Category: Travel journal

Day 726 – Almost two years. 

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My Van Gogh Sunflowers 20×24 Acrylic For Sale 
Coming up on two years of daily posting on Day 730 or at least attempting to do that. 

One of the things I learned this year – if you are taking a Viking cruise up the Seine River the wifi is definitely UNdependable. Have to think about a cure for that next time we go. 
My friends and fellow artists say they have seen a lot of growth since I started this journey. I started out to do a month then 50 days then 90. It grew like topsy. 


Auvers sur L’Oise – Prints available Watercolor 8 x 11″ approximately 

I love Van Gogh. Ever since the Viking Cruise and a tour of Auvers where he died I have been thinking about painting sunflowers because I knew I could never afford a real Van Gogh. I had to paint my own another that mine is in his league!! 
This week was the week. I bought a bunch of sunflowers at Krogers and Costco to paint in my blue Shishir pot from Tire City Potters in Augusta.  

Colors used – Pthalo blue, cerulean, ultramarine blue, golden Green Gold and nickel Azo gold, hookers Green, cad yellow medium, cad yellow light, cad red light, burnt umber, titanium white. 
I had a lot of trouble with the yellows. They tend to be transparent which did not work well over the turquoise background. I finally found a tune of Golden Primary Yellow that I drew petals on straight out of the tube. The impasto ( thick) paint finally did the trick. 

Day 714 – It was 

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A trick. Found some more that I have not posted. At least I don’t think I did. 

Our sweet new friend Lenore 


And Piper the service dog. One of my favorite dog sketches ever. I might have posted this one but its so great i can post it again. He’s actually a black standard poodle which is difficult to paint so black shadows are sufficing-artistic license and all that!!! 


Here’s the whole page together. No idea why I didn’t paint the while background the same color. Ah well. No do overs with watercolor like one can do with watercolor. 


Painted with Ted Nuttalls transparent palette. 


And the class synopsis with all John Salimens key points. 

Warning. There still may be one more set of pages. Not sure. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Margaret off to French classes xxx

Day 712 – so it continues. 

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Not done yet. 


I drew Donna and Ann as they discussed Donnas abstracr. The conversation went on for quite a while giving me plenty of time to draw them. 


Another sketch of Dinna done during lectures. The shadow under her eye got a little dark. 

Painted with Ted Nuttalls transparent palette. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx

Day 711  and then 

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There were more. 


Sweet Mary our backdoor neighbor and our new bff. 


Donna. She’s much prettier than this sketch of her. 

Once again these were painted with Ted Nuttalls transparent colors. The notes were colored with Winsor Newton watercolor markers, a caran d’ache watercolor pencil and a Daniel Smith watercolor crayon

Thanks for checking by. 
Margaret xxx

Day 696 – Memories

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Best thing about a travel journal is the memories when you look back through it. 

Raisin and I shared some awesome deserts and a free shot of Jameson’s is always welcome!! 

This was a pretty great strawberry shortcake at Calhouns on the Tennessee River. The view was fabulous. Will post it when I get done painting it!  Riverside is a wonderful place to eat especially when it’s a different river than the one i live on.

The lines on this page are made with a Wonsor Newton watercolor  markers and a Daniel Smith watercolor crayon that I got at Jerrys Artarama during the demo. 

I color with them – draw lines -and then release them with water which let’s them bleed where they want to go. A really fun effect.  
And I started this last nite. Forgot to eat dinner. Must be fun right?! Hmm 🤔 full sheet arches 300# 22 x 30″ eeekkkkk

Thanks for checking by. 

More Knoxville fun to come. 

Margaret xxx

Day 695 – Another Journal page 

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I drew this the first day of class during lunch. It’s the Old Knoxville Business District around the corner from our classroom door on an alley that runs parallel to S Gay Street, Knoxville’s main Street. 

It called my name the Minute we rounded the corner from S Gay to Jackson Avenue to unload for class. 


Here’s a detail. Maybe 2″x 1″. My favorite bit of the painting. If I could just do this all over it consistently. At least I got this bit right. 

An interesting tidbit.  According to a friend of mine who lived in Knoxville thirty years ago the city riff raff used to hang out in this area. 

Lots of hides holes under the bridge down from S Gay Street to Jackson now barricaded and inaccessible because they are covered with bars. 👀 I had  wondered if it was some kind of odd jail til my friend told me this today. 

