Pencils4tea today

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023Leave a comment

A sketchbook throw-down but i drew in all of them today. The 3 annoying sketchbooks. Try juggling 3 books while madly drawing.

Two full sketchbooks. Waiting for amazon to deliver new ones. Will NEVER use three books again. What an aggravation!!

Robin 3:52 min. Another fav
More than ample time for this lovely pose.

Molly not long enough to do this fun pose justice and oh that circle of yellow tape. 🥴

16 live Sketches in an hour! 😳 @pencils4tea Thanks Kirsty and all of our models. Live on instagram from Dundee Scotland!! Always fun and challenging.

My cheap general HB charcoal pencil drawing w watercolors over it instead of pencil. Superaquabee sketchbook

Barbara two min and we were done. I raced off to the dermatologist 😳

Out my back window after two hrs of rain. The egrets are starting to roost. Its August when the big birds show up. On the look out for a woodstork or two. The cormorants will be here soon.

Margaret def tired tonite. Xoxoxo

Day 97 Alice

August 3, 2023Leave a comment

@Pencils4tea tomorrow on instagram 1 pm EST Live from Dundee Scotland on zoom last week. Fun zany poses with crazy hats or objects a frequent challenge on this zoom portrait hour.

Alice @alicesulsul Day 97. Three more to go. Trying to catch up. Eeekk. All about the curly hair and the drips.

First layers.
Loving the drips. Burnt umber ultramarine and mineral violet for the hair w added dabs of cheap joes andrews turquoise. Quin gold and quin pink. Cerulean mineral violet and turquoise shadows. Clothes are the same colors plus holbein terre vert a Charles Reid favorite.

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook which was driving me a little nuts. It waffles badly when it gets too many wet layers. Then it would run into the face. Eekk. What happens when u soak 90 lb paper. Oh well.

Thanks! Judith @jyportraitchallenge and Alice @alicesulsu

Getting there but hair a little boring. Time to add some andrews turquoise.

Found these fascinating British artists who draw and are using fabric. Great youtube videos. This one does portraits on fabric. Cant wait to watch it. As soon as I post i am.

Margaret xoxoxo

@Pencils4tea & paper drifts!

August 1, 2023August 1, 20233 Comments

Marcia! A lady with the boxing gloves you never know what people w pose w @pencils4tea which was zoomed live from Dundee, Scotland.

We had 17 poses in the hour. I am surprised I made it through. Was like chasing a lure for an hour. Never quite catching it but yes i will be there next week of i have time. A challenge is thrown. 👍🏻

My friend Ruth. You can follow her @Britpeach on ig one of my two favs.

General Hb charcoal pencil and watercolor in a 6×9 superaquabee. Its almost full. Either going to have to draw smaller OR buy a big stack of them. Lasting abt 2-3 weeks with their 60 pages because u cant paint on the back because of the charcoal. Maybe forced to. Hmm.

Any suggestions???! In the meantime roaring thru paper. Right now i like it in sketchbooks so we aren’t buried under paper drifts.

Hmm too bad I cant draw on a roll of toilet paper. Rofl.

Sleuthing Susanna. Love her big eyes. I took three screen shots of the less than two minute poses and finished later. All 3 were all less than two minutes to draw which left no time to paint. Had to go back later and paint this one, Ruth and Miss Marple aka Anna.

Anna Marple as one of the artists called her. Each person had a theme song from a tv show or a movie. Hers was Miss Marple, my fav Agatha Christie series.

Karen and a yellow rose accompanied by Henry Mancini’s Charade. Maybe she just oeft one of the flower vendors along the Seine?? One of my fav movies-Audrey Hepburn and Carey Grant. Her clothes and Paris! Perfection.

Silvia. 2:30 minutes to draw her. Slapping the paint on. Always gives it an immediacy.

Serena love her grey hair piercing blue eyes. The tilt of her head.

Audrey. Theme song Summer Place. Sweet face.

Ellas blue white and red perfect for her Inspector Clouseau theme song. all she needs is a beret.

Out of Africa. Did not catch her name. That purple vase was a trial. Turned out ok. At least i kept the white paper for highlights.

Michelle. You never know what her pose will be. Always something zany. Laurel leaves to go with the Gladiator music??

Lou not Katherine. A great drawing. But darn the wrong name. My friend Ruths high school friend who lives in London. Gone With the Wind theme song.

A nice quiet pose for sketch number 17. Amelie theme.

Time to go paint. Behind on the portrait challenge. Number 100 approaching. Xoxoxoxo Maggie aka Margaret

Day 95 Scott

July 31, 2023Leave a comment

Drawingisfree_org today. 12 noon est 6 pm Paris France time. Last one til September! I am ready! Are you?!

Thought he was done yesterday in my hurry to go swimming but NOPE.

Day 95 Scott @onelifemodel. I did a bit of titivating(tweaking) to Scott. A fine line when titivating becomes too much. Wasn’t pleased w the final painting. Think he’s final now.

What did I change? Not alot. The angle of the mouth. Darkened the left eye to knock it back. A bit of flesh on his forehead and pink on his cheek. Defined his nostrils a bit.

Alot of cerulean and cobalt shadows. Cerulean wash for beard then added black whole wet. Burnt umber Ultramarine and ivory black for hair. Loosing edges of hair painting the cerulean adding yellow ochre and quin burnt orange for background.

The photo
9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Thanks! Judith @jyportraitchallenge and Scott @onelifemodel

Margaret ready to draw! Xoxoxo

Day 91

July 29, 2023Leave a comment

Done. Oddly the face is the same painting in both pics. All I can say is go figure.

Day 91 Donella @darealsdonella really like painting animals and who could resist this kid?! An armload of adorable fuzziness. I want one, please!!!

