Day 955 Urban Landscape Knoxville

March 2, 20172 Comments

Yesterday we had at lunch Kathe Drew and I had a big discussion on gridding our paintings or not. Drews currently working on a huge painting of downtown Augusta. The view is five floors up and he’s frustrated trying to get all the buildings in to the scene.

I told him about drawing this view of downtown Knoxville last May. I was five stories up too at 7 am drawing away. It took about half an hour to draw this.

Most people looking at it would think that yes that’s exactly what Knoxville looks like but it’s not quite.

No matter how hard I try to plot the drawing of a cityscape like this I usually run out of room by the time I work right or left to the edges.

I end up leaving out buildings. I told Drew that as long as you get the important buildings in the skyline is recognizable. What would the Knoxville skyline look like without the Workds Fair golden globe or the the big basketball from the basketball hall of fame.

Some buildings are musts in the skyline. Other nobody will ever notice they are missing. Nobody has yet to say where’s xyz.

These are actually what I was looking like.

I didn’t even paint it so it looked like this.

I added nice dawn colors. Layering buildings with a base coating of Quin gold letting it dry and then painting it the colors of the buildings. It gives a nice early morning glow to the sketch.

Anyway that’s it for today. Ttyl

Margaret xoxoxox

Day 952 Odds and Ends

February 27, 2017March 1, 2017Leave a comment

A little urbansketching at an ACA rally Saturday in Aiken. These rallies are great opportunities for drawing people.

Drawn on 300# arches cold press with a Noodler Konrad loaded with carbon Platinum Black Ink. Ted Nuttalls transparent colors.

Yeah she’s done. Well at least I think so. Kinda yellow but at least her body’s no longer distorted.

Here she was before I worked on her today.

I shortened her shoulder, added some her butt on the left,thinned down her right thigh and moved the right arm.

And I finished the hand on this one today so Sarah is done. Yeah. I ran out of time before I finished her left hand.

And that’s all folks. Time to head to French class. Ttyl

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 943 The Two Dowagers

February 17, 2017Leave a comment

Upper Broad Street used to be lined with these late Victorian houses. Now there are only three left. They look tired but not quite derelict. These two stand by themselves like two old ladies.

The light was great yesterday – and the houses were bathed in the bright winter sun which lit them like a spot light.
I added the guy walking by. He’s really just an oval, a rounded triangle for the body, and a couple of strokes for legs and feet. Ditto for the arm.

I coated the houses w a very light Quin gold. Makes them look sunny I think.

Colors used-Sky. Hmm peacock blue?! Hookers green and hematite, Quin gold, cerulean, burnt umber and ultramarine, Quin burnt orange, vermilion.

The trees are done w a watery soup of cerulean and Quin burnt orange to give the effect of bare winter limbs.

The biggest thing that gives this look is using my small squirrel mop. You cannot get to picky with it. An #8 I think.

In a Stillman and Birn Alpha w 92 pages which means they are thin. And they are wavy causing puddling. Not sure I like that but will continue on since it cost a pretty penny $27 from Amazon. Hoping they will flatten out as they dry.

Drawn w a Lamy EF loaded with permanent Lexington gray ink.

Ttyl

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 942 Sacred Heart

February 16, 2017Leave a comment

I never get tired of trying to draw it and paint it. My fav building in Augusta. I think I got it this time.

It’s an old deconsecrated Catholic Church downtown on Greene Street. I used to take Spanish from the nuns in the school to the read of the church as a third and fourth grader. My mom thought it was how we needed to spend our Saturdays. Asks me if I speak Spanish. Nope!!

Colors used. Piemonite, cerulean, ultramarine blue, Quin burnt orange, burnt umber, Quin gold, vermilion, green appetite, sap green.

Drawn w my Lamy EF in a stillman and Birn Alpha. Paper will dry flat but it’s a little wavy now.

More to paint.

Xoxoxo

Margaret

Day 941 A few more als and that urban sketch

February 15, 2017Leave a comment

Sketched at the Aiken Brewing Company on Laurens St downtown Aiken

Colors used Quin gold Quin red orange cerulean, burnt umber, ultramarine, hookers and a gel pen or two.

Draw with a Lamy Safari and Lexington Grey ink in a Stillman and Birn Zeta.

Als painting of a student circus 1990. Even then he was trying to paint like Vermeer.

Als friend from the gym who loved to tell stories. He was a rower in the 52 and 56 Olympics for Hungary.

Al after his heart attack. He used his computer camera to take this photo.

The models make Al look like a great painter so he says but we know he’s a great painter.

Ilaina gorgeous as ever. A Saturday painting. 3×4′

Als office. Always neat. Painted with acrylic. Much wilder than his oil paintings. LOVE This one. Think it got a certificate of merit at the State Fair.

Als an awesome painter and teacher the reason. I drove 60 miles three times a week to Aiken to become a better painter I HOPE!!

Xoxoxo

Margaret

Day 938 Sometimes it doesn’t turn out like u expected

February 12, 2017Leave a comment

so it’s good to have a fall back.

I have darkened this one down quite a bit. Trying to get the lights to glow. Still not there. Better than it was.

Here it was earlier. I drew this last week in downtown. It’s where AC and I ate late lunch.

Remember this?! Like this one better. Maybe I need to write all over it. Lol. Still have one more sketch from or Sunday unpainted.

