Day 1046 – Let’s Make A French Omelette!

June 1, 2017Leave a comment

Ever since I read Julia Childs Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a child I have been in love with the notion of all things French and especially the quintessiantal French food – the omelette.

But I never could figure out how they made that neat rolled omelette.

Watching Jacques Pepins American Master show on PBS I thought YOUTUBE!!

Sure enough. There he was teaching how to cook an omelette.

Omelette Number 1 of course I had to draw it to commemorate the occasion.

First mistake I had been making was not using the right pan so I got it a big 10-12″ round edged skillet that was coated w the green coating that releases easily.

And I hadn’t been using the spatula to scrape around the edges as I cooked. Who knew?

And I stuffed mine. Trying to eat those greens and I had to have some Cheddar cheese.

The most delicious thing I have ever eaten. I swear. Not so pretty but amazing.

Omelette 2 Today.

Prettier shape but too brown.

Anyway colors used to paint it. Cad yellow light, cerulean, yellow ochre, green apatite and sap green for the plate, Ultramarine Blue and burnt umber for the shadow.

TIP: Splattered with palette mess left from painting. Has to be really soupy to splatter. Use more water than you think. And I just use a large paint brush in this case my 10 Da Vinci. I also painted this with the same paint brush.

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 1038 Drawing for days now.

May 25, 2017May 28, 20173 Comments

Finally getting the big painting of this ready.

As Charles Reid says “There are just some days I can’t draw.” And apparently this painting involved that for me.

The new painting has involved a lot tweaking. Harley is one big horse and he’s not in this painting. He’s too small.

I took a comparison pic of Raisin and Harley when I was in Bristol to see just how big he was. His head is about three times as long as Raisins plus his ears. In the first painting he was a little small. I think his head needed to be twice as big. 😳

I had already started drawing her on a whole sheet of watercolor last summer but there was no way I could stuff Harley onto that sheet of paper. Oops! I had ripped five previous inches off. Double oops.

So I traced her to transfer her to an elephant sheet(30×40″) of arches cold press. And drew one eye to low. Eeekkk. I couldn’t even trace!

I drew him and

Worked on him. Eyes too big. And her hands too small.

And tweaked him. Too narrow in this one. And what’s with that eye.

And I shaded it. And he’s too sleepy.

I drew more and I searched my fifty or so photos of Harley

and I cropped it

and lightroomed it for better contrast.

and printed out more of him.

And drew some more.

And this is Harley now. Time to transfer them to the elephant sheet I hope. Unless I walk by them on my circuit thru the house and think NO that’s not right. Sigh.

But there’s plenty of room for a bigger Harley now!!

Ttyl Margaret who needs a nap before she transfers this and paints. Xoxoxo😳🤗

Day 1010 Bits and Bobs

April 27, 2017Leave a comment

I painted this a while back and never got around to posting him. An older gentleman enjoying his kindle or his iPad in the window of the Inner Bean. I have painted that light several times. It alway eludes me. MAybe tomorrow when I meet Marsha there forBrunch?!

Ted Nuttalls transparent palette.

That light. I coated it with Quin gold first. Then cerulean. Probably the color that got me into trouble. It’s opaque. I think the shadow is Daniel Smith piemonite with ultramarine blue. Love piemonite.

Two days til Boone!!! And Charles Reid. Ttyl Margaret xoxoxo

Day 1003 The Morris – Urbansketching?

April 20, 2017April 22, 20172 Comments

Spent a great afternoon yesterday at the Morris Art Museum in downtown Augusta on Riverwalk with some of my favorite painter friends – the members of Al Byers Advanced Painting Class. Interesting listening to their comments and to Als who as a professor and a New Yorker always has an opinion which he will readily share!🤗

I thought I would take you on a virtual field trip to the Morris with us. It was one of the first museums to deal only in Southern art.

When you enter via the stairs the first thing you see are the water colors of Aiden Lassell Ripley (1896-1969.). Ripley caught the South in the early 1900s in a series of watercolors and prints that line the hall at the top of the stairs.

His bio says “He was attracted by the interplay between the solidity of buildings and the patterns of light and shadow they created, interspersed with people, the snap of a clean sheet drying on a clothesline, and the shape of trees and bushes.” An early urbansketcher!

These are large full sheet watercolors 22×30″. They have great light and shadows. The Picnic above is perhaps my favorite.

