratched the pole in with an xacto knife point. Doesn’t leafs work well but this paper loves it. I don’t like the way the same knife acts on Fabriano or arches.

The photo

Vlads value sketch

The sketch which I kept rearranging.

First wash.

Cad yellow and red, cobalt, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, Alizarin with a little dioxzine purple and a grey mix of those. Aka stir up your palette. Some yellow ochre gold.

Orange roofs added. Cad red and yellow

Dark greens added. Neutral tint, yellow, cobalt, and vandyke brown for tree green. Scraped wit a chunk of old credit card. Greys are palette soup.

Windows added. Cad red yellow and dioxzine purple. Cheap Joes turquoise on grey car windows.

Tree alizarin dioxzine purple and neutral tint shadow.

End of class

And now w the light post scraped out.

Zoe guarding my painting.

Back to my scarf. Only about 3 feet long now.

Margaret w her feet up xoxoxo

Day 144 Paris Barges

August 5, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

Nothing better than walking by the Seine in Paris passing the barges under the fabulous bridges, Pont Alexander, and by such landmarks as Les Invalides and my fav – le tour Eiffel aka the Eiffel Tower.

Vlads picture

A wild paintalong with Vlad. I bet his wife, his manager, has to wear track shoes to chase him around.

Vlads value sketch.

Seems I forgot to take a pic of my sketch. This is Vlads.

First wash. Almost done.

And the washes are piling up. Pointy brush w Paris grey to the Eiffel Tower and the Pont Alexander.

Sliding toward home. Pulling the masking off the boat lines and a few other whites I wanted to save.

Going to have to fix these lines now the masking gone. Can’t leave them stark white.

Lines

Looking better. Really need to work on softening my lines.

Calling it quits for tonite.

What a difference a few minutes makes in the sky.

Margaret Xoxoxox

Day 150 Giverny

August 3, 2020May 19, 20212 Comments

Our brushes lifted over for Giverny Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev today in Normandie France. One day I hope to go. Giverny closes in October and we cruised by on our Viking longboat in November. We did get to tour Auvers sur L’Oise where Van Gogh lived and painted and finally died-even visiting his attic room where he drew his last breath and the cemetery where he’s buried. The sketch 300lb Fabriano rough

10×15

First wash. Off to the paint brush races.

Sprinting for the finish adding dappled shadows. Watercolors all about thinking light to dark.

Trees have grown zip zip so fast.

Cad yellow and cobalt neutral tint burnt umber.

Done for now though I think it needs more darks. I may resplatter. I wanted Monet pink. I got a red. Hmm and yes I added white gouache to the splatter. Oops.

How cute is this Downey?

Margaret back to her knitting. Xoxoxo

Day 144 Mellow Mushroom

July 28, 20203 Comments

Today’s painting. Mellow Mushroom On Broad St. – FOR SALE 10×15” watercolor

Might be done. We shall see. Course I say that all the time so could be I will change it by this time tomorrow.

I started it a few weeks ago. So glad I can scratch it off my to do list. I should always have an espresso in the am. Get so much more done. House squeaky clean and a new painting. Not bad for one days work.

I also worked on Dubrovnik some more. Tried to take some of the purple put of the wall. And wipes out some color on the right. I might need to wipe out some more. Who knows. It ak be done when it’s done right?! Lifted the handle of the par with some tape and a sea sponge.

Wipes out the signs dark shadow with the tape sponge trick and the black shadow under the truck.

Those two black shadows under the truck and around the sign screamed look at me. As did that white shirt on the girl in the foreground that had to go too.

Margaret contentedly tired but who needs to do her Powerplate xoxoxo

Day 139 last page

July 23, 2020Leave a comment

Finally got around to the last page in my sketchbook. Been sitting on the table w all the junk to get around to it. No idea why I haven’t been. I do intend to draw this blue jay but wanted to do that in my new sketchbook not last page in the old one. Another 90 plus pages done. Didn’t want to stick this blue boy on the last one. I do think jays are so pretty. I have been hand feeding them all week. They won’t go to the feeder. Instead they eat off the porch rails. Three of them show up every day to check the offerings.

This might be done now BUT I couldn’t get my saber brush to work today – odd since it worked fine to do the electric lines yesterday. So I may need to do that or not.

Bakes two loves of my favorite back of the King Arthur bread bag bread today. One sliced and in the freezer the other on its way as soon as it’s cool. Shouldn’t be making white bread but it’s sooo good. My grandson Henry asked me to mail him some. I would if it would get there fresh but it won’t.