Day 25

April 7, 2020Leave a comment

Madly drawing today and doing a few must does. Sketchbookskool live drawing party. I drew at 8 am on Instagram and then noon on YouTube. Lamy Safari which makes a thick rich line a Lamy Vista which makes a thinner scratchy line. Noodlers eelskin Ink. Watercolor pencils. Stillman and Birn Alpha which is almost half full already. What?! Record time. Then I made several face masks. I may have that figured out finally. Only 60 left to make. Eeekk. I took a friends pattern and adapted her back to my front leaving an opening to so the filter could be removed when the mask is washed. And it also let me add a slot on each side to feed the T-shirt yarn ties thru. Here’s this afternoons sewing. Eight done. Hurrah.

Dawn in the river.

Love the early am light on my porch chandelier.

Margaret tucked up in bed but I didn’t forget to post. Yeah. Xoxox Please stay home and stay safe!!

Face masks and other things!! Aka BUSY!!

March 30, 2020March 31, 2020Leave a comment

From last weeks urban car sketching.

Spent yesterday starting to make masks because if they work for medical people they will protect the ones I love from the virus too.

Don’t believe for a minute you don’t need one when You go out.

Here’s the article!!

I am ripping up filtrete filters with merv 1900 -2200 rating which is really good for masks but u can also use hepa vacuum filters. Just try not to puncture them.

Other fabrics you can use for filters.

You can use duct tape and staples scotch tape masking tape to make the folded accordion style masks. And add ribbons or scraps of fabric for ties. Get creative. Masks patterns are all over the internet.

And no elastic!? Cut strips across your T-shirt’s width about an inch wide. Pull on each end of them. You get spaghetti t-shirt strips perfect for ties.

I made this large pile of ties in minutes. Hmm leftovers. I could tie tomato plants up with them. If I had tomato plants. 🤣😂

So get busy. Some glitter might be a good finish!!Two face masks for my son with bad asthma. Taken two days of ripping and cutting. One day of washing drying fabric. Omg! And I have 53 to make. 😖😖😖

Stay well!! Love you guys!

Margaret who will post art later today after I get the bread out of the oven.

Car Sketching Again!!

March 29, 2020Leave a comment

Hoping you and yours are doing well. So far so good with all of mine. So here we will sit six feet apart for another month. It’s worth it if it saves even one life.

Never pays to grab a random black sketchbook without looking to see if it’s the right one. This one wasn’t. NOT fond of watercolor. And don’t make a mistake – it’s NOT coming off. No blotting lifting will do. Paper so thin it waffled badly.

This is the kind of sketchbook it is. Ink was fine but watercolor not so much. A birthday present supposedly ok for watercolor. How I mistook it for my black stillman and birn Alpha I will never know. The Alpha is covered with stickers. They look nothing alike.

Spent the day ripping apart filters to make facemasks only to find that I should have gotten the kind in the photo above. Ripping off all those gold plastic wires was tough on my hands. Six done. Still ok for masks but the one in the photo has about 6 times as much fabric. Will use it for my next go round because these will only make 25 or so.

And then there was the baking. Snickerdoodles yummm so crispy and buttery.

And easy no knead bread heading for the oven in an hour. Can’t wait. Usually it takes 18 hours on the counter but not this method.

Not much to see outside this morning. I was hoping doe a pretty sunrise instead it’s been overcast. Hmmm.

And that’s it from the river where the sun will set soon. Hmm still won’t be able to see it. First world problems right?! Xoxoxox

Margaret

Drawing with Danny

March 29, 20206 Comments

Draw small squares all over your pages and then draw parts of items you can see. Can anyone find Zoe. She’s one of these.

It was actually quite interesting. Glad I had the big shelf across the end wall in my eye sight.

It took about 45 minutes to draw all these. And no Zoe is not on the second set. Next time will make it neater like the first set.

You freehand all those squares. One more behind. Draw a face with France Van Something.

Can you see the kayakers!?

They start at noon every week day. If u are on time it’s fun to comment with the other participants and Danny will answer as will Koosje at nine in sketchbookskool YouTube. If u missed one like I did they are still there. Just scroll thru The first five nothing minutes.

Here they are. One group slowly rowing upstream. The other hardly rowing racing south on the river towards the Atlantic. Well in 130 mules or so and a few dams.

A Charles Reid painting of Belize. Isn’t it awesome? And that palm!!! 🌞🌞🌞 Well what can I say?? The king of the splatter. Probably done in two hours or less. 🤔😳😳😳It’s for sale. Lovely painting.

Lamy Ef Brown Noodlers Ink and Micro Uniball Black Watercolor pencil Stillman and Birn Alpha. Brand new one. Hurrah.

Stay well. Hugs. Margaret xoxo

Shhh. Don’t tell the teachers.