Remember he was painting these fifty – 100 years ago. There’s a certain timelessness to them. They could still be found throughout the south if we only bother to look. Oddly I am sure we could as Urban Sketchers find some of these places and paint them still. Probably a lot more battered but still standing.

He was getting out and painting the south long before Urbansketching was a thought in Gabes head.

St. James Church Tallahassee Florida

Love the glowing white in this one. He does glowing whites so well.

Southern Shack

I know these still litter the southern landscape.

Springtime – Southern Church

There’s is one of these not a mile from where I sit on Hopewell Church Road in McCormick County SC however there’s no great tree with Spanish moss and I never see people there. Is it abandoned. No idea.

Cabin in Georgia

Obviously many of these were done along the southern coast because the Spanish moss does not grow farther north in the south just along the coast.

Planters in the Field

Perhaps my least favorite. The figures are stiff and it’s too dark. Great handling of the trees, woods, and that evening sky.

Unexpected Point, Florence SC

I love the light in this painting. It just glows with fall light raking across the horses and riders, glinting off the broom straw and buildings.

You can still see these broom sedge fields with tall pines and rickety old buildings slowly crumbling to the ground. And yes they still hunt for quail and dove in the south.

Ttyl Margaret xoxoxo off for another busy day.

Day 994 – Peggy Habet’s class

April 11, 2017April 12, 2017Leave a comment

I drew Peggy several times during class. This was the last time and looks the most like her. Fourth time the charm. She was hard to draw with a long thin nose and a tiny face.

The nose kept overpowering her tiny face when I drew her. This was the first try. And then I painted her too dark so I scrubbed her a little to lighten her up. I did have fun stamping her name and embellishing the page with a watercolor pencil.

Go round three. Nose still too big. Eeekkk. The hair is a combo of thalo and sepia.

Number four. TOO Dark!!!’ What the heck.

Better. But the face was too wide and not oval enough. I could make it narrower by adding hair.

I painted on my class sketches most of the day. Guess it’s time to do those color studies.

Margaret xoxoxo whose having a painting day.

Day 988 Wow 13 more days

April 6, 2017April 7, 2017Leave a comment

Til the big 1000!!

Since 13 is a mystics number surrounded by bad luck impending done a journal page on palm reading seems like an appropriate post. The assignement this week was to completely cover a two page spread with masking tape. Then study a palm reading chart and react to that. I am not exactly a girl who believes in palm Reading so this was a little difficult for me.

I pondered the assignment of reading your palms for 4-5 days. Then I did all these pages in less than an hour. I was flipping thru the old Bazaar magazine looking for images to collage on another page and found the red headlines. I thought perfect. I glued them on. The grey was a scrap from ripping out collage items for the other page. Perfect color.

I literally pulled a couple of pieces of somerset collage paper out of this heap and traced my hands and glued them down quickly. Then I started scribbling with Prismacolor artstiks and gel pens.

Next I stamped some old Teesha Moore stamps that I had for years and never used. I still had the third page blank. I lettered with the paint pen and drew some arrows. Then it popped into my head to do an X-ray hand for the scar page-write down all your scars-because some scars are visible but some you can only see in an X-ray. Still have to journal those.

This is a WIP. It will change. I got some transparent purple ink to paint on it just not had time. And I have a list of things to still try out. Here are what I brain stormed.

Yellow gold aura. Lightening bolts

Light green on x ray hand thalo blue thinned on background

Outline letters in yellow?

Green glow

Heart Malagra

Anyway time to get going. Busy day.

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 965 141 People in one Week

March 12, 2017March 12, 2017Leave a comment

Well I made it. Added another another 14 people yesterday when we were at the Standardbred Harness Races yesterday at McGhees Mile Track in Aiken. Starting from the last one draw to the first one drawn at the end of the post. I am going to paint some of these today I think since this is day 7.

Flipagram of the sketches.

All of them are drawn with my Lamy safari in Lexington Grey ink in my Stillman and Birn Alpha. Most were drawn from real life except the 20 or so talking heads.

In the window at the Mexican cafe on Laurens street in Aiken.

At the races. I was afraid to shop out my sketchbook after I did this because a certain bird was busy telling people what a great sketched I was.

