Day 458 – Zoe

October 11, 20152 Comments

Zoe Pentel brush pen in Superaquabee tablet

It’s not easy to draw an all white FLUFFY Jack Russel with black ink. Her fur is very wispy with a Mohawk down her back and bushy eyebrows. Impossible to draw those bushy white eyebrows with black ink. Zoe is a broken coat which means she has long hair AND short hair. An extra challenge.

Then there is her muzzle with black nose and lips and white hair with dots and a greyish cast. 😜 another inky challenge!!
So I started shading which was done by smearing ink with my fingers before it dried completely. The ink is permanent so if you wait to long it won’t move on most paper.

A redraw with my other non waterproof Pentel brush pens could be fun but we are off to the Magnolia cemetery ghost walk one of the most haunted spots in Augusta GA and the Hispanic festival. Hoping for lots of opportunities for sketching and photos for paintings!! And NO rain.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 428 Busy as a bee

September 11, 2015September 11, 20152 Comments

Day 1 at the dog park. I hated this one but now I think I like it because of all the people and all the dogs.

The seat on the right was completely misdrawn. And I tried to correct it. I had run out of room for the people OPPS.

This group is my favorite part. Lots of dogs, lots of people. I sit in my car in the parking lot and try to catch the people and dogs before they move. I used a Noodler Creaper pen and de artrementis document brown ink.

The bench was painted with Daniel smith green apatite which granulates and Inathradone with a touch of burnt umber. All painted wet on wet. The bushes were painted like the background in Monday’s post though I didn’t take as long.

I did this one today. There was only one dog in the whole park!? And three people. Wonder where the other dogs were.

These were drawn yesterday or the day before. The tall guy stood there right until I started to draw him and then he walked off. Same thing happened with the lady. Before that they had a BIG conversation.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 417 – a Dogs life!

August 30, 20156 Comments

Pouring rain here today and all but one of the dogs hate to go out in the rain.

This dog appeared on TV when I paused it. Decided it was a sign to paint him. No idea what kind of dog he is. A collie perhaps?!

Here’s the original sketch done with the Pentel brush pen. It’s good for quick sketching but takes some getting used to aka practice. Also some thinking is required before you sketch aka at what angle should the lines be drawn?!

Better to do one line than try to correct the permant ink lines. They will always show unless you do some creative painting.

The dog was painted with a cheap Joes size 12 Legend sable. Expensive but worth every penny. I use it a lot.

Colors used – most of my paint is Daniel Smith or Holbein. Quin gold and Quin Sienna for the fur. Quin red for the tongue with a touch of mineral Violet. Burnett umber and ultramarine blue for the darks. Cerulean in the shadows.
Sorry I forgot to post these yesterday so doubling up today.



Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 396- Sweet Bear

August 9, 2015August 10, 2015Leave a comment

Bear was my sons sweet huge 85 lb. pit bull rescue who wandered into our lives about two years ago.

One spring day he followed Ben home and refused to leave. It didn’t take him long to move from the front porch to the bed and the sofa.

He was hard to say no too. Bear would really rather be a lap dog than a porch dog.

I started to draw him whenever I visited. His brindle due was always a challenge.

I drew him in ink.

I drew him in ink and watercolor.

I tried to draw him in an artsy manner with just his red hound dog eye showing.

I drew him in smuged ink.

And another watercolor.

I sent him to the corner when he begged while I was cooking where he was mournful.

I journaled about him. Bear was a wonderful dog and model who contracted a terrible cancer which led to his passing away a week ago. We will all miss Mr Bear. We are glad he came into our loves and we hope he is out chasing a ball in Heaven where he is waiting for his daddy. He is missed!!

Thanks for reading.

Margaret Bears grandma whose glad she Sketcher him a lot!! ️Xxx

Day 392 – Wesley

August 4, 2015August 4, 2015Leave a comment

my sons English fox hound mix rescue is spending some time with his grandma.

All the drawings are app. 6×12. If you are interested in having me draw your dog email me at m c m h u nt @ me. Com

Wesley Noodler Creaper Ahab Platinum carbon Black ink.

All the drawings are app. 6×12. If you are interested in having me draw your dog email me at m c m h u nt @ me. Com

Every Monday I try to win the Goulet Pen giveaway. Every Tuesday I DONT!! Reminds me of when I buy a lottery ticket. Lol.

I suppose I did actually win because I like these sketches a lot. And I like to draw dogs a lot. Wesley was a very cooperative subject as he snoozed on the sofa chaise on top of a quilt.

One relaxed dog. Noodler Konrad with Lexington Grey Ink.

I usually start by drawing the spine and the top of the head a modified contour drawing. I also bear down on the pen like I did on his legs to make a variety of lines.

You have to love a Noodler Flex Nib pens ability to do that. All the lines on the first three pics were done with a Noodler Flex Nib. It works simalarly to a dip pen and usually not quite the mess.

The first two drawings were colored with the Noodler pens. I smudged the ink with my finger as I went.

Did I say he likes to sleep!? Noodler Konrad with Lexington Grey Ink. This one is just cross hatched. I left light areas to give an effect of the shine on his black fur.

Dogs can sleep for hours and just rearrange giving you new drawing opportunities. This one was the first one I drew. Done with a Pentel brush pen. His jaw was a little too wide so I started over again this time with a Noodler pen which allows me more control. Sometimes it takes a few sketches of a new dog to get him down pat just like it does when you draw a new model.

The sketches are posted in the reverse order that I drew them. Wesley’s head is the last one I drew of him.

Back to key West sketches tomorrow. I think I drew enough while I was there to post for the rest of the month. Lol. Hmm maybe I should save some of them for while I am in Paris?!

