Car Sketching Again!!

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

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

Another day of drawings

The back porch models posing for me. Sepia fine Pitt pen

I decided to use the pentel brush pen stillman and birn Zeta. Did NOT go as well. My fav is the little bird on left second one down and the big red cardinal. The brush pen can have a mind of its own drawing tiny bird legs beaks and eyes.

I drew the red cardinal with my watercolor pencils. A set of 24 will give u all the colors you need. Xoxoxo

Su nset on the rivah

Margaret busy watching Gov Kemp talk about what’s going on in Ga. be safe. Xoxoxox

Out the Back Window

The view out our backporch. Love that tree. Probably my fav tree. My amaryllis are really white but I thought red so much more attractive.

The backporch crew is gobbling the sunflower seeds wildly. Can u find them in the painting.

Handprint journal – micro uniball pen.

Last nights baking. Oatmeal bread from kingarthur.com. Love my kitchen aide.

A gift for you all. In case u need a mask scientifically tested fabrics to use for one. Please read. It could save your life.

Margaret knitting and listening to GPTV shows. No kiddy shows this week. Hurrah. So far I have learned about the history of discovering the planets, the invention of flying-fascinating, and now Louisa May Alcott bio. Next up Little Women.

Hugs and stay safe!! Xoxoxox

Out my window

At my house in solidarity with Italian Urban Sketchers that couldn’t get out and draw. Did I say drawn last Sat. Just painted today?! Summer coming fast along the river!!

Stillman and Birn Zeta uniball micro Watercolor

Margaret thinking abt zipping up a stack of face masks. Hmm if only I thought they would work. Sad times. Xoxoxo

Jessica’s Pink Tower

My friend Jessica lives on the Savannah River downtown in the Pink Tower. The views are astonishing from high up in the building.

Zoe and I went urban sketching today when I had to go downtown to pick up the Gypsy. It was a gorgeous day. But crazy people were out in Broad Street eating and parading up the street – not keeping their distance. Scary!! Stillman and birn Zeta sepia F Pitt pen. Fealing Lin palette Colors

Margaret ready to relax. So far I drew quite a bit. Ran two errands with zero human contact. Made two batches of snicker doodles. Cooked more veggies for the leftover adorned beef. Oh and made a fb group page. No wonder I am tired scrub scrub scrub. I even bleached my Bernina after I picked it up from the shop. 😳😂

Xoxoxox

Shhh. Don’t tell the teachers.

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

Azelia 2

Our model once again was Azelia.

The drawing

Second break?!

Once again I started with an allover layer of quin gold to give her a nice glow. Then I added burnt sienna alizarin Andrews turquoise mineral violet. You know the drill don’t you?!!

Laying in the hair and the yes with ultramarine and burnt umber. Eye shadows mineral violet and turquoise with a bit of burnt sienna. Lips alizarin mineral violet.

L

Background still needs work. Eeek. And can’t decide quite what to do to her eyes. Maybe darker eyebrows might help. And then who knows.

Al Beyer oil

Al Beyer paints. Oil!!

Bill Daniels. Love his take on her. Maybe a candidate for the witch in wicked?!!

Fred doing his Mondigiliani thing. Acrylic on cardboard. He got a lot of ribbing for his cardboard. As if the driver of five different very nice cars including a Lexus and a fancy Cadillac 2 door can not afford some new Masonite.

Joya. Oil on canvas. Always interesting to see everyone’s take on the model. So different.

Last Drew Murphy.

Margaret staring at Alezia and making a fix list. Xoxoxo

Neither rain nor sleet nor hail

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

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.