Category: Life drawing

Day 466- The Girl

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  Gets blocked in. This is how she looked after about four hours of work. 

Blocking in is the start of a painting. Why he direction it will go gets started. It’s a thin layer of acrylic paint and it’s done for either a finished acrylic or oil painting. I thought you might like to see the process.  

  
First four hash marks are placed along the edge of the canvas dividing it into quarters. The same thing is done to the photograph. This helps in more accurate placement on the canvas. 

 
Next thin layers of color are painted in.  I was having a hard time with of all things CONTRAST. duh. I was using Phtalo Blue and Alzarin Crimson and not much else. A little flesh on the face. 

   
    
Still more Phthalo blue and Alizarin Crimson. A lot of it was applied with foam brushes. They were a lot of fun and I may use them more. They also do a great arrow straight line. 

  
 It’s not really as dark as this but it will be. I added alot of Goldens Nickel Azo one of my favorite acrylic colors. It’s a sheer transparent color. All I had to do was add some water to it and brush it over the color already on the canvas. It was like magic making the painting pop. Somewhere I had forgotten about using contrasting colors.  Duhhh. Probably this cold that came back with a vengeance when I was in the mountains or more likely the fact that I did not review my painting notes- use a work of complimentary colors. In this case it could have been gold on one end and violet blue on the other. 

It takes practice. The more you do the more you remember and do it right the next time. 

Thanks for reading.  

Margaret xxx

Day 457 – My Diebenkorn

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Erica WIP 20×30 painted this morning at life modeling session at USC Aiken. She still needs a lot of work I think. Like fixing her saggy right Tata. I am also not enamoured of the greyish flesh color. And twitch her mouth to the left a bit. 
  
Richard Diebenkorn in his studio from an old Horizons magazine. 

 We have been studying Richard Diebenkorn who was an abstract expressionist and a Bay Area painters an influential west coast group starting in the 50s. 
A Beginners guide to Diebenkorn at 

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/richard-diebenkorn-beginner-guide from his recent retrospective at the British Royal Academy.  

 Coffee by Diebenkorn. 

  
Diebenkorn. Don’t know the title. It is  more similar to my painting I color. 

  
 
Diebenkorn Don’t know the title. 

  Bay Area painter Nathan Oliviera love the way it seems to fly. 

I would love to try Oliviera’s style but I don’t know where you would start. More about Oliviera http://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/november/nathan-oliveira-obit-111710.html

Other Bay Area painters are Elmer Bischoff, Thiebaud, David Parks and Thiopolis Brown. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx

Day 456 -Inktober continues

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Sometimes you need a do over. I actually drew this street cafe in Aiken twice. This is number two. I started drawing the horse first with my Lamy vista fine point but it would not draw.  Which is why it looks so scratchy. The ink would not flow. I threw in the towel and used the Noodler Konrad loaded with Platinum Carbon black ink. 

  It was going well till I smeared the eyes of the lady on the right.  Oops.  I used a white gel pen to try to fix them. I also could have used gouache and painted the scene but have not had time. It might help if I stayed home.  

 

  
Actually the first drawing.  So why else did I redraw?! Terrible eyes. And things in the wrong places.   I ran out of room for the horse.  Ooops!! 

  

  
Here is the photo the sketch is based on. That’s it for today from the river where the water is still muddy but behaving staying in its banks.  Something to be thankful for in the state or South Carolina- a river that does not flood.  

Thanks for reading. 
Margaret xxx

Day 454 – inky month

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Really like this sketch with one blot in my copy book. The guys head. Oooopsss.  

 I actually rearranged the people at the inner bean to fill up my sketch. I started with the girl on the left and then the guy. The other two ladies were actually sitting behind him. Decided to move them. My guy needed company. 

 
This was drawn Monday in class while I waited for the teacher. I like her though I think both of these will look better when I paint them. 

   

 Spent the day hiking all over Aiken looking for pictures to paint.  I cajoled Adrian into modeling on the bench downtown.  She’s a pretty girl. 

And what’s not to love about a pile of hats?!! 

