Day 112! So i cant count 🥴

August 30, 2023Leave a comment

Day 112! The Mermaid. A conundrum painting someone under water. A big experiment!!

The reference photo

How do you paint light skin tones covered w green water. Hmmm. Had to think abt it for a while. Like a week or more. Lol.

For skin tones Quin rose and quin burnt sienna lightly covered with andrews turquoise which is an opaque color if you get too heavy handed.

Hair – My chinese brush splatted flat and the dagger brush loaded very light yellow ochre with shadows of burnt sienna and quin burnt orange and cerulean and cobalt probably ultramarine and burnt umber aka anything that seemed to work.

Background aka the water cerulean w a dab of burnt sienna. Multiple washes of Cheap Joes Andrews turquoise w raw sienna or yellow Ochre. I even used a very light lilac. Hmm. Lost some of the light bubbles but oh well.

I think its largely successful. One day i will take my time and run a smooth wash but evidently not today. 🥴

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Thanks, Judith @jyportraitchallenge and @glimpsesofyellowroad2

Day 113 Raul

August 29, 20233 Comments

First washes. Ivory black not watered down into the wet background to soften the hair.

Rarely ever do the lips first but the hair was so wet couldn’t go near it for quite a while. Cobalt ultramarine and quin rose for lips.

A relatively easy paint. Burnt sienna in the shadows w dabs of ultramarine. Burnt umber eyes.

Beard and mustache spalled on with my chinese paint brush splayed to make hairs.

For skin tones Quin rose, a lot of raw sienna, some burnt sienna and quin burnt orange plus ultramarine shadows.

Used my cheap joes scroogys loose goose brush on his hair for the curls.

Background cerulean w a dab of burnt sienna.

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Thanks, Judith @jyportraitchallenge and Raul @raulmouracampos.

Stairway to heaven aka our front steps in the sunlight.

Margaret getting over her cold finally. Xoxoxo

pencils4tea today

August 17, 2023Leave a comment

Just 13 live Sketches in an hour! Positively relaxing. 😳 @pencils4tea Thanks Jane and Kirsty and all of our models. Live on instagram from the Uk!! Always fun and challenging.

My cheap general HB charcoal pencil drawing w watercolors over it instead of pencil. 9×6” Superaquabee sketchbook

Can’t decide if i like the quin gold roughly brushed on before painting or not.

Jane our leader today. Oops too heavy w the quin rose.

Marsha. Always like the way hers turn out too.

Susan. That hair. Should have been wispier.

Anna of the piercing blue eyes and a nimbus of white har which i never quite get right.

Beautiful Ilaria. wish i had do e a better job

Jude. It was good to know we made it to 2:45. 😂

Michaela another one i didnt do justice to her beauty.

Beautiful Daniella. Always has something of interest to paint.

Sweet Ursula. A challenge to draw in a few min. I did cheat and paint a bit after

Margaret ready for a nap xoxoxo

Day 103! Carla the Cat Lady!

August 15, 20232 Comments

Day 103! Carla the Cat Lady! 1 of the 7 I speed drew Friday and painted four of them including this one.

Quin rose, quin burnt sienna, ultramarine all the usual skin colors. Quin rose. Cobalt shadows

Hair yellow ochre and cerulean w burnt sienna to make shadows.

Her cat is ivory black, burnt umber, and ultramarine paunted w my big Charles Reid da vinci 10 kolinsky sable round from Cityart.

Andrews turquoise and yellow ochre background. Seems to be my fav background lately.

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Almost done. Decided to add more contrast to the background.

Thanks, Judith @jyportraitchallenge and carla @carla_s_kunst

Margaret xoxoxo

Thursday is @pencils4tea day

August 11, 2023August 11, 20232 Comments

Link @pencils4tea in her bio On ig. Every TH at 1 pm EST in the US.

@pencils4tea Thanks Kirsty and all of our models. Live on instagram from Dundee Scotland!! Always fun and challenging.

Anna w a hale brush . Her hair is white.

Michelle from California w a handful of butterflies

My cheap general HB charcoal pencil drawing w watercolors over it instead of pencil. Superaquabee sketchbook

Flesh Daniel Smith quin burnt sienna and MGraham quin rose. Blue shadows mostly cerulean and some cobalt and Andrew’s turquoise. Brown burnt umber and ultramarine to make black. Greys whatever blue brown mud i had sometimes adding ivory black.

Gorgeous Alexandra 2:46 a failure she so lovely. Does not do her justice

I confess i spent another hour titivating these aka tweaking them. Added all the backgrounds and painted some of the people later always spending at most five min on them per person.

Lily and Angela Shannon –
5+ min LOVE this one!

Liz always a pleasure to paint 3:20 min. Love her top! 4 diff patterns on it.

Ursula from Germany who i chat w alot on ig. One of my favs 3:46. She might need a background. Only 1 i didn’t give one to.

Rafael- Il es Français and he looks like it!❤️ 3:30 min

Daniella 1:19 min i confess i drew the cat and painted her after it. I had just started the cat when it ended.