March 11, 2020Leave a comment

Done I think but I have been known to be wrong. I actually measured her eyes dropping verticals and horizontals with a long ruler. Something I never do. Shhh. Don’t tell the teachers.

I also softened the right edge of her face using a nylon round. Tough brush. Scrub scrub scrub and it keeps its point. You could have cut an apple with that razor sharp edge.

Oh I softened her top lip. Why you say?! Keeps it from looking cut and pasted. if you don’t soften the edge of the upper lip it looks cut and pasted on.

She doesn’t look quite so much like she would eat you for dinner. All that softening of edges helped with the ferocious look.

Saturday. Eeek. Tilted eye and nasty background that doesn’t coordinate on both sides.

Back to that right annoying eye. Actually used some white gouache mixed with a dab of quin gold to pick out the highlights.

Oh and those three dots on her eyelashes – all gouache mixed with quin gold!!

Margaret watching the election returns. Xoxoxo

Alezia 3

March 10, 20201 Comment

Been working on her.

Small changes. More darks around her face changing the eyes. Everything is slightly off.

Shadow under lip. Think the left eye is still to high. Sigh.

Here she is now. Better but… I also took about an inch or so off her right shoulder. Still too wide but better.

Margaret back to being enthralled with the corona virus news. 😳😳😳 Hang on tight and don’t go taking a plane trip. Xoxoxo

Neither rain nor sleet nor hail

March 4, 2020Leave a comment

will keep us from gathering at USC Aiken to paint. The weather predicted today was terrible (tornadoes and torrential rain) but we soldiered on.

First break. An all over wash of quin gold some burnt sienna alizarin a touch of mineral violet.

Coming along more of the same colors.

When I left Aiken

Now. I keep losing the edge across her arm and thigh where the drippy background meets the body but really liking the background. I can lift the burnt umber off the skin.

I also lifted her shoulder about 1/2″ to make her body more in proportion with her head which is a touch too big.

Added some more darks to her face especially around the eyes and the chin.

Really like the background which is a combo of all the colors used plus cobalt. Nice swirly look made mostly by splattering wet on wet.

Will post her again after I lift the spillover on her body. Have to let it dry first.

Highlights mostly lifted out now.

My favorite bit. Andrews turquoise and yellow ochre stripes. Or was it burnt sienna

Margaret watching the Super Tuesday returns. Xoxoxo

Life modeling at USC Aiken

February 27, 2020Leave a comment

After my Saturday disaster I really didn’t want to make the drive to Aiken but I got a nice painting so am glad I did.

First break. Funny how washed out she looks.

So how did I paint her?? The big question I got yesterday.

Most of the painting was done with a two inch flat black velvet. Finishing with my 10 Charles Reid da Vinci.

First up a wash of quin gold all over her. It just gives a nice glow to African Americans.

Then I judiciously started adding burnt sienna and burnt umber for shadows. A swish of cad orange on highlights on her back. Piling on Andrews turquoise as well as a small dab of ultramarine toward the end for shadows and cad red light on the highlights – ears, the tip of the nose and on the elbow.

The hair is burnt umber and ultramarine. Not sure why I left the divot on top of her head but will fix that sooner or later.

The cloth she is sitting on is burnt sienna and cad red light.

Margaret relieved she can still draw after Saturday.

Every Once in A While I amaze myself.

February 25, 2020February 25, 20202 Comments

Gypsy got in the Transparent Watercolor Show which is a National Show in Kenosha Wisconsin in June. Who cares if she wins?? Feel like I won the lottery with her just getting into the show. So excited got zero sleep last night.

The show is ranked with The American Watercolor Show and the National Watercolor Show.

The difference in the shows in TWS your painting has to be all transparent watercolor. Lots of things disqualify it. Too much pencil. Gouache. Not lifting all the masking fluid. All these things don’t disqualify you from the other two shows.

If the judges Kathleen Conover and Herman Pikel decide I get one of those nice juicy checks I will be heading to Wisconsin don’t you know. Lol.

I actually had to look on the map last nite to see where Kenosha was. Due north of Chicago. Should be lovely in June. We shall see.

Margaret whose in charge of book club tonite. Eeekk Xoxoxox

Its Saturday

February 15, 2020Leave a comment

Aslyn So far. 15×22″ cold press Fluid

Needs a background which will set off the face and right shoulder. Maybe a dark blue?!

Annoyed I didn’t draw her 1/2″ to the right so I could have gotten her whole right foot in.

The drawing at forty minutes.

Second break.

An hour and a half of painting.

Colors used. Quin gold raw sienna cad red light burnt sienna Andrews turquoise. Alizarin burnt sienna and mineral violet for shadows. Hair burnt umber and ultramarine