Lighter background otherwise everything is the same.

Forgot process pics. Managed to use alot of quin burnt orange in the goat. Perfect for him plus burnt umber and cerulean for the fur. Doneallas hair barely used yellow ochre. My current fav skin quin burnt orange and quin pink. Cobalt and quin pink top. Cerulean and burnt quin orange for the background plus andrews turquoise.

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Thanks! Judith @jyportraitchallenge and Donella @darealsdonella

Better color in this one. IPhone is reliably unreliable for accurate color.

Margaret ready for bed. Xoxoxox

Day 90 Frank

July 27, 2023Leave a comment

Day 90 Frank

But first. Don’t forget pencils4tea at 1 pm EST. One hour of wild drawing fun. See u there. Well i hope my husbands birthday so off to the grocery store for a few last minute goodies.

The photo
Have long meant to paint Frank but could never slow down long enough to do it. He wasnt in Judiths portrait rotation but just an if u want to paint here he is. I love painting craggy old men w beards.

First layers. Have to stop and remember to take pics. My fav skin tone paint. Daniel Smith Quin burnt orange and quin rose. Ultramarine in the shadows. Beard cerulean, ultramarine and andrews turquoise with bits of ivory black.

Forgot the pics. andrew turquoise in the ceiling. Burnt umber and ultramarine in the eyes w dabs of perlene maroon. Blacks are mixed from ultramarine and burnt umber or quin bunrt orange. Quin burnt orange and burnt umber paneling.

When u think hes done but there are edges to soften and shadows to add.

Then i added the big scary. Ultramarine in the shadows esp on his nose and the ceiling and paneling on the left. Then i declared him done.

I think Frank wanted to be painted. Relatively an easy straight forward paint. i do wish i had used more ultramarine in his shirt. Always looks good in a black shirt.

Drew this last night of my sweet husband w my caran dache neocolor ii.

And this yesterday am. H appy Birthday Dickie.

Have a super day. Margaret off to the races xoxoxoxo

Day 88!!

July 27, 2023July 27, 20235 Comments

Tomorrow at 1EST @Pencils4tea on ig. Free zoom drawing lots of people for an hour.

Our fearless substitute leader Fun zany poses and lots of music. The hour will zip by!

Day 88! #jyportraitchallenge Joyous Stella! Approaching 100 portraits. Never thought I would make it but the goal is in sight now.

My Chinese brush. So useful for stringy bits and plaids

Andrews turquoise and ultramarine for the plaid using my big fat chinese brush splayed so u get lots of small thin points. M Graham perlene marroon for the purples in her face.

Skin is quin burnt orange and quin rose. Andrews turquoise cerulean and ultramarine shadows w dabs perlene marroon. Hair yellow ochre w burnt sienna cerulean and burnt umber a little quin burnt orange.

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Thanks! Judith @jyportraitchallenge and Stella @ mrs_booksart

The geese out back enjoying some breakie this am. Evidently watermelon is tasty.

Just for laughs. The unicorn float disappeared from our pool. A unicorn thief?? No our granddaughter who loves them took it home. This pic was sent by her dad with her unicorn collection floating in the float in her pool. Rofl. Who puts stuffed animals in the pool??!??🧐😳

Margaret tahred. Xoxoxo

Day 87 Andrea Eleana

July 25, 2023July 25, 2023Leave a comment

Day 87! #jyportraitchallenge Andrea Eleana @ humana_lince was not wild abt the photo but rather like the painting alot. Thinking Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Almost forgot to take pics added some masking fluid.

Skin is quin burnt orange and quin rose. Andrews turquoise shadows. Hair yellow ochre w burnt sienna cerulean and burnt umber. Leaves sap green, cad yellow, cobalt, ultramarine, cobalt teal and peacock blue.

Opps she needs more quin pink. She is pink everywhere from her rosy cheeks to her shoulder.

Mary Whytes cats paw brush from cityart. 1 1/2” cheap joes golden taklon flat for the background & #4 cheap joes golden taklon and a 3/8” dagger striper from masters touch.

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Thanks! Judith @jyportraitchallenge and Andrea Eleana @ humana_lince

Margaret who hopes to be watching Oppenheimer. Xoxoxo

Day 86

July 25, 2023Leave a comment

Drawingisfree_org today. 16 portraits in an hour. OH MY. not what someone who doesnt feel well should be doing but then I lade a video of them. U can see lore at my ig feed. @maggieinsc. Chloe our drawing mc did poses mostly lasting less than three minutes. Even the double was three minutes 40. Oh MY. They are usually closer to six. Quite the challenge today. And yes i would do it again!! Lol. Cant wait for next week. Sick woman here in more ways than one. Hahaha.

Day 86! #jyportraitchallenge @sylvester.lifedrawing!! Loved the picture. Couldnt wait to paint him. Did not turn out the way imagined. What happens when u paint when u don’t feel well. Oh well.

The sketch – 9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Lots of burnt umber and ultramarine. It will go quite dark. A bit of cobalt blue. Cerulean blue background. Ivory black for hair and bird w a dab of quin burnt orange.

Better. Had to add to the back of his head and his neck.

Thanks! Judith @jyportraitchallenge and @sylvester.lifedrawing!!

I dreamed of a Charles Reid style painting with burnt umber and ultramarine mingling to a lovely dark brown but nope was not to be. beyond me even when i feel well oh well onward and more coughing!!

Before I run run run today

July 20, 20238 Comments

I thought i would check in with my dear readers. Dont forget today at 1 pm EST pencils4tea on instagram. Another fb hour of drawing people. Its go go go and the hour flies. Sadly i will be at Little Mermaid and miss the fun.