Our Alley 

 Colors used – well mostly I under coated all the buildings with a grey made with cerulean and burnt sienna. Then adding various mixes of Quin gold and alizarin over the dried greys. The windows are Inathrodone blue and burnt sienna and finally lamp black. Blue is cerulean in the buildings and sky. Dabs of hookers and Thalo green.


The start of another abstract. I have to transfer this 8.5″x 11″ drawing to a full sheet of Arches via a grid. What can I be thinking????🙄

Thanks for checking by!

Margaret who thinks she loves urban sketching or is it a travel journal?! Xxx 

Day 641 PCM and the t shirt

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  Really loving this sketch of PonceCity  Market Szechuan Restaurant. Love the dragon. Strathmore 500 watercolor paper carbon platinum black ink in carbon fine tip pen. 

  
   

Repainting the tshirt sketch as promised. Hope to deliver it Tuesday to Rhineharts. 
Letting the ink dry so no smears on it. Ink smears are so annoying and so unpredictable. A kin to letting paint dry!!! 
 I usually don’t use pencil but since it’s a redo of the original sketch which has a split page from the sketchbook it’s a necessity if the restaurant is to have it. 

The sketchbook. 
Thanks for reading. 
Margaret xxx
 

Day?! Rhineharts

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  Sold a painting to Rhineharts that will be on their Masters Week shirt. How exciting is that. I know stacks will be sold that week. 
  The shirt pocket

I sat out front of Rhineharts waiting for my high school friends Peggy and Karen. We are all excited to be on the shirt!! 
Yesterday I got in Charles Reid’s class at Cheap Joes. It fills the instant its released. My friend Mike and I got one of the 16 places. Now to contain our excitement til May 2017!!!😳😃 
Thanks for reading. 
Margaret xxx

Day 635 Ponce City Part two or three?!

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Szechuan Restaurant and Bar
I had a perfect seat to have another go at this dragon. I think I did a better job at the perspective this time. 
    

While there is a lot I like about this the perspective on that bar is wild and I still think the people look like the walking dead. 

    A nervy young couple say not two feet from me between the restaurant and me blocking my view. First time that has ever happened. 

I kept craning my head to look around them as I drew. They never noticed nor did they notice when I took this picture of them. 
I really should turn them into a large painting similar to the one I am working on now. 

  
Waiting at Waffle House which no loner looks like this. Who could resist those crosses arms and those faces?! 

  
  Ponce City Market looking toward the Beltline stairs. No walking dead in this sketch. 

Taped down and reading to watercolor. 

  

The Cuban restaurant LL Superpan. 

All three Ponce City Restaurants are drawn with the very fine tip pilot pen with Carbon Platinum Black ink on Strathmore 500 watercolor paper which is lovely paper. I can’t wait to use it. Takes the color so well. 
  

A tea towel from French Silver Shop. Sooner or later I will buy some. I just can’t pick which one. 
   

Ohhhhh

  Ahhhhhhhh

We were “hangry” from all the oohing and ahing, the walking, the two hour drive, the packing, the loading of the car. Which restaurant would we choose?? There were so many. 

  Marakeesh Mediterranean Market North Africa East of Atlanta 

  We decided that though the hamburgers smelled oh so delicious wafting thru the air we were not doing burgers. So many restaurants how did we choose?! 

  

We got food from Marakeesh Market because there was a small line and well it was just exotic to eat Moroccan food. 

  1. The potato stuffed burekas,tahini, Israeli pickles and Israeli salad which looks just like feggous – a Morrocan tomato and cucumber salad except for added radish sticks were all just simply delicious. I can’t decide which item I liked best. Best pickles ever.  Perfect iced tea. 

Thanks for reading. 
Margaret xxx

Day 629 – Henry Time

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This weekend my sister Jan and I tagged teamed my sweet grandchildren Henry and Livia. Henry slowed down enough for me to sketch him watching Care Bears and playing with his cars his gramy bought him at Mc Donald’s and Publixs. 

  

  His dad asked me if I bought him a car at Publixs and I said Yes of course he asked for one and a rabbit for his sister and flowers for his mom but we knew daddy didn’t want anything but that ham we cooked!!

   
They also went to the zoo. When I asked Henry what his favorite part of the zoo was he told me you Gramy. What a kid. Lol.   

    
Last a bit of ink fun with my Kuretake brush pen. I just like the quote.  And it’s true. Hard to be perfect. 

I got the quote from the strathmore art on line sketchbook Art Ninja Graham Smiths class.  Check it out. It’s free.  I wish I drew glad as well as he does. Here is his website. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx

Reasons.