Category: Gatlinburg

Do i like it is it done?!

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Ballerina quarterish sized sheet arches. All done wet in wet using six colors, the hideous potters pink was one. Had the nasty color forever. Who knew it could make wonderous skin.

It was A Ken Call class that Mike and I finally did today that is part of Watercolor Live 2023 back in January. Kens website is well worth a look. His portraits are gorgeous.
This is what it looked like at the beginning. Ultramarine , Potters Pink, Burnt Sienna Sodalite Genuine Paynes Grey and Burnt Umber on arches 140 cold press. I have some 300 but i did not want to cut it up to try this technique when i didn’t know if i would like it. Arches now costs $28 a sheet. Ouch. That was before inflation.

Drips are in with Ken. Me too. I do love a good drip. You use a flat synthetic brush to lift color almost back to the white on this project. Did i say we lifted a LOT in this painting??? Really kind of an amazing technique at least in his hands.

There are two videos of him painting on youtube. Both are about an hour and a half long if you are interested in trying this technique.

https://youtu.be/rzXfr75fbPQ

https://youtu.be/10E4HPMKDfo

Margaret who is ready to go to bed! G’nite xoxoxox

Bird of the day well actually

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Been working on this bird for a few days. Maybe a week off and on.

This is 9×12 and done. I like a lot. So I decided to paint a bigger one. BYTW this one is available if you need her at your house.
The background wash went well but darn what was with the bird drawing. the back looks like spikes and regular ones at that. Regularity is an anathema in a painting. So how do I fix it without starting over?! So of course I kept on painting.
Starting the head. And then of course I forgot to take pics. Sigh. Really like the quin gold and the quin rose with cerulean on the neck and around the beak. But then no more pics. Sigh.
So here she is almost done but those spikes are still annoying me. So yesterday after madly painting with Vlad I thought slap some paint on the background and get rid of those spikes.
So I did. And it went well. I painted the horrible spikey look out. HURRAH!! But then I got the dreadful green run across the bottom of the beak. The 140 kilimanjaro was waffling like crazy with huge ripples making the washes run like crazy. To make it worse the green run was THALO notoriously staining of any paper. NIGHTMARE time.
Slapping cobalt on to give her some curves.
So her she is today. The paper dried amazingly flat for all the ripples it had yesterday. Maybe I can grey out the green streak. Tomorrows job! I do like the way she looks now.
Maybe a crop to take a couple of inches off on the right?? She’s a big girl at 16×20”. Did I say I have already drawn another one?! 😵‍💫
Tonite sunset was rather spectacular. I saw it out of the corner of my eye as I was heating up our dinner leftovers. We do love a good bowl of leftover soup.

Margaret ready for bed xoxoxox

Chasing the train with Vlad

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Chesky Krumlov, Czech Republic according to Rick Steves a charming cobbled city. One of the chase alongs for WatercolorLive 2023 was to chase Vlad Yesileyev as he painted this charming street scene. You had to paint like mad or get off the Vlad Express Train as it briefly stopped in the Czech Republic.
Mike and I entertained ourselves today by virtually painting together. My power went out just as I got the program working. Sigh. No Wi-Fi no show. So we waited. Then I had to wait til the Murdaugh trial had a break.
My palette finally ready to paint. Exciting stuff right?
My uh tracing. There I said it. I had 18 of these to do. Eeek. This is on Hahnemuhle. I agree with Vlad it’s awesome paper.
First layers. Lots of greys. Zipping down the line.
Adding some darks. Then I kept going. When I get to the end and don’t know what to do I use a thin paint brush and just draw on it so that’s how I got to here.
Not my best but it’s growing on me. I am rusty at chasing Vlad. I got thru the pandemic letting him entertain me on a lot of Sunday’s. He’s so funny and his classes are reasonably priced. I highly recommend them so just go along for the ride on the Vlad Express.

Margaret xoxoxox who is now tahred.

Practice practice.

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Flamingo from Zoo Atlanta. 9×12” cp fluid. Mostly quin gold and quin rose w cobalt cerulean and pimonite. Oh inanthrodone and Payne’s grey on beak.

Practice for a larger half sheet Flamingo. Also practice to make Shelley Pryors technique my own.

Margaret watching the super bowl. Xoxoxo

Painting w Stan Miller

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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

Another Monday with Crystal

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The long pose – 40 minutes – pentel brush pen and watercolor in my superaquabee tablet. Crystal of @crystallinecreative did a terrific job as usual during this live zoom session thru Townsend Atelier. She’s doing online modeling sessions via Townsend Atelier about once a month on Monday at 5 EST. You can contact them at mailto:peggy@townsendatelier.com.
Two minute poses
Five minute pose
Five minute pose
Ten minute pose

Ten minute pose

Fishing again today. That’s my husband up at the top of the dam – the blue dot. You run up and down that hill to land fish. Not me. I sit at the bottom and paint. Of course I didn’t finish anything today. Maybe I will get them down tomorrow. Some dummy left most of her brushes at home. Duh.

