For Sale – 9×12″
And there’s one more to come. Thinking it’s easier to paint palms on larger paper. Maybe this will be the Eaton Street series.
Dark sky is cerulean cobalt and a bit of ultramarine splattered with dioxzine purple.
Paper is cold pressed fluid 140#. Dries flat as a flutter no matter how much water you put on it.
Margaret who has to get ready for book club. Xoxoxox
Visited the museum on my drive home yesterday after we buried Dad in Arlington Friday. 
This is his quote on the wall of the Marine Corps Museum. You can read more about it on my old blog. 
Dad was 96 and ready to fold up his tent and go home so the funeral was more of a wake than a sad time.
He was the first lieutenant in an amazing, terrible battle called the Battle of Fox Hill during the Choisin Reservoir campaign during November 1950.
Mom listened to the news back home saying he and all of the two regiments of the first Marine division -10000 men- were lost in frozen North Korea surrounded by 100000 Chinese. 
His Marine rifle company Fox Company – about 220 men – was holding the retreat at Toktong Pass all alone, surrounded by 10000 more Chinese. Everyman was wounded but half of them survived the vicious five day battle to fight their way out on the coldest longest retreat in US Military history and enter the legends of which Marines are made. 
To this day Marines and West Pointers study Dads battle plan on how to set up a defense using a small rifle company against overwhelming enemy numbers.
According to Dad one of his gunners Hector Cafferati killed 3000 Chinese but dad only wrote him up for 500 when Cafferati got his Medal of Honor because Dad thought no one would believe the real number.
You can read more about Choisin here or buy the book The Last Stand of Fox Hill on Amazon.
Rest In Peace Major Dad. Margaret xoxoxo
If I am not painting palms I seem to be painting chickens. And an ibis or two. I borrowed the name but the chickens really do patrol Key West. 
On the docks. In the streets at the crosswalks in the restaurants under your chair 
or even on the table.
TIP!!
Next time I am only bringing superaquabee paper unless I break down and make a sketchbook from strathmore mixed media paper. Both papers LOVE watercolor. They don’t Waffle while you are painting and they tend to dry flat. Always a plus. Plus the watercolor paint looks gorgeous on the paper.
Going to bring my long skinny one. 6×12 and either a 5×7 or and 8×10. Then I am going to sit on a corner and sell the sketches. Lol. Aka pay for our dinner and our
gas.
Try them you will love them.
Margaret off to Hogfish for some grilled hogfish salad. Sooo delish and no chickens. 
Just fish dockside. 
They stay in the water rofl.
Will keep the doctor away. Painting by the pool today. Just playing with my Vlad Yesilev sword brush. Makes great wonky chickens. Burnt sienna cerulean cad yellow cad red light dioxzine violet. Alizarin and opera rose.
And the daily palm. I know I have painted this same palm at least three times. I may be getting addicted to palm tree painting. I ran out of cad yellow so this one may not be quite finished.
Same colors as above. Superaquabee tablet.
Margaret back reading her book. Xoxoxo two more days in the Conch Republic. 😒
Didn’t mean to make the ocean so rough. Maybe it’s an inadvertent portent of Dorian out in the Atlantic. Poor Bahamas. So relieved it’s not us.
Same colors as yesterday. The straits of Florida are painted with peacock Cheap Joes Andrews Turquoise and Dioxzine purple. I also splattered with some of those colors. Soupy brush and tap the brush NOT the Ferrell.
I took advantage of the opaqueness of cad red and yellow light to tap some flowers over the foreground greenery.
Sky. Cerulean and fab off some of to make clouds add dabs of Dioxzine purple and dab them odd again with a dry wadded Kleenex.
Painted with my saber brush a size 8 isabey sable and my 10 Charles Reid Sable.
Superaquabee paper. Really love that paper. It dries flat when you close the sketchbook. You can also lift mistakes a bit.
Out the window at the condo. Kinda like this. Think I MIGHT not paint it or add a bit of color just a little. Will think about it.
Lamy Ef noodler eelskin Black Ink stillman and birn Zeta.
Margaret whose watching Mindhunter on Netflix 😳😳😳xoxoxo
Since Dorian is not blowing in it seems to have cooled off with lots of great breezes. Spent the day drawing painting chasing chickens for pictures. This guy is a mean character but oh so gorgeous with his yellow gold ruff.
Superaquabee paper is great to draw and paint on. Smooth as butter and LOVES watercolor. Easier to blend on.
Eaton Street View from Cole Peace bakery window. Rough press Arches
Palm trees coming along. Used the Vlad Yesilev saber brush. Might help that I had a couple of daiquiris. 🤗
Mile high Key Lime pie from lunch the other day and our view of Higgs Beach from Saluté on the Beach.
Painted the palm tree the same way same colors as first one. Do not like this one nearly as well. Almost like the paint would stick to the paper in my Stillman and Birn Zeta.
Palm tree colors leaves cad yellow light chrome green hookers green ultramarine blue.
Water is Cheap Joes Andrews Blue and peacock blue. Dab of mineral violet.
Margaret ready to read her new Carl Hiassen book. Xoxoxo
A total freak out from this angle. Interesting gesso covered paper.
All the odd marks on it are stamps. Some old Tim Holts that I had never used. Coat the paper with gesso and then stamp in it while it’s wet.
More Dr PH Martin hideous watercolor. 18×24″. Rice Paper gessoed to some Cheap canson watercolor paper.
Myrna’s selfie using this technique and stamping dots over it.
A strange surface to paint on. Rather like painting on concrete. Do not use your good sable brushes if u try this technique.
Myrna lots of fun. Her idea of a good show name is The opposite of irony is wrinkly:Faces and Hands. 🤣
Got lost looking at Myrna’s series based on one photo. There are several but this is one. Quite an inspiring lady!!!
Margaret ready for bed. Xoxoxo
The models were dressed as 80 s rock stars. Did I say that yesterday???
Think this is Elvis. But wasn’t he dead in the 80s?? So who could it be dear reader.
Last but not least Michael Jackson in his trademark red jacket that my oldest really wanted one of to wear when he moon walked all over the house. Really needs his jacket painted.
Margaret hugging grandkids and off to Cats. Excitement!! Xoxoxo
In Columbia is hard to beat for food or ambience. I met my sister in law there for her belated birthday dinner.
Had delicious wild caught SC shrimp for a Sunday brunch with a bed of Anson grits and a blood orange cocktail. Think it was a martini. Did I say this place never disappoints. So yummy.
Cocktails are also interesting and off beat. Blood orange anything is hard to beat.
I was sitting in the bar area drawing this as people drifted to and fro at the bar.
Drawn with my Lamy Ef loaded w Noodlers Brown Ink. Maybe I will paint it. Maybe I won’t.
Margaret xoxoxo who has been schleepping all over town for safflower seed. Evidently the squirrels hate it. Who knew. Thanks Miss Mike for the tip. Xoxoxox
Really like this one now. Bright colorful. Just like Hippo Hop. 
This one still needs something.
Not sure what but both look a lot better with color. At least to me.
Today we had a picnic and art In The park. A big hit with Liv and Henry. Livie kept on paintingfor quite a while after we got home.
Time to put the grandkids to bed and watch the last episode of Shameless which is my favorite tv show. LOVE the Gallaghers and their crazy lives.
Margaret heading home manana. Xoxoxoxo
Margaret McCarthy Hunt Art 