Category: Florida

Key West Dreaming

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All this drizzly rain is making the thought of steaming hot Key West wonderful right now though I will say NO more trips to Two Friends. First time we went it was wonderful. Second time worst food I have eaten anywhere. Fried shrimp lost in thick nasty batter. To add insult to injury the two chickens got on another table to scavenge leftover food. Understandable when they roam freely and are protected BUT what wasn’t good was the table was not wiped down before the next couple sat down. Yuckkkk.

The chickens also raced around the restaurant vying for a piece of lettuce. Who knew it was so tasty?!!

Now I meant to chronicle our trials on the background of this page but right now liking the painting so much might want to leave it alone.

Fealin Lin PaLeTTe colors in a Stillman and Birn Zeta. Lamy Joy pen with Noodlers eelskin Ink.

Margaret settling in for a midwinters nap before she finishes her sock. One more inch!! Xoxoxo

In Aiken paintin’

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Don today. Hope you click on him and see him bigger. The background may change tomorrow. We shall see.

The sketch.

15×22 cold press Fluid. Hmm I have a whole roll of gesture drawings too. Was not thrilled doing another reclining pose. To top that off he went to sleep and his head started tipping toward me. And I mean tipped ALOT!! Not just a little.

Next break. I don’t know how I managed to get the holiday in his nose. It’s straight. Hmm.

Really like his hand.

Next break. Or was this when I was done. Not sure. Painted for three 25 min sessions. Since I wasn’t thrilled with the pose I had fun playing and really like all the colors. Lots of alizarin mineral violet Cheap Joes Andrews turquoise. Some cad red and yellow and burnt sienna plus ultramarine.

Always fun hanging with my Aiken peeps.

Drew Murphy’s. His first nude male.

Eves. She and I had fun moaning about Don going to sleep. Really messed with our drawings. Thank goodness I took a pic before he went to sleep.

Loved Joya Jimenez- Stefanos pastel – that leg coming forward is so dynamic.

And Bills oil- lovely soft pastely colors that don’t show well in the light I took this in.

Wish I had gotten a photo of Amy Lockhard Nesss oh so interesting scribble drawings she made with a weird Mephisto pencil she got in Bulgaria. It only smeared when she used a tortillon. Hmmm.

Well that’s a wrap people. Come join us for some Aiken fun. T or Saturday. Oh and Plein air on Fridays.

Margaret tucked in for the evening. Freezing cold. A high of 39. Whaaaaatttt??

A Few heroes

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Finally upgraded for more storage. Been driving me crazy since July so for my birthday I but the bullet. One reluctant hero and one who was much more interested in truth telling.

These are about 6×8″ in a Stillman and Birn Alpha because it lies flat when it’s open. . Thinking about prints or a book. So far I have drawn 29 of these and only six left to do. Why you ask. Because I don’t ever want to forget.

Watercolor and inktense pencils.

In the process I have found more artists like me that draw the hearings. This is my fifth hearing- drew the Comey, Sessions, Cohen and Kavanaugh hearings. Making a record for the future. What makes them good models is their tendency to look in the same seats and look in the same direction for a good bit of time helping facilitate the drawing. Try it. You might enjoy it.

Ok the other sketch artists on twitter :

R my friend and compatriot Ruth with whom I have drawn many times – Britpeach on Instagram

Xander Berkeley on Twitter and actor and an artist. He was actually in the Walking Dead and Longmire. Going to have to check him out on Netflix’s.

And Dave Choate also on Twitter.

I even was messaged by a woman whose mother drew the Watergate Hearings.

Margaret off to another birthday dinner with family. Hugs xoxoxox

It’s Saturday

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Well Kinda sorta.

45 min sketch of Macy 15×22″ cold press fluid paper looking like an outtake from an Egon Schiele nude exhibit. His nudes were always stick thin with long bodies.

Is she finished??! No!!! She was 45 min late and I had to get back to Augusta for a hair cut. One MUST not miss your hair appointments ever!!

Hopefully I will get around to finishing her tomorrow in between drawing the eight talking heads testifying this week. 😳😳😳

Margaret trying to resist the urge to binge the crown and then there’s also Night manager by John LeCarre that I finally found on amazon. Ps. I did see the Good Liar with Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan. Hard to go wrong with that combo. Interesting and a twist. Love a twist. Xoxoxox

And the party continues

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Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch wow what a woman!!