Thanks for reading.

Margaret ️xxx

DY 341 Snuggling and Drawing

June 14, 20154 Comments

Zoe loves to snuggle. Drew this while we were watching CBS Sunday morning. Painted it while listening to Super Soul Sunday my two favorite shows. Noodler Creaper Ahab in my Stillman and Birn Alpha. Wish I had bought a zeta. The paper buckles a lot with washes but will flatten out somewhat when the book is closed. Also the paper does not let you live color without some pilling. No book is perfect but S&B tries hard.

Noodler creaper Ahab Carbon Black ink. Greys – Cerulean and Quin Sienna on the blue side darker grey Quin Sienna and Inathridone blue. Red fur Quin Sienna and Burnt umber w touches of Inathradone blue. Letters and border Quin red and cad orange. Background cerulean and Aureolin yellow. Scarf. Hmm all the above colors and mineral purple. Splattered with cerulean.

TIP!! Paint brushes. Thought you might like to see my favorite brushes, my kolinsky Isabeys. I have six now. – 2 4 6 8 and two big mops a 2 and an 8. They are Charles Reids favorite brushes.

If you think your paintings are too tight get a big mop or the biggest paint brush u can afford. Though I want a huge 12 or 14 Isabey they are very pricey but I am happy with my cheap Joes kolinsky Legend which is a 12 for $65.

Fealin Lin loves her Isabey mops. Lucky lady got hers off the reject table at Cheap Joes for $9 instead of the normal $65 ish.

Ink sketch stage.

Used negative space to keep the legs and nose in proportion. That’s looking at the shapes that surround the object like the hole in the coffee cup handle aka the inside shape that Zoe’s legs form almost a square.

Zoe posing.

And doing her favorite thing. Snuggling!! Couldn’t wait to paint this but hated dislodging her. Now she’s annoyed with me and staying in her bed. Sigh.
Fur soresto flea collar regular collar. She is such a princess. She loves to dress up. Newest scarf a triangle of amy butler fabric.

TIP: I love the bit of fur above the scarf. It’s done by painting lightly with grey. Letting it dry and adding more greys and Blues on top letting each layer dry.

The dark grey under the scarf is the Inathridone and Quin Sienna with dabs of mineral Violet added.

Details of furwith cerulean toothbrush splatter.
More fur and scarf details.
Thanks for reading!!

Margaret and Zoe xxx

Day 335 – Thirty Days to

June 8, 2015Leave a comment

go till I make a year of daily blogging. On the downhill slide.

A sort of contour drawing of Bear who decided to move in the middle of the drawing. I have drawn him so many times I can get him more or less right even so.

He’s a big brown brindled pitty that somebody dumped. Wisely Bear attached himself to my son Ben two years ago and there he stays. He’s really a very laid back relaxed dog who would rather be petted than ever chew on you. He was fun to journal about with my Noodler Creaper Ahab in Carbon Platinum Black ink.

Once again he was painted with Quin burnt sienna and ultramarine blue, Inathridone blue and burnt umber was added for the stripes and shadows.

The background started as a dirty grey cerulean. I stood the sketch book at a 90 degree angle and let bits of Quin burnt sienna, yellow ochre, Inathridone blue for the drops and splats.

I thought about painting the background another blue layer to even put the color but decided I liked it as is and left it alone.

Here’s the whole double page spread. I thought you would like to see it.

I am going to enter it in a win a free pen and ink contest on Instagram. They like to know what the pen and ink is in writing plus a photo of the pen. The white page looked so plain I quickly wrote one of my favorite dog quotes and painted the leftpage to match the right page.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 328 – Quick Dog Sketches

June 1, 2015Leave a comment

The Watch Dogs aka Pits on guard

Happy June!! Can hardly believe it’s amer again!

After one false start this one went very well. The two dogs were guarding the house while strangers were getting giveaways on Craigslist off the porch.

They will sit still barking their heads off for what seems like hours. This sketch took at most ten minutes and perhaps ten to color it. Quick and dirty. It was done with my Noodler creaper Ahab loaded with carbon platinum plus. The ink should not have run. Maybe I will make this mixed media when I get home by adding a piece of ledger paper over the lettering on the right.

Tips aka How I did it. Colored with Caran d’ache watercolor crayons wet with a waterbrush. The brindle pitty was a problem as usual with his tiger striped coat. I started with the same colors as the fawn pit bull Livia. Then I added black to Bear. I wet it down hitting it here and there with the waterbrush. If I had brushed the water on it it would have blurred the colors.

The blinds were done by coloring with a burnt umber crayon and washing the blinds with it. Then letting the wash dry and drawing new lines on the blinds with the burnt umber crayon.

I had thought about getting my fine mister out and spraying it allowing the colors to run. Glad I didn’t. I really do like this sketch. The mister spray effect is totally unpredictable.

This is the first attempt at drawing them. A contour sketch that didn’t have room for all of Bear the pit on the left or all of Livias tail or the chair. Sometimes it’s just easier to start over.

Thanks for reading!!

Margaret xxx

Day 325 – Dog Days

May 30, 2015Leave a comment

dog sitting my sons pit bulls.

Bear is always a challenge to paint with his brindle fur. First he was painted with a mix of Quin gold and Quin burnt sienna. Then I daubed in burnt umber and ultramarine for the blackish brindle in his fur. I also added the shadow under him when the fur was still wet. And that’s all I did. It was all wet on wet except the dab of muddy Quin red in his ears.

Livia is always interesting to draw with her curves. And fairly easy to paint. A wash of Quin gold, burnt umber shadows and burnt umber and ultramarine to make a black for her muzzle.