That portrait challenge Day 44

May 31, 2023May 31, 2023Leave a comment

Trinidad Day 441/4 sheet cp fluid. Mixed media #jyportraitchallenge on ig

My friend Ruth and I keep each other going. You can see her posts @britpeach on ig. When one flags the other says where’s your post today?!

Our #jyportraitchallenge photo from IG. Judith Yaws is an Asheville NC area based artist who holds lifemodeling zoom sessions several times a month. Her models are world class and have kindly donated their photos to Judith for the challenge.

Almost forgot to take pics. The beginning.

Something is off. Omg and i can not lift on this piece of fluid. That’s a pickle to say the least. Her mouth is far too low which means everything from there down is too low!! 😵😵😵

Trying to lift/move that mouth and getting into big trouble because quin pink is staining. And whats with the cross eyes?!

For better or worse i moved it. The paper really was terrible. There were dots all over below her nose on her chin like there was no sizing on it. Did i say this was the back of the cp fluid 140?!

Luckily she had a heavy shadow under her lip which helped disguise that I loved her mouth. Well i hope it did.

I added a lot of white gouache to her top w a 1/2” flat to give it texture. Lots of fun. Think i may need to do some acrylics again.

Anyway here she is done as she will get.

Off the back deck this am. Gorgeous day on River Bend. Margaret xoxoxoxo

Take two on court reporter

February 25, 2023Leave a comment

Alex Murdaugh take 2. Now I am tired. Watercolor pencil superaquabee sketchbook

The pencils. The loose colors are the ones i used alot. I mostly use Faber Castell and or Inktense. Better get them sharpened for Monday.

Maggie henceforth known as Mags ready for bed. hmm never heard that as a knickname for Margaret. Xoxoxo

Painting w Stan Miller

February 11, 2023February 11, 20232 Comments

Griffith 140 cold press arches. Not my favorite painting. Stan Millers grandson. Stan does phenomenal portraits and has some great YouTube videos.

I will say that by taking his demo at Watercolor Live I have saved myself the trouble of taking a class from him in person which Mike had wanted to do before covid. Stan doesn’t want you to interpret the person but to paint an identical likeness. He’s very 123 so easy to follow but as my long time teacher Al Beyer said don’t worry abt the likeness unless they are paying you for it.

That said Stan has some absolutely gorgeous watercolors and rightly so he has made his living for forty years selling and teaching it.

I should add that I could soften a lot of edges with the Mr Clean eraser if I wanted to. I did the one on his right cheek with it and the arches paper was just fine with it. I pulled it down his cheek a couple of times and they did the trick. I will say one of the things I don’t like abt this portrait is all the hard edges which of course I could soften.

TIP: I cut the Mr Clean Eraser up into smaller wedges so I don’t have to deal with the whole big eraser which is sponge sized.

Sometimes I seem better at drawing paintings than actually getting them painted. Hopefully tomorrow.

Margaret in rainy SC xoxoxo

Done

February 8, 2023February 8, 2023Leave a comment

Daisies so I tweaked it a bit more today. I have to say Irena Roman gave the best directions. I wrote them down during her session at Watercolorlive 2023 then offline I religiously followed them. The only thing I would do differently is make a bigger one. All that work and it’s only 1/4 sheet of fabriano 300# cold press. Next one at least a half sheet.

Usually pouring you mix the colors on this page. Can’t wait to try Linda Bakers approach but this one you mixed them in a cup, masked the figure and sprayed the sheet with a spray bottle then flooded it with three layers of color.

The masking was endless ruined a brush in the process and took a half an hour of hard running to get off but it’s definitely interesting to play with. Didn’t make a huge mess.

Colors used. Well only five or six. Inanthrodone blue dioxizine purple viridian ultramarine violet and quin gold for the flooding.

Cad yellow aureolin cobalt teal and a few oddball greens for the leaves and details. Thalo blue added to the mix of blues for the jar.

I actually used a 2 and a 4 Isabey kolinski painting these. I don’t know when I last used those brushes. An 8 is small for me!

Margaret xoxoxo who forgot to upload this yesterday. Oops.

@IrenaRoman and @ericrhodes #300fabriano #watercolor #transparentwatercolor #watercolorlive2023 #watercolorartist #watercolorpainting #watercolorsketch #watercolorist #watercolorillustration #watercolordaily #watercolorpaintingartist

Haley is finally done

January 25, 2023February 1, 2023Leave a comment

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.

Margaret who hopes she’s ready! Xoxoxoxo

Haley is finally done

January 25, 2023January 26, 20236 Comments

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.