Off MSNBC Friday nite. ditto that

Hanging the new Augusta State University logo sign at the Dental School Friday. These guys were working hard. Two guys only but they hardly stood still pushing and shoving the big scaffold that would take them to the top of the four story building.

More of the two guys. One worked continually nonstop the whole hour or so I was drawing. Pulling and pushin. And backing the truck up.

Contour drawings because they were moving fast. The angles they got on their bodies were as good as any dancer or yoga as they pushed and shoved the heavy scaffold.

In line waiting at chic fil a and the dental school check in.

Too right luck at chic Fil a and a guy waiting to see the dentist at the college.

A three generation family at chic Fil a

More tv talking heads.

My heroine Rachel Maddow. So brilliant.

Talking heads MSNBC especially like the Bernie Head.

Lawrence O’Donnell taking heads. Love him too.

Rachel Maddow and her talking heads

Panera sketches Tuesday

Panera Tuesday

Panera Tuesday the rest are at Panera Monday and a few more talking. Heads from MSNBC.

Heads on Morning Joe.

As I said will paint some of these. I love having my own coloring book. Total people. Depends on how you count them. 141 if I count all the contour drawings at the Dental College and in the crowd at the races.

Ttyl

Margaret who has to paint. Xoxoxo

Day 964 100 people in seven days Day SIX

March 11, 2017March 11, 2017Leave a comment

Time to finish up those 100 people. In the meantime there’s always the tv to draw from.

I am completely absorbed by the unfolding spy whodunnit on Eachel Maddow every nite on MSNBC. I even take notes and draw some of the talking heads or players in this dramatic story. Last nite it was General Flynn who was working for the Turkish government to the tune of $500000 while he was head of our National Security.

I don’t think Robert Ludlum or John Le Carre could make this stuff up. Just crazy stuff going on.

And yesterday ALL the holdover Obama attorneys were fired and told to clear out by close of business. Usually they stay to finish up their cases and then leave. Not this time. And Hannity a tv talking head seems to have precipitated it. Hmmm.

The double page spread. Still have to find one more head to draw.

Colors used. Quin coral and gold and burnt orange. Burnt umber and ultramarine and cerulean. A dab of orange.

Ttyl off to the flat track horse races in Aiken. No nekkid painting today. Going to miss my painting peeps.

Margaret xoxoxo who hopes it’s not freezing cold out today.

Day 963 Rachel Maddow!

March 10, 20173 Comments

These sketches brought the total of people drawn for the week to 82 or so. Has been riveting lately. It’s like watching a spy novel written by one of my favorite authors John Le Carre or Robert Ludlum unfolding in real life.

So why did I write all the notes?! My mind tends to drift when I don’t take notes. It’s rather like a doodle for me. It keeps my attention focused and it helps me remember what’s been said. Truly I think I would be paying attention with or without the note taking BUT I kind of like the way it looks too.

It’s my writing on my art work taken to the extreme. And you know I do love to write on my artwork. It gives a sort of Susan Shie flavor to it.

I almost left her without her black jacket and top painted. I took a pic like this in case but decided to paint it and I like it better painted.

Here’s the sketch.

And a sketch of her only guest that night US Congressman Eric Swalwell who is also fascinating. Not to sure how his right cheek got so much darker. Oh well. I guess I could go back and paint the other one but just been too busy. Getting close to the 100 people mark for the week.

The sketch. These are done in my Stillman and Birn Alpha with a Lamy Safari loaded with Lexington Gray ink.

Colors used. Quin gold Quin coral Quin burnt orange cerulean burnt umber ultramarine blue.

Ttyl

Margaret xoxoxo off to do her last ten people.

Day 961 – Day 2 -OneWeek100People2017

March 8, 2017Leave a comment

No idea how many people I have drawn now. 20 last evening at Panera and 11 more off MSNBC. Right now this Al Franken sketch is my favorite.

I also like most

Of this page except for Eve. What happened there?!

And this page except Lawrence.

The blank spot is for the no longer missing Christopher Steele who Al Franken said he would go to the ends of the earth to interview. Go Al!!

Think Lindsey Graham looks good as does Adam Schiff. Both have interesting faces. Rachel. Hmm will try again.

Panera. Soooo cold. I thought I would freeze. I started to go to the chic Fil a bit it was crawling with people and sooo noisy. So I left and went to the quieter Panera.