Go round 2. Misty Mountains arches
Watched a free YouTube video on shopkeeparty with David R Smith this am. Very interesting technique. Uses lots of water. Wiping spraying letting colors run.
This was go round 1 on Kilimanjaro. I used too much alizarin and could not get the ring to lift. Oh well.
Too tired to type more.
Margaret putting her feet up. Xoxoxo
Croatia. Paint along #three with Vlad Yesileyev. He’s taking a group there to paint this summer he hopes. Covid willing.
Done for now and maybe forever. 
The photo 
The value sketch.
The sketch. 140# rough Hahnemuhle Cezanne great paper. Only thing I don’t like abt it it buckles when soppy wet but dries flat. Paint and paper from Cheap Joes. Love them.
First washes. Looks very ghost like. This photo was taken when it was wet. See the buckles?!
Adding midtones.
Adding darks and the water. Painting those darn boats. Hmm they were the easiet thing to paint. Actually this was not a hard painting. Just a lot to do.
And done. I need a nap now after the paint along. Work slap out!! 😂
Margaret whose ready to tuck up on the sofa with a blanket. Xoxoxo
Winter Petersburg: Blue bridge, Moika Embankment
With Tatiana Asinismova. She was speaking Russian and was on St Petersburg while Vlad Yesileyev translated. When his internet went south his wife Marina who is in Moscow visiting family stepped up and ably continued translating.
This painting was done completely wet on wet using Paynes grey, burnt sienna, sepia, cad yellow, yellow ochre, white gouache. Period paragraph. I added some ultramarine because there was no blue in my Paynes grey.
Draw fast the paper is suppose to be being soaked. Times like this all the sketching I do comes in handy.
Soaked both sides of the a half sheet of 140# Kilimanjaro cold press paper first w a hake brush. No taping. Cheap Joe’s American Journey paint.
A few swipes of yellow ochre. Next we used a cat’s tongue brush loaded with layers grey. Swoosh swoosh the sky was done.
Dabs of burnt sienna across the horizon line.
Smidges of black verticals. Hmm what are those?
Next knocking out the bridge all the while painting into this wet morass. Burnt sienna and paynes grey.
What are those things poking up we are painting?! 🤔🤔🤔 A light!! Zip zip done. (It’s really pretty straight but the paper has a ripple because some sunny stood it up and let it dry standing up making a ripple. Duh!)
On to the river and the snow. Oops I didn’t draw it so I winged it. A little rewetting of the paper. Very interesting making the light and dark areas, fuzzy and sharp edged. 
And don’t forget to leave some ice chunks.
Painting the right hand side of the bridge. My least fav part but we soldiered on. Burnt sienna and Payne’s grey. Are there any other colors?! Oh a dab of ultramarine. Splatter splatter. Paint faster. Splatter with white gouache.
Finally use a tooth brush loaded with white gouache to make the snow. I am sure there are 89 YouTube videos on how to do this. Looks just like snow. Hoping this is as close as my house will get to snow this year.
Tatianas class sample. You can follow her on Instagram at Tatianaasimova6056 
She’s also teaching a class with Vlad Mar 7. The painting will be similar to the above photo. Can’t wait. Click the link to check it out.
If you want to try this technique Vlad or Marina is going to post this class on YouTube soon. Was really so much fun. I love splashing paint about. Paint flinging c’est moi!!!
Margaret exhausted because she finished another painting today too but that’s for another day. Hugs. Xoxoxox
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
Took an online live class with Ian Fenelly. I have long wanted to take a class with him but never been where he was teaching. I have to say with ten years of public school teaching under his belt he’s an excellent organized teacher.
There are some pluses to the pandemic. If you haven’t tried one or two you should. shopkeeparty.com offers something for everyone. 
The photo Winsor Castle.
Starting the sketch with light grey tomboy pens on hot press fluid paper. A half sheet size.
Since Tombows are water soluble it is a great idea to use permanent markers on it to show details. The idea is to make an exaggerated perspective using some lines that are square but most not.
Watercolor layer done. Quin gold, Thalo blue, burnt sienna and andrews turquoise.
The markers and some of the paint brushes.
Adding details with the grey tombows. It was getting a lot of fun to do at this point. The fact that it did not all have to be exactly in perspective was freeing. Who cares if a line wobbles here and there. That’s part of the fun. 
I added a lot of cross hatching per Ians direction. Done for now. Now it’s time to look at it for a while.
The bit of sky was added because I had some grey mess of Tombow that I couldn’t cover up any other way.
I recommend a class on Shopkeeparty.com. Thursday Keiko Tanabe is teaching. Will be scratching her off my bucket list come Friday. And next week Liz Chaderton is doing a very fun otter class. Once a week they offer a free one hour demo paint along on Tuesdays. I meant to do the otter with Liz today but got up too late. No sleep last nite. Might try it tomorrow when it’s on YouTube.
Margaret ready to put Her feet up and stare at her painting for a while. Xoxoxox
Some of my favorite British birds from Paul Dinnings Videos and Sounds for Cats: Garden Birds. They really are the best bird videos I have seen on YouTube. Some people use them for a good nights sleep.
Another new Favorite is Prowalking tours. I went to Rome and Montmartre today. Think I will try Venice next. Just the beginning of it is gobsmacking.
Stillman and birn alpha pentel brush pen uniball micron Caran d’ache neocolor ii watercolor pencils and a teabag to wet the Caran d’ache.
Margaret whose going to try Wendy’s for dinner. Xoxoxox
Another bird or two. Great YouTube video full of chickadees.
Margaret xoxoxox
YouTube is loaded with bird and squirrel videos. Since the cats moved in my birds have evaporated and the squirrels moved elsewhere.
Paul Denning’s videos are great. Gorgeous birds but European – in Cornwall. He taped them for his family cat who watches them. 😳😳😳
I realized today I missed the silly ravenous squirrels hanging from the bird feeders often launching themselves into space to leap onto them.
Pentel brush pen uniball micro caran d’ache neocolor ii
Margaret whose getting behind on her knitting. Xoxoxo
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.
A Torbie aka tiger cat w orange on it. Took an online zoom class with Liz Chaderton on shopkeeparty.com 
the photo 
Tacking the paper down. A half sheet of Kilimanjaro 300. Have to order more from cheap Joe’s.
The drawing You would think as many cats as I have drawn this would be a piece of cake. Nope.
The palette opera rose, perlene maroon, gamboge, Quin gold, Thalo blue, Cheap Joe’s Andrew’s turquoise, and ultramarine blue. My fine mister spray bottle.
The eye first. Painting wet on wet. Keeping the edges wet so they won’t get hard edge. 
Starting to look like a cat. Trying to keep those edges wet. Eeek
painting fast w an 8 sable to keep the edges soft. A fine spray mister to soften edges of ears. 
Almost done. Adding the dark layer. 
Touch up time and then add whiskers with negative painting and white gouache using my saber brush. Hmm I actually used my loosely goose brush from cheap Joe’s a skinny saber brush.
So far for now. Let’s see what I think in the am.
Big thanks to That’s What Friends are For for $30 certificates to spay neuter and rabies shots for the kitties and to Dr Bagshaw and his fantastic staff at Edgefield Veterinary Services for doing the job for that price. I took them some fresh home made banana bread. Still have to catch one of the tigers and take her.
Margaret whose kitties are mad at her since she had them neutered yesterday. Three sore tummies and one sore bottom. Ouchie. Xoxoxo
Margaret McCarthy Hunt Art 