Margaret who hopes she’s ready! Xoxoxoxo

A question

January 18, 20237 Comments

Trying to decide which two portraits to enter in the GWS show. which ones would u choose?!

AC at the sweetest guy and a great artist. But NOPE I won’t let him give me a tattoo. Ouch I think they must hurt too much. If I ever got one he would be doing it. He’s a sweetheart.
Half sheet Kilimanjaro 300# M Graham paint.

The Church Lady. A great model from Mary Whyte class in St Simons last February. Love her red hat and those pearls. Half sheet Kilimanjaro 300# M Graham paint.

Garden Party. Another great model from Mary Whyte class in Charleston last year. Think she’s out. She gets lost in the background.
Half sheet Kilimanjaro 300# M Graham paint.

Time to clean up my painting table. Taking watercolorlive next week w my friend Mike.

Ttyl Margaret xoxoxox

Portrait painting

July 2, 2022January 17, 2023Leave a comment

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.

Happy fourth!! Love Margaret xoxoxoxo

Mary Whyte and Mom’s 96th Birthday

January 29, 2022January 30, 20222 Comments

Well the time has come to take a class from the famous Mary Whyte. Off to St Simons next week via Dick Blick class in Savannah to spend my gift certificates. You know I “need “ something. Right?

Best part will be hanging out with my friend Karen Schaaf who I haven’t seen since before covid. Karen recently got her NWS signature and will be in the next issue of Splash 22. We can say we knew her when. Met her at Cheap Joes taking a class from the late great Charles Reid. I think I have almost every book he wrote.

I painted this of my mom who turned 96 last Monday a couple of years ago. I call it
“I Told Her to Smile” because I did and she didn’t. Painted on Fabriano 300# hot press. 11×15”

Thinking about repainting it since it looks off to me now. Nose too long and the mouth twitched to the side. And what’s with the light streak across her chin. Bytw mom did NOT like this painting. Never pout mom, never pout.

This is the photo the painting is based on taken on her 90th birthday. A friend said she was concentrating. Maybe so.

Maniacally sewed this baby quilt for my nephew and his wife’s new baby Mary Rose. She is named Miryam after her mothers aunt who died in the Holocaust. And another who survived it.

The back. Kind of wish I had put the yellow print on the front. Oh well. It’s off in the mail hopefully to greet the baby when she comes home this week.

It has the baby’s name in one corner heart her parents in another, her dob in the third and place of birth in the last one.

Really got to finish this. An old 60s VW abandoned in a car port in Athens Ga across the street from my brothers house. And then take it down town to Art on Broad with my other vehicle paintings for Kristin to sell. Maybe a few prints?! Could be an excuse to buy a new printer!!?

Baking bread. One loaf going to a friend for her birthday instead of a cake. We went to see Kingsmen and I treated her to popcorn and a drink since we aren’t eating out right now. We loved it even though the critics didn’t. Kept us in the edge of our seated the whole time.

Bytw NOBODY is at the movies so quite safe. We had the theater to ourselves. Well the top half. A couple that came in after us sat way down in front. Socially distancing! Yeah!!

Slicing my load up to freeze it. Reheats so well as toast or nuke ten min in the microwave. Taste fresh from the oven!! Also tasty as a sandwich.

My favorite red socks. Wore a hole in my other pair. It’s a free pattern from hedgehogfibers.com. It’s called Sprouting. I have probably made a dozen pairs of this sock. This is my second red pair. Wore the heels out of the first which were Malabrigo no poly. These are Madeline Tosh sock. Wears like cast iron. I also have to them in gold, two grey pairs, and turquoise.

A blue heron we saw on our walk. Fishing in the rice paddy where I live. This used to be a river plantation 200 years or so ago. Silly bird thought he was invisible and didn’t budge as I walked toward him. Finally I flapped my arms at him and he took off.

Bytw it’s quite dangerous to get near one of these birds or an egret. They can stab you with their beaks according to the SC Wildlife Department.

My current snuggle quilt. Where are my knitting needles. One more pair of socks almost done.

Margaret under her quilt on the sofa who really needs to pack for her Mary Whyte class next week but heck I can do that tomorrow right?! Xoxoxo

Day 144 Paris Barges

August 5, 2020May 19, 2021Leave a comment

Nothing better than walking by the Seine in Paris passing the barges under the fabulous bridges, Pont Alexander, and by such landmarks as Les Invalides and my fav – le tour Eiffel aka the Eiffel Tower.