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Day 596 – La Cantina

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 Sketching around Augusta pales in comparison with France but we do have a few quaint interesting places in the area.  One of these is La Cantina, a funky restaurant in Clarks Hill SC run by two artists full of their quirky art.

 If you look closely you will see there’s a carved wooden nude on the right supporting the “arch” over the bar which incidentally was still decorated with Christmas garlands in February. 

Why not?  I can get behind Christmas displays year round. 

Food. Usually awesome – it’s Tiger Woods favorite restaurant when he’s in town plying at the Augusta National 15 miles down the street from Clarks Hill. 

The sauces were delicious as was my second NY strip. First one was a little grisly but they replaced it cheerfully and that one was awesome. 

  
This odd assortment of plants, to go containers, and a lantern were in a corner directly behind us. Just one example of the strangely decorated nooks in La Cantina which makes it alot of fun for artists to sketch. 

  There’s also a large outside patio with a huge chimney style oven where the steaks sizzle merrily in the intense heat. Gives such a delicious crust to the meat. 

Furnishings are an odd eclectic blend of course d objects garage sale finds art objects and 1989s “chic”. When was the last time you saw a cheap Home Depot black plastic pot in a restaurant that sells good food?! As I said funky. I hear there are live shows but we never seem to catch one. Another reason to go back. 

Be sure to call for reservations of you decide to go!!  

Anyone want to fund a trip to France or Europe for me!  Free art if you do!😋

Don’t forget  to leave a comment!! Day 600 is coming soon!! 

Thanks for reading!!

Margaret xxx

Day 582 – A little reworking

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  Don’t forget to leave a comment for the 600 days drawing. Hmm is that a pun?!
I decided that all that green blue  I had painted on her was awful looking so I started painting.  

 That raccoon look was NOT good. Edges needed softening ALOT. 

I added a lot of burnt sienna for shadows and some nickel azo gold with pyrrole red and white for flesh tone. I also added a dark grey with sand in it to the background and then washed it with a thinned white. 

And softened edges. In case you don’t know. What that means it means that the edges are blurred aka softened like around her mouth and her eye. 

At the last minute I realized her tight shoulder was too high so I took about half an inch of the top and a bit off the side to round it some more. 

For the moment she’s done but you never know. Sometimes when you look at them you realize more work is required. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx who needs a nap. 

Day 591 – Saturday!!

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Did u leave a comment for the drawing?  Only nine days. 

Ilenia was a bit of a pill today. If I could do it wrong I did. 

 

  Here’s the first block in. The head size was so big that I would have lost her foot so I started over.  

Round two. The legs fit on the board. 

  

Something about the legs was off. And her body. What the heck was up with that? I lowered her shoulders about an inch and that helped.  Who knew? But still those legs. 

What she looked like after and hour and a hoax. Legs still off. Sigh.     

 So I changed her a lot. I really like the bottom of this one better than how she looks now BUT I stopped too soon and had hash marks from the block I that I needed to cover. Maybe tomorrow I can get this effect back?

  
And here she is now. Thinking about changing the reddish background to this great bottle of golden acrylic a  grungy grey I have. Any way think I will sleep on it. Maybe I will stamp on it.  I think the backgrounds are the hardest part. 

Thanks for reading. 

I think I need a nap now!

Margaret xxx

Day 587 – The Bény Sur Mer Cemetery

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Is a beautiful four acre cemetery where the Canadians buried their dead after the D Day invasions. Americans have 170 acres of cemetery. 

Something about spot is poignant. This is the favorite sketch of many on our cruise. They eventually started looking over my shoulder to see what I was drawing. This one got alot of that’s my favorite sketch. 

It was quite an easy one to do so I find the comments interesting. Not complicated like the Centee Juno Beach sketch or the Pegasus Bridge sketch. 

Simple colors too. A bright cobalt blue sky. Cerulean and Quin sienna for greys. Hookers with Quin yellow in the grass. Quin burnt orange for trees. Cerulean jeans.   And  that’s about it. 

As I said a simple sketch and painting. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx

Day 580-One Last Chateau Gaillard

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I sat on the corner in Les Andelys watching my cruising companions hiking up the hill from which “many don’t return” according to my new friend Gus’ husband Bob. Gus and Bob have done the Paris to Normandy cruise several times annually. 

This painting was done wet on wet and is one of my favorite paintings to date. I felt like I was finally getting Charles Reid!! 

Since hill hikes make my asthma go crazy I elected to draw while they hiked.  Les Andelys is just a charming tiny village. A cute row of shops. A church dating to 1200! Half timber buildings. 
  
What’s not to love?! And Richard the Lionhearted walked these streets. Fascinating to me with our young American history. 

Once again same colors. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx 

Day 577 – Meringue Deliciousness

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I had a serious love affair with meringues in France. I have always loved a good meringue whether on top of a lemon  pie or as a small crispy bit. 

 An enormous one bought in Conflans. 
 They were everywhere in France. Our boat kept an endless supply of them at the snack bar ALL day long. Enough that you could have a diabetic coma everyday if you wanted. And so delicious. 

   
 I sat in front of St Maclou munching on this one. Who could resist a cat shaped meringue. 

Run far away when you see a meringue or you might get addicted. Wonder if they sell them at Publixs?! They used to have the most delicious sugar free bits of meringue. Hmm…..

Colors used cerulean burnt sienna Winsor yellow. Chocolate color is burnt umber and Inathrodone blue.  Vermilion mouth on the cat. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx 

 

Day 576 – How many Gargoyles?!

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At St Mclou Rouen. St McClou is not a very tall cathedral so the gargoyles are close enough to the ground so that you can see them. 

  Drawn from a bench in front of the Cathedral. If you look closely in this picture you will see the gargoyles sticking out of the cathedral.  

  

  

 They also bristle from the left side and climb down the peaks. Eek!  Fancy drain spouts. 

Colors used Cobalt cerulean and burnt umber.  Drawn with a Kuretake brush pen. 

Thanks for reading. 

Margaret xxx

Day 575 – Monets Cathedral 

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 Due to the Christmas Market construction it was impossible to get close by to sketch so I stood in the middle of the street – swarmed by shoppers on the Rue de Gros Horolage  which  runs into the Rouen Cathedral. 

Since Monet painted it 28 times I could not resist its lure and sketched.  Sadly it was also closed so no tours that day. Rouen I shall return. 

  It’s gone thru lots of changes. This is the original light version of it. 

I darkened the cerulean sky to make the cathedral pop aka contrast. Originally this was painted w a coat of Winsor yellow and vermilion for shadows with touches of cerulean and burnt sienna. I was trying to keep it light and airy. 

Last nite that didn’t suit so I darkened the sky with Marine blue and added darks of Inathrodone Blue and burnt umber plus more burnt sienna to the cathedral. 

A second sky wash did not make the Strathmore mixed media journal happy. It was very crummy and blobby. I almost wish I had left it alone.

Which do you prefer?! Tell me what you think oh readers.  I can take it. 😘

Thanks for Reading!!

Margaret on 26 heading to Asheville. Xxx