Maggie immensely tahred xoxoxox

Day 99 Dan

August 8, 2023August 8, 20232 Comments

First wash. Quin rose yellow ochre burnt sienna ultramarine all the usual skin colors. Quin rose. Cobalt shadows

Almost done. Cerulean and burnt sienna background. just the pesky plaid shirt to do.

Burnt sienna and ultramarine for the plaid. Makes a more vibrant brown than just burnt umber. Cobalt shadows.

Margaret off to Asheville for the night! xoxoxo

Day 101. Did I say I was stopping?!😵

August 8, 2023August 8, 2023Leave a comment

Day 101! This model has great panache. Love her glasses, the jaunty beret her tartan scarf.

Beret is burnt umber, ultramarine, with quin burnt, sienna and mineral violet.

Glasses are the same colors plus yellow ochre. The scarf well i think it was a crash and burn but finally settled on hookers green, ultramarine and some burnt umber. Cobalt in the blue green squares.

Cad red light and yellow ochre for the lips w a bit of cobalt. Yellow ochre cerulean and quin burnt sienna for the hair.

Great loose sketch took abt 20 min finally.

Coat is yellow ochre abs burnt sienna.

Door is cad red light and ultramarine w a wash of cerulean in the shadows.

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Thanks! Judith @jyportraitchallenge and Jessika@adora_larte

Out back just now. Can u find the rainbow?!

Margaret xoxoxoxo

Day 100. Hurrah I made it!

August 6, 2023August 6, 20236 Comments

She looks glorious under my ott light. She just glows.

Day 100! I thought this would be an awful painting but I really like her alot.

In the future i will be choosing the ones i want to do. Only problem is that i would never have chosen this one. Too many stripes on her face.

First wash and sketch. Almost forgot to take pics.

All those stripey shadows. I started w her hair then a coat of very light skin color. Let it dry and added the stripes working my way down. She just glows in person.

Shadows mostly ultramarine w quin burnt sienna and quin rose. Some of the stripes on the left are made with cerulean and the quin burnt orange and quin rose combo.

Quin rose and quin burnt sienna for the lips w a bit of ultramarine. Yellow ochre cerulean and quin burnt sienna for the hair. Quin gold and quin pink w cobalt in the background.

Sky is cerulean. Sea cerulean and Andrews turquoise w yellow ochre. First a wash of the three. Then i added in streaks of pure color.

Her sundress is cerulean and Andrew’s turquoise w ultramarine and a bit of the quin sienna for shadows.

Done. I could have softened alot of edges but didn’t. Too many to do them.

Bushes ultramarine yellow ochre sap green terre vert.

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook.

Thanks! Judith @jyportraitchallenge and @likaanwo

Margaret who will not be putting her feet up. The minions are coming to swim. Ages 7-3. So cute but soooo busy. Xoxoxoxo

Pencils4tea today

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023Leave a comment

A sketchbook throw-down but i drew in all of them today. The 3 annoying sketchbooks. Try juggling 3 books while madly drawing.

Two full sketchbooks. Waiting for amazon to deliver new ones. Will NEVER use three books again. What an aggravation!!

Robin 3:52 min. Another fav
More than ample time for this lovely pose.

Molly not long enough to do this fun pose justice and oh that circle of yellow tape. 🥴

16 live Sketches in an hour! 😳 @pencils4tea Thanks Kirsty and all of our models. Live on instagram from Dundee Scotland!! Always fun and challenging.

My cheap general HB charcoal pencil drawing w watercolors over it instead of pencil. Superaquabee sketchbook

Barbara two min and we were done. I raced off to the dermatologist 😳

Out my back window after two hrs of rain. The egrets are starting to roost. Its August when the big birds show up. On the look out for a woodstork or two. The cormorants will be here soon.

Margaret def tired tonite. Xoxoxo

Day 97 Alice

August 3, 2023Leave a comment

@Pencils4tea tomorrow on instagram 1 pm EST Live from Dundee Scotland on zoom last week. Fun zany poses with crazy hats or objects a frequent challenge on this zoom portrait hour.

Alice @alicesulsul Day 97. Three more to go. Trying to catch up. Eeekk. All about the curly hair and the drips.

First layers.
Loving the drips. Burnt umber ultramarine and mineral violet for the hair w added dabs of cheap joes andrews turquoise. Quin gold and quin pink. Cerulean mineral violet and turquoise shadows. Clothes are the same colors plus holbein terre vert a Charles Reid favorite.

9×12” superaquabee sketchbook which was driving me a little nuts. It waffles badly when it gets too many wet layers. Then it would run into the face. Eekk. What happens when u soak 90 lb paper. Oh well.

Thanks! Judith @jyportraitchallenge and Alice @alicesulsu

Getting there but hair a little boring. Time to add some andrews turquoise.

Found these fascinating British artists who draw and are using fabric. Great youtube videos. This one does portraits on fabric. Cant wait to watch it. As soon as I post i am.

Margaret xoxoxo