Off to our first meetup of urbansketchers of Augusta. Hope to see you at the Earthfare meeting room at 1.

Ttyl

Margaret xoxoxo whose having a way too busy weekend.

Day 935 Urban sketching at the Augusta Museum and a cartoon.

February 9, 2017Leave a comment

Sunday was a free day at the local museum. I had not been since it moved to its new building and it’s just remarkable. The Augusta room is so well done. The train that all my kids loved is still there to walk thru but now inside out of the weather.

This is drawn from a display of the Stallings Island Archaic period.

As a girl my friends and I volunteered at the museum and worked on the original arrowhead exhibit for the archaic period. We always had fun working after school at the old museum

I did mean to draw something else on this page but forgot so I filled it in with the notes on the Stallings Islnd culture. OOPPS. The yellow is. YOU guessed it. Quin gold. With cerulean

There’s an Augusta Trolley car too. AC and I had to check them both out. Very fun. Love be the bright yellow trolley. Going to have to go back when I can stay longer.

The 70s exhibit

An old water pumper. I drew it but still have to paint it. Maybe today?!

My sketchbookskool homework a Day in the Life. Should have done a two page spread because I ran out of room. Oh well it’s done.

If you want to try this make a list of your days activities OR just make blocks and fill them in.

Pitt pens pyrrole red Quin gold cerulean hematite green. Stillman and Birn mixed media Zeta.

Ttyl yoga time soon.

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 934 Urban sketching and a cartoon

February 8, 20175 Comments

I drew this apartment building from the porch of the Partridge Inn last Wednesday. It was bathed in the late afternoon sun. I don’t know if I captured it but it’s my other favorite sketch from yesterday.

Color Quin cold and Quin coral on the building w a violet in the shadows. Hematite green bushes w ultramarine blue. Sky cerulean.

Sketchbookskool homework. Draw a cartoon.

This is our beloved art professor Al saying his quips that keep us laffing and coming back for more of his teaching. I am starting year two. Some people in Advanced Painters have been there for twenty years. His New Yorkness is still there all these years later.

Some more Al-isms.
Looks like a gorilla painted this.

Don’t mess it up to fix it. Never happens.
You owe me some time.
You need to leave room 140

There’s a world outside room 140

This is not a democracy.

Steal from the best.

“These two areas of your painting need to talk to each other”.

“Get working. Stop talking”.

“Don’t let me paint your painting for you. You decide”.

“Seven years he has been here and he has never done anything I’ve asked him to do”. (Like in a way he is sort of proud of the guy for that)

“So do you think you have another painting in ya?”

“Work on this for your next 20 paintings”.

Kawfee
“You got it!” (I.e.do we understand?)

“You are in danger of finishing this painting”.

” It’s your painting; I don’t want to micromanage it”
“Be thinking about your next painting” ”
“Keep it fresh!

“Don’t get too.close.to me….or might be I don’t want to get too close to anyone, I might be coming down with something.”

“I am very tired.today” ” I have to go crack my back”.

Stop.talking….start painting…….and/or. “Get to work”!😕🎨
Have the same person paint this side.
Watch those edges.

Big brush strokes.

Warms and cools make a happy painting
Complimentary Pairs.
Brush strokes
Same intensity of two complimentaries make them pop. .
Change blue use thalo sometimes. Thick paint makes it closer glazes farther away
Texture brush strokes

People are stingy about their paint
A really great painter pays attention to the corners and edges not just the middle.

Day 932 – Al Beyer

February 6, 2017February 7, 2017Leave a comment

I drew this during art history lecture last Wednesday. Not meant to look like him exactly just the essence and to take notes on the lecture about how to compose a painting and be sure you get all the parts in perspective. When people are added the heads have to line up on your sight line or they will appear to float. Check out John Salimen, another great art teacher. He’s a master at composing from photos with many national and international art awards. His new coffee table book is just gorgeous.

His DVD on urban landscapes explains how to compose a picture from several photos.

Painted with my tiny whiskey painter palette loaded with Windsor newton travel Paullette colors. Refilled with Daniel Smith using the same colors plus DS quin coral.

A bientot Happy Mondayoff to class I go.

Margaret xoxox

Day 922 You Knew It

January 27, 2017Leave a comment

Part 2 Dr Sketchys. I did more than a dozen sketches Wednesday nite. And met friends for a delicious dinner at Bees Knees before. Avocado chop chop. Who knew a baked avocado could be So delicious. Loaded with crab. I really must draw one. And the rainbow trout perfection. All the while we sat in a store display window eating all this deliciousness.

Going to have to go back and snap some pics when the bar is full. Love this shot it just needs people.

More jujitau sketches. This one was five minutes I think.

Hmm his head is too small I think. Hard to tell now with no reference pic.

We were suppose to add a monkey to this contest sketch but darn I forgot. Too busy drawing and painting.

Not bad but head is off. Ilaina really is a gorgeous woman inside and out. Doesn’t do her justice.

The best of three attempts. Body is good but face too cute.

Chin too long. Legs too short. As I told Rachel I peaked too early. Lol.

And oh my – legs ridiculously short. Actually head doesn’t look bad. The vagaries of fast sketching.

Another contest sketch. I will actually be selling this one at Wet Paint an auction for Greater Augusta Arts Council Feb 18. Funny while sketching it I realized that I had no idea what an ak 47 or a kolishnikof looks like. I don’t even know how to spell the later. lol.