Day 397 – Travel Day

August 10, 2015Leave a comment

Louies Back Yard Key West

Whenever I go on a trip there always seems to be some leftover sketches that don’t quite get painted. I call these making my own coloring book because sooner or later I go back and paint them.

Right now I have six from Key West and 8 or ten from Garden City to paint. Hopefully I will knuckle down on the next few days and get some knocked out. Several of them I really like including more of the court house chickens. Of course you said she has more chickens to paint lol.

This is one I got around to painting. Louies should have about ten stars on its sketch.

Mahi Mahi with Mango sauce.

The food is superb the servers outstanding and the views are amazing. Hands down our favorite for divine food. Go at lunch to save a little on the bill!!

A not to be beaten combo of great food and gorgeous view.

After we ate inside we sat on the back deck enjoying the breeze and the view of the Florida straits.

The view from out table.

My divine sautéed yellowfin tuna a la Julia Childs flounder in Julie and Julia. I have the recipe. I guess I need to turn it into a recipe sketch. Easy and oh so delicious. We used to make it with striped and hybrid. To think I almost didn’t get it because I am tired of tuna a la Charlie in a can. Not the same at all!!

My sisters Beef. Also fab.

My creme brûlée with a brownie buried in it. Melt in your mouth deliciousness.

A coconut orange cream pie like nothing you have ever eaten. The creme brûlée wins the desert contest BUT if you go twice like we did you can try both!!

Day 395 – Beach Time

August 8, 2015Leave a comment

but I really could use a cup of Cuban Coffee for some energy right now. Where is it when I need it?! Back in Key West!!!

Anybody in my family would be shocked to find out that I finally broke down and bought a cup of espresso. I obviously don’t even know how to spell it. 😳 I am known for drinking gallons of tea – iced or hot. But when in key West do as the natives do – drink Cuban coffee!!! It was dare I say it delicious. YUM. And the Cuban Coffee Queen makes great coffee and Cuban sandwiches.

Their sandwiches are huge and delicious. We actually made two meals out of ours. Each one is made from scratch when u order it. The bread was not out Of any bag of rolls I have ever eaten. Just Delicious. The setting is great too in Key Lime Square just off Duval and Southard hidden behind the art gallery on the north corner across from the Pegasus Hotel.

We also really liked their breakfast sandwhiches. Reasonably priced with a cup of Cafe con Leche. $4.50 I think. Hard to beat and so much better than McDonalds. We highly recommend it.

Just a really charming spot tucked away in the heart of downtown Key West. Don’t miss it!!

Ps they have a bathroom too. Hard to find on Duval Street!!

Thanks for reading.

Margaret ️xxx

Day 393 Endless Ibis

August 7, 2015Leave a comment

How many can you draw? Evidently I can draw a lot of them!!

Here’s a couple more. Did I say I have a lot of Ibis?!

The first three were quite involved sketches. Then I ran out of background ideas!! Oops. More morrow.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 392 – A Few Ibis

August 5, 20157 Comments

Three times is the charm they say! Wordpress keeps eating my post today. These were all drawn on site at the Key West Wildlife center. I counted at least 8-10 pages of ibis sketches.

Stay tuned tomorrow for painting details. Want to be sure WordPress behaves before I write one more long post.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 391 – Buzzards Roost part 2

August 3, 20152 Comments

As we sadly left the Keys we made a return trip to Buzzards Roost on Key Largo. I drew this as we waited for our order to arrive. As usual the service was not super though our waitress was an overworked sweetheart (too many tables) this time but the view was still gorgeous!!!

The view

Drawn with my Noodler Creaper loaded with Platinum Carbon Black ink.

The food was amazing this trip. We ate Mahi Mahi wraps. Oh my gosh it was sooo good. We both kept the second half of our sandwich for dinner. Sadly we ended up throwing it out since we never ate dinner that nite. Nobody wants tomaine poisoning on a four hundred mike drive.

I also sketched the marine at Garden cove. This was our view from our table minus the bank of flowers across the edge.
Here it painted. The yellow in the palms and on the boats is Quin gold. I like the glow it gives to the shadows on the boats.

If a storm had not been blowing in I could sit here for hours drawing and enjoying the view. Garden Cove is just a gorgeous place. A piece of Heaven!!

Day 390 – the days Pile UP!!

August 2, 2015August 3, 2015Leave a comment

A year and 25 days now of consecutive blogging.

Buzzards Roost on Key Largo. The restaurant has an amazing view of Garden Cove out to the Atlantic or is it the Florida Straits?! Eating out on the covered deck is hard to beat surrounded by beautiful, water boats and amazing flowers.

We actually ate there twice. The first time was coconut shrimp. Fried a little too long to suit my taste. I like my shrimp fried in three and a half minutes period. The second meal was much better. Otherwise they start to get tough. It was still good not great. The staggering view more than made up for the lack of superior food and so so wait staff.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more Buzzards Roost sketching and food

About the watercolor : all the water was painted wet on wet. Palm Trees were painted light yellow and allowed to dry. Touches of Quin gold were added. They were then painted w a variety of greens and Inathradone blue for the darks.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret ️xxx

Day 385 – A few loose ends

July 28, 2015Leave a comment

Some of my favorite things about key west is the wildlife.

The double page in my Moleskine watercolor book. I decided they were the last double spread because they are so iconic in Key West. Literally they are everywhere behind and under almost any bush, in the parking lots, under the tables in your favorite restaurant. You can not help but fall I love with them.

A few chicken stories!

Chickens actually use the crosswalks to cross the busy streets. I saw them do it with my own two eyes. Truly they do. And I love following them around to draw them.

