Category: Lettering

A Commission

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A good by present for a friend that I was commissioned to do. It’s suppose to be a book cover for a book club group present with her house in the background. I did do it in pencil first. Also trying to get everyone’s name on it. Still missed one. Sigh. No matter how many times I checked. You have to wonder how that happens.

Here it is inked and ready to paint.

Drawn with a Lamy vista. Lettering a Lamy joy on Fabriano cold press.

She loved it they loved it. Back to my knitting. Margaret Xoxoxox whose managed to post three days in a row. However one sock is almost done. Turquoise cashmere. How decadent is that??! 🥰

Splash

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Have three paintings I am finishing up to enter in the splash competition. If I don’t enter I won’t get in will I?!

Been working on Gypsy today.

Here she is now. Can u tell the difference?! Got to take a better picture on a sunny day when the colors are not so dark. Stupid smart phone thinks it knows best but it doesn’t.

Just little things like more detail on the beads. More sloppy dots as we call them.

Added some white gouache on highlights like around her glasses and in her earrings.

Before. Also darkened her moth a little. Small drips and drabs.

About those dots. Try to never make two the same shape or in a line aka systematic. It’s so easy to just put the dots all in a line without even realizing it. And change colors. I don’t do that enough.

Onward to Henry and a commission.

Cold press Fluid watercolor paper. Fealing Lin palette colors

Margaret whose trying to decide if she wants watch season 3 of Anne with an E or not.

Ps listened to an interesting book for book club while I painted. A Well Behaved Woman about the Vanderbilts. Interesting. 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.

Capturing friends

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Rich Klein listening to Joe Kameen talk at USC Aiken. I am sure one day I will look back thru my sketchbooks and say I remember him. He’s the guy who started buying Lamy pens!! Aka he fell down the rabbit hole with the rest of us. Prof Rich can frequently be seen leaning on his chin while he listens intently or hmm maybe he day dreams. You can follow him at richkleinvisions on instagram. Inside his head might be quite interesting if his art work is any indication.

Lamy EF Noodlers Eelskin Ink handprint journal.

And yes he will get painted if I ever quit knitting. Christmas stocking half done. Did I post this?! For youngest grandson. Down to the heel now so on the downhill run.

Margaret whose glad the icy cold rain has stopped. Xoxoxox

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

The ladies of the Hearings

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Ms Val Demings – Fl I think. Such a gorgeous lady.

Ms Jackie Speiers Ca I might need another go round with Ms Jackie. Her face is too wide. It’s really longer and narrower but still a fun sketch.

Ms. Stefanik – NY – I did these ladies because they seem to consistently question the witnesses. There are a few more but at five minutes each tough to catch them. Maybe Monday or Wed or?!

Incidentally the sketch the hearings group is growing. A friend in Aiken has decided to give it a try too. Not seen hers yet but she’s a great painter. Join the fun. Maybe we need a Facebook group?!

Margaret tired after a very busy day watching old old episodes of MASH still just as funny as they ever were. 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

Glamping on Daufuskie

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Hmm it may not post but I am not sure it will work since reception is intermittent twitch your nose on the back deck and you might have a message go through.

You could hardly say we were camping even though amenities are few and far on Daufuskie. No street lights no grocery store but the house we stayed in was fabulous. Probably nicer than any of our houses. It sits on a defunct golf course that has has financial difficulties since the recession. More about the house later. Just walked in the door from a trip to Decatur.

Margaret putting her feet up. Where’s the wine? Xoxoxox

Hmm well that was a pain. Only tried off and on for a week to post. Finally unsnarled it. So annoying. Will try to do better this week. Hugs!

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. 😳😳😳