Category: Georgia

Done well maybe

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Calling Henry done for now but may mess with his right eye some more. Going to look at him a whole and then decide.

Here he is like he was this morning when I started. I darkened just about everything.

Lifted a highlight or two like the one on his index finger. Added some fingernails. BYTW u add the line denoting the nail ABOVE THE FINGERNAIL not under the it. A little blush of cad red on the nail and you are done.

So what else did I lift. Some weird yellow ochre dots on the background that looked like I hit it with the brush accidentally. Always surprised how easy it is to lift on Fluid hot press. I think it’s easier to do on hot press than cold press.

Added the background wash on the left. It’s made up of Cheap Joes Andrews turquoise yellow ochre has mineral violet with maybe a little alizarin.

So I stayed up til 2 am knitting on this sock. I had to draw a pattern for it first. I know you are thrilled to know that. Calling it Jos sock for the polka dot socks Jo March had on in the latest version of Little Women. Gorgeous movie but NOT faithful to the book. After I watch it a few more dozen times I will I hope get over that like I did with Under the Tuscan Sun.

Margaret taking a nap before Book club. Do I have to go?!! Xoxoxox

Christmas in the WNC

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Not a sketch of the cabin but a random house on the road into Brevard from Sapphire. Scene Looks pretty in the morning sun so I pulled into a loggers driveway across the road and drew it.

Drawn on some random loose paper in the car with a black ultra fine uniball pen.

Almost a week with no wifi no cable. We twitch our noses at it will start up fro a second or two two bars of u are lucky. Then without even moving the signal is gone. 😵🤔 So didn’t even bother with blog posts.

Time to get back in the swing of things. Hmm why didn’t I draw my croissant. Sooo good at Bracken Mountain Bakery in Brevard.

Headed into Brevard to meet a freeing from USC Aiken to do an art gallery walk in Brevard. Hard to do when you have young grandkids along. We tend to hit the toy store and the ice cream shop which are also a lot of fun.

The wild flower field in front of the cabin. Now brown but it’s so gorgeous when it’s full of purple Dutch iris and lupine. Later Joe Pye weed fills the field.

And the mighty Thompson Rover from the front porch of the cabin. Best wild fly fishing river publicly accessible in the WNC aka western North Carolina. My son is lucky enough to own that stretch. The rest is in the Nantahala National Forest.

A Fine Fall Day

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In Graniteville SC. On a beautiful fall day after lifemodeling I discovered a miniature English gothic village when I turned down a street I had never been down curious to see what was there. The road parallels the main drag to Aiken thru Graniteville and you can’t see this church or all the charming cottages that surround it.

I liked it better as a drawing in Noodlers Brown ink. Oh well. I seem to be doing that a lot lately. Liking the pen sketches better.

This is the only pic i have of the drawing sadly. Oh well, right.

Inktense and watercolor pencils handprint journal Lamy EF now dried up and needing a refill.

Margaret who couldn’t stand to listen to the hearings today and only drew one head. Gave me a headache. Xoxoxo

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

Naomi

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Was a naughty girl and had to stay after school.

Couldn’t be me could it?!

The very bad sketch. What’s with the hands and that shoe??!

At the end of the portrait session. Was thinking about future mulch pile for her but after looking at her a while and talking to Ruth abt her after I got home I realized some of the problems Ruth was having at life modeling where causing my problems.

Tomorrow I will lift some highlights out and work on her braids some more.

Tape and Mr Clean are my friends once Naomi is dry.

Margaret off to bed soon. Gotta draw some talking heads manana.

Xoxoxox

What I did today

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Drawing the impeachment hearings.

My friend Ruth britpeach on Instagram and I draw the talking heads and txt each other about the hearings and our drawings. Actually a lot of fun. I put up my Lamy after this one because the ink kept smearing.

No idea why. And I didn’t feel like dealing with it. Maybe because it was my Lamy joy the calligraphy pen and I didn’t wait to let it dry enough?!

And everyone needs a Jack Russel in their lap when they draw don’t you think?? She did take a break and sit in the sun for a little while then she was back.

Drawn in a stillman and birn alpha, my favorite stillman and birn, with watercolor pencils no ink no pencil to start on most of them.

Friday I will have to take pics to explain how I do this but similar to oil painting where u start with shadows using a burnt sienna watercolor pencil and slowly firm up the drawing.

Margaret whose tired. There are SIX more of the these, three bad ink sketches and two partially finished ones. I can finish those Friday. Xoxoxox

Win some and lose some

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A sketch of Fealing Lin that I did in my handprint sketchbook in Boone last month.

A month ago already. 😪 I do LOVE Boone classes at Cheap Joes and hanging out with Mike Alan and Fealing. That equals a great week.

The painting. It could use a few more darks but quitting for now. After all it is in my sketchbook.

Today I decided to work on this train wreck painting of my dear granddaughter Livie.

I had tried to lift it out when I screwed it up with too much green but that’s easier said that done when it’s hot press.

All I can say is EEKKKK.

TOO dark. And all those odd shaped drips are where the paper is absorbing paint due to the loss of its surface when I was lifting.

As Fealing says I blame the paper for a bad painting. Cant possibly be moi!!

In this process I also lost the drawing. Can’t see it at all.

Good news is there’s another side of the paper Fabriano 300 # hot press. I can have a do over or just go with a new pic of her with better lighting aka shadows and highlights.

Margaret who just took Zoe on a long walk and is hot and tired. I thought we were getting the arctic chill this weekend but it’s almost 70 outside. 😳 Xoxoxox

David

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Went Portrait painting at USC Aiken today. What a great fun model to paint. Don’t u love his hair and his scruffy five o’clock shadow?!

Davis was painted in an hour and a half on cold press fluid15x22″.

Drew him in the first half hour session. I wish I had drawn him to include his hands til he started moving them around. Then I was glad I hadn’t. Models rarely reset their hands giving the painter much frustration.

Second break. Really moving along. Used my big size 14 Cheap Joes kolinsky sable.

Here he is again. Finished him off with my beloved size ten Charles Reid kolinsky sable from Cityart (Artexpress.com). Tell Randy I sent you. Truly a brush you will never regret you bought.

Darkened his hair. Love that brush. Lefties a few highlights on left cheek. Added a few more darks here and there. I could keep painting like get rid of the white around his ear but why bother.

Paint used. Alizarin for darks. Flesh alizarin cad red light and cad red light. Cheap Joes Andrews turq with Daniel Smith French ochre on background.

Shirt dioxzine purple and cobalt violet. The shadow on sleeve is pure dioxzine purple that I dipped my paint brush in and literally zig zagged down his arm.

Shadows alizarin Cheap Joes Andrews turq and dioxzine purple

Hair is Cheap Joes Andrews turq ultramarine and burnt sienna.

Margaret ready to put her feet up now.