Maggie xoxoxo

Been drawing

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In my small Stillman and Birn alpha w a Office Depot mechanical pencil.

The best of the lot. My sweetie Hunt. 4×6”

I measured his head when I drew this one by holding up my 2B mechanical pencil. His head is very long and narrow. Kind of like the rest of him. He’s 6’3”. Lots of whiskers. Mustache and goatee. Going grey but still has a lot of pepper in his once black hair.

Next up a watercolor or two of him sooner or later.

This is the First go round and his face was not long enough. Made him look squat. Vaguely looks like him but the mouth is his mouth. Oops. Easier to redraw than erase all that pencil. 4×6”
And Sam I Am a Siamese stray on the back porch. Sweetest of all the back porch cats. once he’s fixed he’s looking good for a house kitty. He wants in every time I feed him or pet him. Another man of good taste.

The Road Less Traveled

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Done. For sale 15×20″ cold press 300# Kilimanjaro

Love my trees. Painted with Daniel Smith Payne’s grey a yellow mix used for the trees yellow ochre Holbein lilac and a cad yellow light. A few bits of cobalt cerulean mix.

Oh and most importantly painted w a saber brush and a dagger brush uncontrollable but make wonderful lines for trees.

The snow was done w cobalt. I tried adding cerulean but always get a nasty opaque grey with it so wiped it off. Scrubby scrubby.

Other colors used burnt sienna burnt umber and Prussian blue in his jeans.

I got carried away having fun painting the trees on the right. Finally decided to wipe some out by scrubbing with a paint brush. They are not the focal point.

My morning greeting. Anyone need a kitty kitty?!!

Margaret who can’t let them starve. Xoxoxo

Composition- Provence or the Blue Ridge?!!

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I am thinking it’s the blue ridge. I love the views from the tops of the mountains with the towns snuggled in the bottom around a lake.

I think this paintings done. Going to sleep on it to be sure.

12×17″ arches 280 cp Cheap Joe’s American Journey paint.

Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

I took a class with Vlad Yesileyev on composition today.

Fascinating and educational as usual.

He said composition is THE most important thing in a drawing.

Typically you divide a drawing into thirds vertically and horizontally. And where they cross is your focal point. It’s the place where you should put the greatest contrast in your painting with less detail in the other areas.

MINIMIZE anything not in your focal point. And if you don’t like your value sketch then don’t start painting.

I highly recommend that class. He’s just THE best teacher. Willing to answer any question and stay as late as necessary to help if needed. He explains everything so well leaving no detail unexplained as to why he’s doing what he’s doing. And if you don’t understand he will patiently explain it again.

And he has a GREAT russian accent and a GREAT sensenofnhumor.

The drawing

First wash. I managed NOT ago sticky my fingers in the sky or blot it. My two fav things to do to mess up My sky wash. Yellow Ochre cobalt alizarin and neutral tint

Finishing first wash using the same colors

Adding trees. I can finally do lacy dry brush trees. Well more or less.

Still using the same colors and some burnt sienna and burnt umber and indigo for the dark greens.

Teacher critique. Too much splatter and pines too Lacey. Oops. Easy fix.

Can I whine but I like splattering. You should see the tv I watch the zoom on. Covered w specks of paint.

and yes he was right. Too much splattering of flowers in the foreground.

Do yourself a favor and sign up for his paintalongs and his classes. You will be glad you did.

Day 164 Sweating in Barcelona

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Another wild paint along with Vlad. Can’t wait for the next one Sunday. Painting boats. Love boat paintings

10×15″ Kilimanjaro 300#. I decided to use Kilimanjaro to see if it scraped like the nasty arches did.

The Arches scrapes great to do leaves, branches or grass. Maybe it will scrape for boat lines. Or I can use my dads antique arches that’s probably 20 years old. I know it scrapes great.

The photo. Kind of a nothing photo don’t you think except nice sunny light, umbrellas and a beautiful old building.

The value sketch

First wash- the water stage

Colors growing. Aka more first wash. Umbrellas really orange but odd it looks so red in this photo.

The second darker washes more pigment. The tea stage.

The last layers. Lots of milk. Aka thicker paint. I think mine moving be too thick.

And the way it is now. Kinda wishing I had not added the Browns and the grey trees on the left. Sometimes I get up in the morning and like them a lot better. We shall see right?!

Had fun drawing all over it with my white gel pen zip zip and always solid unlike white gouache.

Margaret ready for bed but has to watch one more episode of Schitts creek-my current binge. Soooo funny on Netflix’s. Watch more than one before you pass judgement. Xoxoxox