Roosters. Indispensable to their families. If you feed the chickens the roosters let the hens and chicks eat first while they are on the look out for enemies. Keeps the species going. I never thought a rooster could be so thoughtful and protective of his brood though I have seen a male Cardinal take care of his babies.
Ibis at the Wildlife Center. What a hoot. They follow you around i hopes of a snack. And seem to pose like this one.

One of my favorite Watercolors I did at Key west. The wildlife center ibis.

A few of the eight or so ibis sketches I did at the wildlife center last Saturday. Or was it Friday?! In Key West the days run into each other.

I spent a lot of time taking pics of iguanas. They are so fascinating. Living dinosaurs.

My favorite finished iguana sketch.
This guy a big grey one was begging with the ibis til he got scared and leapt into a tree. They are SO fast. And he was big. More than four feet long. He blended right into the palm tree.

We fondly nicknamed this one Mango. A big fellow at the condos. I stalked him talking to him nicely. He would begrudgingly pose. Later we saw him repeatedly whip a kid who was throwing stuff at him. OUCH!! I don’t blame Mango one bit. Someone should have been watching the kid. Evidently iguanas also have razor sharp teeth. They hang out in the trees in Key West and would rather run climb or swim away than get in a fight.

A large green one. I think this is my favorite color but they are all so gorgeous like a watercolor and blend right into their surroundings.

Sunrise in the Keys. Going to miss these too. Enough for today. Can’t wait to get home and get my paintbrush busy!

Thanks for reading!

Margaret xxx

Day 383 – on the road again!!

July 27, 2015Leave a comment

The long road home. Two days of driving from Key West to Atlanta.

Amazing sunsets

Thought I would share some of the highlights of our trip.

The ghost
hunt
tour with Michael
Creepy but fascinating. You do hunt for ghosts. 😳

the Lloyds tropical bike tour and

Analise and her

food tour YUMMMMM
The Papas

And sitting at Mallory square during the eight mile hike. THINK SWEAT!!

Eating at a few of our fans. Caroline’s on Duval super wait staff salad was the best we ate. Bamboozled salad.

Blue Heaven Thomas and Petronia Chickens and wonderful breakfast of eggs Benedict with pink shrimp. And a band in a funky spot including a chicken cemetery.

Louies Backyard. The best food on the island. Expensive but deliciousness. Lunch is a cheaper option.

Hogfosh Grill on Stock Island. Hogfosh Tacos of course.

Buzzards Roost in Key Largo. Recommend their Mahi Mahi wrap. Gorgeous view of Garden Cove.

Another sunset.

Stay tuned for more Key West. I only have 1500 photos!!!

Thanks for reading!!!

Margaret xxx

Day 382 Key West Food Tour – A Commission

July 26, 2015Leave a comment

I drew this in my sketch book after we went on the Key West Food Tour. The tour director Analise had to have one for herself so I spent a couple of days tweaking the small one and painting it.

She was tickled pink with it. I am sure it will be framed shortly and gracing her office walls soon!
Let me know if you need me to do one for your business! Or your town!!

What you do with all those maps and ephemera you pick up on your trip. Draw on them!!

Yesterday was our last full day in Key West. We are packing to leave now. It was also the culmination of the Hemingway Days – the Pamplona bull race key west style and the winner of the Heningway Look alike contest is announced.

The guy on the left , Pat, won the contest lady eat. All the guys with the red ribbon and medal are previous winners. There were 175 entrants this year. Mostly old guys with big white beards. As my friend Siobhan quipped Key West is where Santa goes in the summer!! Lol   A rowdy crowd follows the papas around the block.

We also went to the Audubon House. His paintings there are gorgeous as are the gardens.

Out the Audubon house window to the Customs house. We included a tour of it on our SEVEN Mile GUT it out tour. Next year we are doing the hemingway five K. lol. Going into training NOW!!

Incredible philodendrons and pothos we grow as house plants tower fifty feet high in the yard.

My favorite plant in the garden.

A lobster plant. I think.

The ginger plant beautiful and smell heavenly.

Orchids hang off the trees.

and banana plants abound.

Stay tuned for more Key West tomorrow.
Thanks for reading
Margaret xxx

Day 382 – Higgs Beach

July 25, 2015July 26, 20152 Comments

Higgs Beach original watercolor

$150 plus shipping

app 8x 40 inches long. Stonehenge paper

I like to sketch people as they walk by and draw fast impressions ok long accordion folded paper. I found the perfect place to do it yesterday-Higgs Beach. You can sit in your car in the cool as people stroll by or stand around at the beach.

I generally start with the shoulders and head. I try to vary the people. As in not all guys. There were alot of men on this beach so when an occasional child strolled by I drew them or short people. Or add bikers and dogs. Chickens too wild work. But it was too hot for chickens or dogs.

A lot of the people are painted with straight burnt sienna or Quin gold. Others are heavy on the red with yellow ochre for a sun burnt look.

Finally decent palms. Started with a yellow green and dabs of red. The leaves were painted mostly yellow green with streaks of red. Then dabs of green apatite. After they dried I added Inathradone blue in slashes.

Generally I keep the background to a minimum but I thought I would try to give it a beachy Key West feel by adding the palms the blue blue water and the volleyball net.

The water is cheap Joes Andrews blue aka turquoise and marine blue.

Pen is my Noodler Creaper loaded with Carbon Black. Generally I like to use a brush pen on these but when I was drawing chickens earlier the Pentel brush pen and I weren’t getting along so I switched to my Noodler.

The paper is Stonehenge ripped into long strips with my bone folder and then accordion folded.

Thanks for reading.