Chasing after Iain Stewart for an hour and a half Saturday. Got WAY too purple in the foreground so I tried to calm that imperial purple down. Then I Vlad-it a bit. Putting in tiny details w a dark dark grey. That was fun.
Then I went too far on the water but I can’t leave water just plain. I mean the only time the water here is flat is when there’s no current or no breeze. One or the other is always happening. Turned the wowed tree on the top left into a Christmas tree. That was fun. I mean eek. What’s with that purple. I swear that’s the color he said to paint it. He does love that purple. He suggested using a palette knife for the dark lines.
I actually had the same one. Thanks dad. It was my fathers old one. I tend to the triangular springy small ones that look like cake knifes. Anyway I tried my old springy one to do the poles but didn’t work to well. Dug out dads during the break between classes. So much easier. Then I made a lot of lines w it. Did walkways gang ways porches. Over the top as usual.
Night night. Though I had. A nice long nap I need another one to get rid of this cold. Oh yes u have had quite the cold thru this whole crazy long days of painting. Xoxoxox @
I added a lot of darks to it and used a gel pen to add more whites. Gotta love a gel pen. The quinacridones had smeared when I removed the masking fluid from the stamens. Tried gouache. Of course that didn’t work. So the white pentel gel pen came to the rescue.
Here it is before I darkened it. I went to town adding darks. It wasn’t terrible before but like it much better now. Also tweaked this one some more. Tried splattering it do more fireflies would show but like the stamens they didn’t show up either. Maybe they will tomorrow. Can you tell what I did to it. This is before the latest tweak.
Margaret tired once again. Good tired though. I have how many left to do??Xoxoxoxo
In the dining room madly painting. I signed up for watercolorlive 2023. It’s all my friend Mikes fault. She talked me into it. What a mad three days of wild fun painting. Classes and seminars lasted from 10 am til 9 pm. Will be posting them the next few days.
My Swan from the hour Paint along with Shelley Prior one of 18 teachers we had . She was awesome. She held our hands and walked us thru it step by step. I am in love w my swan and will be checking out her extensive YouTube feed. Her instructions were clear step by step with no need to rush to keep up. This swan just glows. My favorite out of my stack of paintings. Most of the paintings I did. There are TEN still left to do that I didn’t get around to for various reasons.
This took abt five minutes and was Julie’s tip. A fun way to start the day and to loosen up. We were all tense. I mean 18 teachers and all those hours. Eeek. Out agenda. We were VERY busy. No potty breaks no lunch breaks. A good way to diet. Lol.
Next up the great Thomas Schaller. Now almost all the teachers supplied a sketch for us to draw before class started. This was NOT a drawing workshop but a painting workshop. For some reason. Thomas didn’t think we needed a drawing. Hmm. Off to a rocky start. I madly drew it and started flinging paint around.
On a half sheet. My perspective was off. Supposedly his odd idea of firefly houses. Who knew they don’t have fireflies in S California where he’s from. They got his attention in his new home in NYC. My husband loves it Me not so much. Fireflies half sheet 140lb. So I had to cram in time to tinker with it. It was really bothering me. The perspective was wonky. Hate that and all that glaring white paper on the top left screamed at me. Better. Still won’t be my fav. He can hang it in his mancave. Lol. Still may need more tinkering. Time will tell. Next up a portrait with Patricia Guzman a lovely painter from Mexico who specializes in indigenous people. She’s a realistic portrait painter not my bag but she was a great teacher. At some point I got tired of painting every wrinkle and quit. LOVE the way this painting turned out. 1/4 sheet arches 149 Cold press I think.
Every artist had a different kind of paper or color of paint so I just used what I had and matched it up as closely as I could from my stash. Did I say I have way too much paper?!