  
And fr the postman NOT to look at the camera and act like he was working. 

  
The parish hall at St Thaddeus where I stood in an ant hill taking photos.  

   I mean you look UP not down dont u?!

  Itch itch itch. 

  
Something about the guy and his truck. Maybe the shadows?! Or all that red yellow and orange?! 

 Thanks for reading. 

Margaret who is ready for a nap xxxx

Day 451 – A few Paintings

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  Henry – background Quin gold. Sofa Quin sienna and Quin burnt orange – skin Quin coral and French yellow ochre 

Got the nasty virus still that half of the people in Augusta seem to have but forced myself to paint some in my coloring book aka my ink sketches. 

  About Henry sketch.  Really like the way the darks make his legs pop and take shape. My favorite of the ones I painted yesterday. 

   
    Inktober day 4 – Forgot to take a pic of the black and white sketch. Oops. 

Random customer at the inner bean sitting less than three Feet from me. So absorbed in her phone she didn’t notice I was drawing her. 

Drawn with Noodler Konrad and carbon platinum black ink. 

Hair – burnt sienna Quin burnt orange. Shirt cobalt and inathradone.  Skin Quin coral and yellow ochre. Grey is cerulean and burnt sienna.   

A reindeer head that was over the cabin fireplace last weekend. Why a reindeer in the western North Carolina mountains?! NO idea! A friend told me he was a moose but we decided he was a reindeer probably from Norway or Sweden. Along way from home. 

  Quin gold and burnt sienna wall. Same with the splatters. Grey is cerulean and burnt sienna.  Piemonite and cobalt used in the shadows.  

  Out my back door. Glad to report the Savannah is still units riverbanks!! 

Thanks for looking!! Back to watching the BIG Flood in nearby Columbia and Charleston and glad Augusta dogged the bullet. 

Stay safe and dry my chickadees! 

Margaret glued to WIS Columbia. Nope no football here!!  

Day 451 – A few Paintings

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  Henry – background Quin gold. Sofa Quin sienna and Quin burnt orange – skin Quin coral and French yellow ochre 

Got the nasty virus still that half of the people in Augusta seem to have but forced myself to paint some in my coloring book aka my ink sketches. 

About Henry sketch.  Really like the way the darks make his legs pop and take shape. My favorite of the ones I painted yesterday. 

   
    Inktober day 4 – random customer at the inner bean sitting less than three Feet from me. So absorbed in her phone she didn’t notice I was drawing her.

Drawn with Noodler Konrad and carbon platinum black ink. 

Hair – burnt sienna Quin burnt orange. Shirt cobalt and inathradone.  Skin Quin coral and yellow ochre. Grey is cerulean and burnt sienna.   

A reindeer head that was over the cabin fireplace last weekend. Why a reindeer in the western North Carolina mountains?! NO idea! A friend told me he was a moose but we decided he was a reindeer probably from Norway or Sweden. Along way from home. 

Quin gold and burnt sienna wall. Same with the splatters. Grey is cerulean and burnt sienna.  Piemonite and cobalt used in the shadows.  

  Out my back door. Glad to report the Savannah is still units riverbanks!! 

Thanks for looking!! Back to watching the BIG Flood in nearby Columbia and Charleston and glad Augusta dogged the bullet. 

Stay safe and dry my chickadees! 

Margaret glued to WIS Columbia. Nope no football here!!  

Day 450 – Inktober

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 All I can say is WOW!!!!  450 days of consecutive daily blogging. And I didn’t think I would make thirty. 

 Jan  DAY 1

Noodler Konrad pen w carbon platinum black ink Super Aquabee tablet 

  Decided to really drove myself nuts and participate in Inktober. Aka posting an inksketch daily for the month of October. I tend to do art everyday anyway so it’s not a big stretch just to do ink sketches all month. Takes the pressure off doing watercolors too lol though I bet I end up painting some of them. 