I call it a party because my friend Ruth and I discuss our drawings via txt and talk about what’s going on. Always amazing how easy some people are to draw and others forget it.

Beginnings derwent watercolor and inktense pencils. Stillman and birn Alpha.

Adding more layers. Then I dab at it with a wet sable brush. And 8 I think. And if it goes to dark or threatens to run I dab at it with a Kleenex to lift color. Watercolor pencils can get oh so dark in seconds and some colors seem to run like crazy.

Hmm try number two at Adam Schiff head of the Intelligence Committee. Love the sketch but it’s not quite Adam. So will give him another try.

Devin Nunez the opposition. A Better sketch than Schiffs but not as good as the Yovanovitch sketch.

Bytw people are asking me for a book. Who knows. Maybe?! Going to try to draw all the talking heads and the major witnesses.

Oh yeah there are six more of these so far.

If u like this kind of stuff check out parispsalters feed on Instagram. A hoot.

Margaret xoxoxo

House boat living

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Our big joke is that we can afford to live on a house boat in Key West. Would the three of us fit?! Nah but we can dream.

Free docking because they are just anchored out in the Cow Channel between Key West and Stock Island.

And we would sell

My paintings out of a tiny trailer there to pay for it. Well supplement our salaries. Lol. Of course these are so small we would each need our own. And where oh where would Zoe go potty?!!

Also after weathering the possibilities of having the wrath of Dorian on our heads we decided we might like higher drier land than Key West where the highest point is 18 feet!!! 🤪🤪🤪

Stillman and Birn Zeta Lamy Ef and pentel Brush pen lettering

Margaret who no doubt has made a large mess today learning to mix egg tempura from scratch. Will get back to you if this was a good idea or not. In Raleigh for a few more days. Xoxoxox

Williams Street

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I turned the corner of Eaton Street onto Williams Street in Key West to see a church glowing in the sunlight surrounded by shimmering palm trees so I had to pull over and draw the scene quickly. Then a bicyclist joined the scene. What more could a girl ask for on a hot sunny day!?

Hmm I think I need to add a chicken or two don’t you?!

Lamy EF Stillman and Birn Zeta

Margaret in Raleigh where it’s going down to 40 tonite and Key West in December is going to feel fabulous!! Xoxoxo

PS went on a shopping trip to Jerry’s Artarama and bought a handprint journal. 6x 8 ish inches linen cover. Excited to see if the paper is as good as the larger one I was forced to buy at Cheap Joes because they don’t have Stillman and Burns available. I really liked the big one so today I bought a smaller one. I mean you can wipe the paper clean in my big one. Even after you paint it. 😳😳😳

From the Nose Bleed Seats

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At the Imperial Theater waiting for Ragtime to start – Key West Chicks!!

140# rough press Fabriano. Dries so nice and flat for Fabriano.

Margaret xoxoxo heading to Boone NC in the am for a week with Fealing Lin at Cheap Joes.

Another day another seascape

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One of our jokes is that if we sold enough of my paintings we could afford to live in a house boat year round in Key West. There are houseboats of every kind on any piece of water off Key West. Free mooring.

Personally I would want a yellow house boat to contrast with the blue water. 🤣

Of course after our near Miss with Dorian maybe we don’t want to live there year round. I think winter months could be enough. I don’t like the heat of August or the no see ums that chewed us up everyday.

Margaret xoxoxoxo

Hogfish Grill time

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When in Key West a trip to Hogfish Grill for some Hogfish is ReQuIrED!! Yummm.

I no longer can count the meals of delicious hogfish I have eaten dockside at Hogfish Grill on Stock Island right before you drive onto the island of Key West.

It’s the island that they used to keep stock on because Key West has no room. The two islands are separated by a small channel that old timers used to swim the stock across in the days before the bridges.

This is the marina along side the dock. Think it’s called Peace Marina. On the other side of Hog Fish Grill is Gate harbor that American forces used to launch the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba back in the 60s. As small as it is there are two armed force bases on Key West – navy and coast guard.

There’s a manatee in the water. Can you find it.

Back to the news. The gift that keeps giving. Margaret xoxoxox