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

Every day a sunrise

March 4, 2021Leave a comment

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.

One more

January 29, 2021January 29, 20213 Comments

High Street, Henley, UK

Hot press fluid 140# watercolor paper

I did this on a shopkeeparty.com paint along g w Ian Fennelly that I posted in my YouTube list of his classes yesterday. Lots of fun. Love hitting the Pause button.

I started painting this a little after 9 last nite. But it was fun.

The drawing and the shading. This is mostly tombow pen with some Pitt pen for details. The Pitt pens are permanent.

Watercolor layer done. I only used a few colors. Quin sienna, ultramarine, alizarin, burnt umber a dab of cerulean, and yellow ochre. Next time I will use more transparent color.

the finish. I really enjoyed doing the details in ink with Pitt pens like the column cap, the bricks, the sidewalk, tv antennas and a plethora of other details. Shading with cross hatching so much fun. It’s somehow soothing. I used a .03 Pitt pen for that. The Pitt pens have India ink in them.

Now I need to do some of Augusta or Atlanta. Really enjoy doing these. Been a pen nut since first grade and probably a painting nut even longer.

Margaret watching an ink seminar on crowdcast. My there are some positives about covid like zoom and crowdcast activities.

Xoxoxo

Fly away to Old Havana

December 17, 2020May 19, 20212 Comments

Old town Havana Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev. Fabriano 300 lb rough paper which I have decided I now hate. It kept holding edges. Put paint on and there was a hard edge. What the heck. It’s not suppose to do that at $16 a sheet. This is a half sheet.

The photo

Vlad’s value sketch.

The drawing and what a pain it was.

First washes just three colors yellow ochre alizarin and cobalt blue.

Midtones. Adding I burnt sienna neutral tint dioxzine purples cad orange.

Adding darks. Burnt sienna burnt umber ultramarine vandyke brown

Almost there.

Done doe now. Who knows what it will tell me in the am?!

Margaret tired of looking at it.

Drawing with Danny Gregory

November 15, 20202 Comments

When you aren’t inspired to draw or paint guarantee Danny Gregory on his YouTube Draw with me show will get you going. Free every Thursday at Noon.

We all drew a pigeon skeleton today. Well the show was last weeks show. I was busy so did it today. That’s the great thing about YouTube. The shows wait for you and ready when u are.

He furnished the picture we drew.

I used a Micro univalve pen and a namiki fude. Oh and a lamy ef. All that cross hatching was eating up the ink. I may add watercolor to it but letting it dry overnight before I do.

Stillman and birn alpha.

Catching up on escape to the Chateau on YouTube then my binge of Killing Eve on Hulu. Love watching the British couple rehabbing a decrepit five story chateau WITH mote in Escape to the Chateau. The jobs they undertake are monumental on a show string budget. Watch it. They are intriguing. A visit there is on my bucket list.

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.