My friend Mike my cohort in art crimes I mean classes. We met at a Charles Reid class in Boone at Cheap Joes 8 9 years ago and been friends and Charles Reid worshippers ever since. we are going to have a weekly zoom meetup til we finish out pile of not done drawings. There are quite a few. EekAnother day another sunset. More tomorrow. My fingers are tired. Xoxoxox Margaret
Over painted her with muck on my palette instead of using fresh color. Then I added some white gel pen to our sweet girl. Even the turquoise was already mixed on my palette. Super aquabee 93 lb paper. Loved watercolor and dries almost flat. Just a little waver. Spiral so cheaper than a Stillman and Birn. Earlier My amaryllis had finally bloomed. Fighting the urge to write what took you so long a little late for Christmas on it. Was trying to take a page from the late great Charles Reid’s playbook when I painted this. Loosing some edges. Hard and soft edges. Really needs fresh paint for it. The Very Vera chocolate pound cake overflow that I turned into cupcakes. They were actually better than the pound cake. Super soft and moist. At book club we all voted we liked my lemon Very Vera pound cake better. I bought her book just for the lemon pound recipes but it’s actually the same one on the back of the Swan Cake flour box. The cream pound cake with an extra teaspoon of vanilla and two teaspoons of lemon. Yummy.
Nap time. Starting Watercolor live 2023 tomorrow. Runs 10-9 every day for three days. I will really need a long nap on Sunday.
Over painted her with muck on my palette instead of using fresh color. Then I added some white gel pen to our sweet girl. Even the turquoise was already mixed on my palette. My amaryllis had finally bloomed. Fighting the urge to write what took you so long a little late for Christmas on it. Was trying to take a page from the late great Charles Reid’s playbook when I painted this. Loosing some edges. Hard and soft edges. Really needs fresh paint for it.
Nap time. Starting Watercolor live 2023 tomorrow. Runs 10-9 every day for three days. I will really need a long nap on Sunday.
But NO I promised I would bake a chocolate pound cake for book club which is today not next Tuesday. Did I say I used up all the eggs yesterday duh. So off to the store. I always end up with a few cupcakes because my pan is only ten cups and the recipe is for a 12 cup pan. A delicious side benefit right?!
We are going birds around here. Counted 30 cormorants flying south before it got dark last night. Add in a bald eagle or two and all the normal birds we enjoy the birds. Crows love to chase the bald eagles. Not sure why but they do. Here’s a few more. I do enjoy doing a scribbly great w with my black ink pen. One line crow on a page full of birds and cats. Drawn with a uniball micropen. Almost forgot these funky fabulous birds. Drawn during Inktober. Maybe next year I will draw a bird every day. So much easier than using the Inktober prompts. A pair of Hanukkah socks I knitted for a friend for her birthday. She’s all set for next year.
Margaret who will post the cake tomorrow after it’s out of the oven. The hubby pronounced those cupcakes perfect. Almost like a cheesecake.
Have finally had the honor and privilege of taking classes with her. I don’t think you can ask for a better hard working sharing teacher. If she knows it she will tell you.
Mary Whytes painting. Took her an hour and a half. Not quite a half sheet
Outside of a college art class the atmosphere is hard working and on your toes kind of environment. Lecture and Mary painting in the am then it’s your turn. If you work hard u can turn out two paintings in one day. Since my rotator cuff is shot I didn’t try that in the second class.
Full sheet Arches 300# done in Mary’s class in St Simons. Of course I can’t remember the lovely models name. No doubt in my notes.
The first one I took from her I did a full sheet in under two hours. That’s a lot of fast painting. Since the studio floors were concrete as I told Mary I limped out in both feet. OUCH. But I would do it again if I had too.
The sweet UGA student who modeled and played the guitar. Last time I will use fabriano. Sucked up the color like a sponge. I gave it to him and he was delighted. His dad Ken was our workshop helper and they were both delightful. Mary’s painting. Oh so much better than mine. I am always tight on my first attempt in a class. Painting #1. Tight but not as tight as the guitar player
Second time I sat. I really don’t like to and the floor was wooden BUT I didn’t want to limp the blocks to much car after class so I sat.
