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!!

When you draw in the dark

April 22, 2023Leave a comment

Day 3 #jyportraitchallenge @juttama_rie She might get a little to yellow even for a cancer survivor. But isnt she joyful?! Also a gusty woman going public with her baldness. LOVE Her!! Makes interesting art too. Her page is mostly in German so good luck with that. She has a few en francais which i could read most of.

And oh my goodness does not Emily metalskin do a great vamp. Reminds me of my grandmother who was young in the 1920s. Have long admired Emilys modeling sessions on judith yaws page. Judith who lives in the Asheville are holds lifemodeling sessions via zoom for $15. She does them via zoom I think. Never quite got around to them. Maybe i will soon because her models are outstanding.

Stillman and birn alpha journal Prismacolor art sticks w some Faber Castel watercolor pencils.

Margaret xoxoxox

Woodpeckers

April 20, 2023Leave a comment

However I did get some great osprey pics on out boat ride this evening. They are nesting on the railroad trestle at the end of our neighborhood.

The osprey did not like the boat bear their nest. You could hear them shrieking til we drove off.

There were three nests on the trestle but only seems to be one active now.

All in all a nice river ride. More tomorrow. Margaret xoxoxox

A history with birds

April 14, 2023April 14, 2023Leave a comment

Worked on the goose some more. Funny thought about my bird drawing. I remember in third or fourth grade making bird books. Probably traced the birds and copied the descriptions. All in pencil because god forbid the kid had an ink pen. She might be lethal then. Evidently the bird affair is a long standing one with me.

Funny the things you forget til something jogs your memory. The jog was an old paper my brother wrote about the brown thrasher the Ga state bird. It was in a bag of papers my mom saved for him that I need to mail to him along with his less than stellar report cards. His daughters will enjoy those. I for one would have loved to see my dads.

The goose before i worked on jt some more. You know i think the neck is too short. Odd. I watch geese alot. I should know better. This was not deliberate like the neck of the heron. Hmm the things u dont notice when u r in the heat of drawing.

Drawings are all done w watercolor, Caran dache neocolor ii,some prismacolor art sticks in an 8×10” stillman and birn alpha. NO PENCIL drawings aka direct painting. All done with a watercolor base first.

I have alot of trouble telling the difference in these two birds when they come to the feeder. So do others. Alot of people identify them both as flickers. Like my mom a bird nut if there ever was one. These two birds sure did get cute. Except for the ink smear. No idea where that came from.

In my dreams they would all be as good as this crow. Something to strive for right?!!

Anyway enough birdie thoughts. Nite note Margaret xoxoxo

Ready for a break!!

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023Leave a comment

Sketching in my strathmore mixed media. For some reason my ink did not dry. When i wet it w paint it smeared. Grrrr. Makes me want to toss the pens and the ink. Should not be doing that. Bytw red pen on bottom is straight. The bend in the fold makes it look like its not.

Drawing what i saw. Sometimes its quite a challenge to draw whats in front of you.

Sketch before i hit it with the watercolor

Raw Sienna background color. Annoying smears.

Telling the story. I actually journaled abt my busy day. Bytw i can get off the floor again easily since i have turned into a cleaning fool. I added the red pen because it needed something there. I drew it with the pen on the right.

Margaret done for the night! xoxoxox

A few more scribbles

April 1, 2023April 1, 2023Leave a comment

Not what i meant to post today. have another painting to pour half way done but got sidetracked spring cleaning. Exhausted i noticed a sunflower volunteering from the bird seed out the den window and drew it.

My silly tortie kept begging for kitty snacks instead of letting me take a nap when i was slowing down. She was below me on the floor so this is a wonky drawing.

Tried out two new pens today that some people recommend for sketching. All are supposedly waterproof. I just felt odd drawing and writing w the bic and the zebra. I dont think the lines are thinner so will stick w my fav uniball micro pens.

Interesting recommendations for your ig feed to improve it from a woman who has a zillion followers. Thinking abt taking her class at the end of the april. Obviously she knows something i don’t know.

From Dina Brodsky! Her Ig is @ dinabrodsky and she has 772000 plus followers! So she must know what she’s talking about!!

Today, a few thoughts on your bio.

Why your bio is important and how to optimize it

Instagram is the platform of choice for the art world, and most galleries, collectors and critics will look at your instagram account before they look at your website or CV. Most people’s first impressions are formed instantly, so the first thing to do is to make sure your account is the best possible impression of you as an artist.

Your name/handle: make sure this is what you want to be known by in the art world. I would suggest sticking to your actual name, or, if that’s already taken, Yourname_artist, yourname_paintings, etc. Since this is your professional account, keep it professional, rather than charming/whimsical/clever.

Your Profile Photo

Since most people are looking at instagram on their phone, your profile photo might be too small for them to make out. That being said, make sure its a photo of your art, you, or you and your art.

Your Bio

This is a place to say a few words about yourself as a person and as an artist. Also, a place to direct people to what’s happening in the link in your bio, which is the most important part of your profile

Link in bio/website

Why it’s important:

This is the only place on Instagram you can place a live link. This should be the place you direct people to the most important thing happening in your career at the moment – your next exhibition, a write-up in a major publication, or something actionable like a workshop you’re trying to fill or a studio sale.

Why it’s really important:

Did you know that the Instagram algorithm puts a disproportionate weight on whether people click on your link in bio? This means that if you direct people to the link in your post/reel, and they click on it, that post will get prioritized by the algorithm and become visible to more people.

DON’T put lots of links in your bio with tools like Linktree. Less than 1% of your audience will click your link–send them to the ONE place that’s most important to you.

Pro tip: if you do want your link in bio to direct people to several places, don’t do it via Linktree, Lnk.bio or other third party apps. Instead make a Links page on your website, like this: https://www.dinabrodsky.com/links

That way you are driving people to your website instead of a third party app.

Dina
Insights For Artists

Dina Brodsky, Boston, MA