  
Old Man at Panera Day 2 

Carbon platinum pen w carbon platinum black ink Super Aquabee tablet  

Not happy with this sketch. This guy was in his eighties. Lots of wrinkles. Eyes set deeply in his head. He was busy giving someone his power of attorney. The things you learn when you sit and quietly draw while people yammer on about their lives on their phones. 

 If I had taken a photo of him I would have redrawn him. Although the carbon platinum pen has a very fine point I don’t think it gives you the range of lines that the noodlers do. And it was hard to do any fine shading on his small face. 

  The Smoker Day 3 

Noodler Konrad pen w carbon platinum black ink Super Aquabee tablet 

What a character! A lot off wild waving of  her hands with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, bright pink shirt orange overdyed black hair. I had to draw her. 

 Notes about drawing 

All my sketches are drawn from live people not pictures unlike my finished big watercolors which are usually drawn from photos. I think it gives the drawings more life. And people that know art can actually tell they are from real life as we say. 

Drawings are more successful if I lay down one line and don’t fiddle with it. Original line is usually the best. 

Been practicing life drawing almost daily for a year. 

Faces often easier to leave them out because that’s usually where I screw up a sketch like the old man.  The heads need to be fairly large to draw a good face. 

Start drawing from the shoulders and add the head- the attention getters.  Then the rest of the body. 

Favorite pens : 

My star pens are any Noodler pen.  I have several and love their flex nib. These were done with my Konrad because my big ahab is leaking. I am going to redo the rings in the ahab. It’s hard to beat because it holds loads of ink and is cheap at $23 at http://www.gouletpens.com

I am also fond of my Lamy Vista fine point and the Carbon Platinum pen. 

Brush Pens Pentel and Kuretake. The Kuretake is an elegant Japanese pen. And very reasonable at $20ish. 

INK hands down favorite is the ultra waterproof Carbon Platinum Black from Goulet pens.  DO NOT BUY IT FROM AMAZON. The ink there looks like goulets but runs like crazy. I use CPB in my Kuretake too. It’s the reason I bought the Kuretake. The Pentel is a great brush but sometimes the ink just is not waterproof. 
Other inks I like a lot are the super waterproof De artementis DOCUMENT brown and Noodlers Lexington Grey. Also from Goulet. 

I have a Bottle of Noodlers Eelskin which is supposed to be waterproof it isn’t for me. 

Smooth paper is a must for ink sketches. Favorites are superaquabee, Stonehenge or other Bristol and strathmore Mixed media 500 and Stillman and Birn Alpha. All but the S&B Alpha do well with watercolor too. 

Ok my chickadees that’s enough for today. Hope you haven’t caught this virus half the world seems to have in Augusta Ga. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx

Day 449 – it’s a ViRuS

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  Henry 

Carbon platinum pen, superaquabee sketchbook 

That half of Augusta seems to have including myself and my sister Jan who lives at my house. Sneezed and dripped our brains out. I hope you all my sweet chickadees do not have it but it’s also not a terrible virus to have. You just don’t feel up to par. 

  Reindeer head at the house we stayed in last weekend. I didn’t know the lives in Western North Carolina!!😳

And it’s still raining. Was hoping to go downtown tomorrow for more band sketching BUT I think hurricane Joaquin will make that a wash. Hoping it doesn’t. 

Anyway that’s it for today. Tomorrow find out about the pens and ink I love and the paper too. 

Thanks for reading! Stay healthy and dry!!! 

Margaretxxx

Day 448 – A Few More Arts in the Hearts 

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  How could I resist sketching this stylish lady who was really enjoying the Adam Harris Thompson groups music?! Such a great hat and her stance was super.  

 I am pretty sure it’s the same hat that Frankie aka Lillie Tomlin wore in the netflixs series Frankie and Grace. If not it’s a twin sister of Frankie’s hat. 
 
This guy has the most interesting face almost skeletal. He was so thin. Also irresistible to my pen. I later found him in photos posted of the eighth street stage.  

    
These are the original sketches. 

 
You can see the red ink that had been on my Noodler Konrad bleeding thru in this sketch. Have all the sketches a weird red cast after they were painted. Oh well. Hey we’re such great sketches. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx