Category: Life drawing

Day 1035 Its about a dog! 

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I took a great photo of my friend Raisins white English retriever Lucy lounging around on the window seat. 

 This is a small practice painting for bigger painting. Note to self LOOSE THOSE EDGES!  It’s very hard to do a loose painting when it’s so small.  

It all starts with a great photo of a gorgeous dog. 

Click the link for a short video on how to draw your own dog. 

Think I will draw Zoe. It’s been a while and she’s curled up ready to be drawn.  

Colors used Winsor yellow, ds carmine, cobalt violet, mineral violet, oxide of chromium, viridian?, cerulean, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, cad orange, cad red light or scarlet lake. 

Ttyl Margaret who had to get walking again. Been on vacay TOO along now. Xoxox

Day 1031 How many flowers 

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Can she paint?! Evidently a lot. 

While I love most of the bouquet with the possible exception of the top is too flat aka you can draw a straight line across it I really like this painting EXCEPT that darned teapot. 

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Here’s the sketch again. I really liked the sketch which is odd since now I don’t like the teapot in it. Maybe it’s just that I don’t like that teapot? 

Thinking about repainting it again when I get home from my meeting today without the flower pot. 

Have to strike fast those flowers are getting droopy. Especially those daisies. And those lilies. Well they are dying. They are taking over the world. 

Fabriano 140# cold press 

Colors used Winsor yellow, ds carmine, cobalt violet, mineral violet, oxide of chromium, viridian?, cerulean, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, cad orange, cad red light or scarlet lake, sap green.

Ttyl Margaret off to a meeting.  Xoxox

Day 1029 -Another Flower Painting

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If at first you don’t succeed try try again. Love the flowers. The teapot not so much. So I drew another at 11 last nite. 


I turned the bouquet around. Some of the yellow daisies are already drooping so better get busy painting this one. Stay tuned. 

Colors used Winsor yellow, ds carmine, cobalt violet, mineral violet, oxide of chromium, viridian?, cerulean, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, cad orange, cad red light or scarlet lake, sap green. 

Ttyl Margaret whose playing bridge today. Xoxoxo

Day 1027 Pistol Pete 

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Such fun to paint this. 

Pistol Pete (22×15″) aka Frank Eaton was a fascinating western character who became the Oklahoma State mascot where most of my dads extended  family went to school. 

Painted on Fabriano 300# cold press 

Frank was a Marshall, sheriff and gunslinger who was faster on the draw than Buffalo Bill Cody. He was also a story teller participating in the Oklahoma land rush where he arrested the outlaws who would hide in the Indian lands and dragged them back to Fort Smith Arkansas to face the judge and often hang when it was Indian territory and probably the original person the movie True Grit was based on. 

These are Charles Reid’s paintings of Frank Eaton.  

When there is no model available he paints from old copyright free photos. 

Margaret sneezy and worn out from driving all over NC TN and SC. so much unpacking to do but think I will sofa hug today. Xoxoxo

Day 1024 Some Charles R class! 

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Mari Mac aka Mari McMillan all the way from Hawaii! But used to live in Aiken SC. 

Christine and Brenda. This is our fourth class together. We are the see you in May in Boone at Cheap Joes girls. I think there were seven people we have had class with every year the first week in May  – Fealin Lin Ted Nuttalls and now Charles Reid. 

Off to paint. Let’s see if we can get this one done today. 22×30! What was I thinking painting that big?! Too late now. No going back. 

Margaret sitting on top of a mountain in Tennessee wondering what adventure we will have today. Xoxoxo

Day 1021 Fealing Lin

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Fealing Lin is the next teacher at Cheap Joes. She’s so adorable and such a terrific teacher. We would have been in her class except she was booked back to back with Charles Reid first. 

Watching the demo on the big tv at Cheap Joes during class. 

This morning there was a little knock on our door about 7:20 am.  It was Fealing. She asked us to come by and see her so we did!! What a treat!! 

She started her painting while we were there. This is the initial washes. She had already drawn the painting before class. 

Her palette. Her two favorite colors are Cheap Joes American Journey Hot Mama and Andrews Turquoise. 

 

Her paint brushes. I have the same paintbrush folder and have been trying to keep it clean. Scratching that off my list. 

A few of her portraits. 

Always liked this old guy. 

A lot of great ladies. 

This is from an old photo. 

Love her great old men. 


What a smile. Beautiful portrait. 