A quick sketch of Teesha. Something I do during class when I take notes. I listen better. St Johannes Lutheran church
So since Mary says the secret to painting is to paint I signed up for a two day class in Charleston with her at Gudger Hall at St Johnnes Lutheran south of Broad on the Charleston peninsula.
Out the north facing windows at Gudger Hall
A lovely old building. Of course the paint flew during the day and the evenings on Edisto were heavenly.
The great Teesha by Mary Whyte painted in class. She’s the model in a lot of Mary’s books and is like Mary just a sweet heart. My painting of Teesha the last afternoon. Then we were off home. If you can’t take a class with Mary there’s a Northlight video for $15 that you can buy and it’s almost as good as being there and her book on how to paint portraits. She leaves nothing out. Bytw Mary’s assistant thought this was Mary’s for a minute when I showed it to her. Made my day as well as my husbands.
Oh one last nite before I close. When you take Marys class in Charleston she and Sharon treat the class and a plus one with a reception in her studio. Heavy hors d’ouevres and the wine flows.
Margaret in rainy Georgialina curled up on the sofa reading when she should be painting. xoxoxo
Chrystall as a fairy. You have to love her as a model. You never know what she will wear or if she will wear anything. She designs and makes all of her awesome costumes and also does fire batons as well as other performing. You can follow her adventures at crystallinecreative on instagramThese are both gesture sketches with a pentel ink pen drawn quickly. Then painted. This one was probably ten minutes The first one was a longer pose. Chrystal posed for us in a Zoom session. Lots of fairy poses. Best $10 I have spent recently. My favorite type of sketchbook when I am doing live model drawing. Lotsa sheets. Loves watercolor and ink plus it flattens out mostly when it dries. I have it in every shape and size they make. I usually use the two biggest sizes for life modeling thru zoom or Dr Sketchys. Great for all those gesture poses. This is one I use for everyday things when I don’t have my other fav Stillman and Birn handy.
Kayakers head down the Savannah on any given day that’s half way nice no matter the temperature.
This was part of a thirty day challenge Ruth and I did to draw our neighborhood. I got three done she got a couple before we got hot drawing the Inktober challenge which we did do everyday for 31 days.
Mark this one for sale! 11×15” watercolor and gouache 😘
Margaret xoxoxo who will try to do better posting in this new year!
She may or may not be done. Not fond of the too loud quin gold and the too heavy pencil that won’t erase but otherwise like her a lot.
Took an online class with Fealing Lin a couple of weeks ago thru Cheap Joes online. The biggest plus is that we get to keep the video on YouTube forever. A big plus.
Another plus you can contact Edwina May at cheap joes to get put in your favorite painters waiting lists if you can’t score a class.
My friend Mike aka Linda joined me in the zoom class. Even though she was in Raleigh and I was at mine it was almost like being in Boone in one of Fealings classes. We texted each other our paintings back and forth during our class breaks.
Oops really not fond of him. Lost some of his mustache and the quin gold really got out of hand. Eyes need work and I need to lift his mustache. And she definitely needs work. Not sure what BUT sooner or later I will.
Loving these lazy summer days. I suppose I am having too much fun just lasting with the hubs yet around the house to bother painting. My bad right??
Last evening we were floating in the pool watching the swifts dart and dive overhead for their dinner. Who knew they did that??! Or maybe it was just a whole new view of them from below instead of from the deck?
Then the next door neighbors shot off fireworks for a half an hour. Scared our feral cats to death but we loved them. I actually posted a short video of them on Facebook last night. Tomorrow night our other neighbors will go to town with their spectacular fireworks display. He has enough fireworks to fill up a long bed pickup in his garage. Grandkids are coming and they are going to love it! So are we.Out my back porch on the Savannah river just now. And earlier today. I thought the rain was suppose to continue. Update- Morning mist.
Margaret McCarthy Hunt Art 