Margaret off to dinner with Fealing Lin and Cheap Joes.  Xoxoxo

Day 2019 Urban Sketching in Boone 

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Well if sketching in the Wild Craft Eatery counts. Painted my sketch last night. I should have eaten my leftovers. Our third visit there and I still have some of the most amazing ravioli with tomato Gouda sauce and shiitake mushrooms leftover plus some of their delicious garden salad with pickled green beans, pumpkin seeds and cilantro lime dressing in the minifridge. 

But I decided to paint instead of eat. Been eating TOO MUCH even if the food in Boone is delicious. 

Should have taken more photos but was tired from hiking all over Valle Crucis. 


The original sketch. Off to Charlotte to the Raptor Center for a six year old birthday party for my niece Potter. 

She’s six today. Should be fun!!! HAppy Birthday Potter. 

Margaret off to shower. What it might be snowing?! Xoxoxo

Day 2014 I am HERE!! 

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In Boone NC at Cheap Joes. Hanging out with Charles Reid and his adorable wife Judy. And Joe Miller aka Cheap Joe is here too. Such great people. And my friend Mike and her husband Alan. 

In the class of 18 we have had the first of May class with at least the same 7 or 8 people now for three years so we are all getting to be friends. Several of them were in my class in Charlotte too –  a small world of watercolor painters. 

So what did we paint today?! FLOWERS AND more FLOWERS. 


This is Charles’ painting from today. He takes a break every 20 minutes. It took him maybe two hours to paint this.  Down by 11:30. Sigh. One day.  

This is what he was painting.  Judy said they had large decoy collections at their house in Nova Scotia.  No surprise there. He always paints his decoys. 


His paint box.  This box costs about $500. He finally bought it because he was going thru $80 Holbein palettes like mine every two years. This one will last him forever. 


Ok so what did I paint today?! This is it. Well one of them.  Half sheet of Fabriano 300# cold press. My almost Charles Reid!! 

Ttyl. Time for bed. All this painting is exhausting. Margaret xoxoxo

Day 1011 Some Grafitti aka Extreme Journaling

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Well let’s hope I don’t accidentally delete this post this time. ROUND TWO!! 

This is the assignment for week five of the Juliana Coles The Book of the Night class.  Based on the Persephone Demeter Greek Myth.  As usual first we journaled. Then I painted it out.  


And I painted collaged and stamped it.  


I added some red paint wiping it off and some purple on the spring side. 


Added the white lettering with caran dache neocolor ii and scribbled on it some of the neocolors. 

I also used my new favorite toy a 6B lead that I bought at Cityart last Thursday for $1.29. They have a storefront and gallery in the Vista. 


The lettering on the leaves was done with the lead.  I also enhanced the skulls in Hades on the bottom right with the caran dache neocolor iis. They didn’t show enough 


Then I added some more red to the wrap on the girl on the left. I was hoping it would add to the flames of hades.  Not sure it did But it’s done for now.  

Ttyl. packing one more day til I leave for Charles Reid class. Margaret xoxoxox 

Day 1007 All About the Raisin or is it Horses!?

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If this painting of Raisin looks familiar it is. I started her last summer. I had also started a large watercolor earlier of the same photo when Al coopted it for an acrylic for school.  He didn’t like the other photo I suggested. 

Then she hung around the Aiken art studio waiting to have a few problems resolved like the upper corner and th iPhone. 

Before you think I am obsessing over my friend Raisin the third photo is a study for the large full sheet watercolor and I really want to finish it after spending all day sketching it. 

I decided to add the horse her Freisian Harley when I was taking Peggi Habits class in Charlotte and make the painting the Raisin story. She loves to ride and she loves her Freisian Harley.  

I am meeting Harley soon but used a photo of a Freisian I took at the flat track races last month. Friesians are all big black and just gorgeous. Fairy tale horses with big curly manes and tails. 


Here’s what it looked like before the gesso!! 

I gessoed out the whole upper left -the picture frame and the iPhone that was in her hand in the original photo. 

Then Al dissed the horse idea. WHAT?!! Too late. The gesso had done its work. 

The photo from our Knoxville painting trip. 


Here’s the watercolor study. The Freisian is too small. Bigger next time. It’s about 10×15″ Why do big? 

I swore I would never do another tiny horse after doing this one last month. He may look great but he took HOURS ago do. Way too long for an 8×10″ painting. 

What u say next time?! Still have that big watercolor to do. I only spent most of a day drawing it. And I AM going to paint it. Third times the charm right?! 

Margaret whose hungry and going to eat. 

Ttyl xoxoxo