Day 220 -A nice round number

February 11, 2015February 11, 20153 Comments

To have reached. Been a busy day. Sketching people at the Bean. Lunch at Raes Coastal Cafe which looks like a great place to sketch and Browns Feed and Seed with Chickens. Been looking for chickens to sketch.

A commission. ExCitEmEnT!!

Last nite one of the best watercolor sketches I have done. Life is good!!

The teapot was made by local potter Shishir At Tirecity.com. I coveted his teapots for a long time before I got one.
I will try to describe how I painted this. I washed the pot w a pale mix of cerulean and burnt sienna. Shadows were done with more cerulean. The hard part was the blue lines. And making the pot look rusty.

I actually painted with two paint brushes. One to paint the dark blue line and a watery smaller brush to paint the edges so it bled. The same thing with the rust. Spots of rust aka burnt Sienna were dotted around and I smudged them. I think it would have been easier to splatter this but I was afraid to get my background dirty with splatters.

Then I discovered I was suppose to use a water soluble pen. OPPS. I at least drew the block around it.

I did a contour drawing of it first with my noodler creaper Ahab.

This is what it looked like without the pen square. Which one is your favorite?!

Thanks for looking!!

Day 217 – Life Modeling in Aiken

February 7, 2015Leave a comment

With the lovely Amy. My best one so far I think….love the way it turned out. I did the sketch completely from start to end with Caran d’Arches Neocolor II watersoluble wax pastels.

TIP: I sprayed them with a fine misty spray bottle to get the colors to brighten. It was so much easier than brushing the colors with a brush that I was finished early….this is a big picture…on a watercolor half sheet. If you do this why its vertical you get some lovely drips of color.

TIP: I also used an old grumbacher hog bristle brush to life color off the page. That worked great like across the top of the thigh where I did not have enough curve and the light on the front of the left leg.

TIP: You can also wipe out color at least on Fabriano with a folded paper towel. Fabriano is terrific for letting you lift color when its wet. Tough paper!!

Try it you will see how much easier it is…I think this would work with watercolor pencils too. I hate to think of the number of times I have spent hours coloring a picture with watercolor pencils only to loose some lovely detail when you wet them with a brush.

The texture of the sketching can also just disappear before your eyes when you use a brush…Going to try that technique again…alot of fun. Paper is Fabriano Artistico 140# watercolor paper.

Now will an animal or a person PLEASE hold still long enough for me to sketch them??

Day 215 – Those Darn Dino’s.

February 6, 20153 Comments

These are my pseudoscientific drawings. My grandson is going to love these.

More Dino’s. As usual I had to write all over the page.

I picked out a few odd dinosaurs I have never heard of and as a former teacher and mother of three sons I have read about ALOT of dinosaurs. This one started out as rust and beige. He faded into the background. My caran d’arche neocolor II were sitting next to me so I started coloring. Like him much better a weird green blue and burgundy red. All the little circles were drawn with my Noodler Creaper Ahab. I embellished him with my Pentel Brush pen. Played with my waterbrush. Just had fun!! Wrote his name with my big black pit marker. .

I had to buy the Nanking Lizard with his huge claws and that weird long name. When drawing the geese today all I could think of was how much they reminded me of this Dino.

He also got a redo on the color so he would pop off the background. Rust and gold was not getting it. This time with piemonite and cobalt blue.

I just had fun with the T Rex. Wrote his name with my big black pit marker. Otherwise I used the same black pens. The greens are Tombow pens. White teeth the big Pitt pen. Where have you been all my life?!

Thinking about drawing a book of Dino’s for Henry for his birthday or Christmas. That would be fun for both of us!

Thanks for looking!!!

Day 213 – WOW I don’t like that number!!

February 3, 2015Leave a comment

I started my post with some trepidation over the number 13. I am Irish enough I see a cloud over that number. I was right. I had my post all done and accidently closed it…vanished gone…nowhere to be found. SIGH!! That would never happen with blogger. It saves as you type…oh well we live and we learn right?!!

Time to post some more sketchbookskool homework. The assignment was to draw some plastic animals in preparation for drawing live animals. I did it backwards but at least I did it right?? I have lots of animals at my house…but no plastic ones.

I went to Krogers and bought some from their $1 bin. They stunk. I bought them anyway. More about the stinky animals from Krogers but suffice to say you can buy them at some Michaels and also at Dollar stores. They dont stink and the Michaels ones have great detail.

I had several pages already painted in my Strathmore 500 Mixed Media sketchbook that were for Dr. Sketchys 2 and 5 minute gesture sketches. We didnt have any gesture sketches last Wednesday so I decided to draw the animals on those pages.

Tyrannosaurus Rex

This is my Michaels T-Rex. I MISSPELLED his name. Seriously. SO I decided to write all over the page. Not happy with the first large drawing I drew him again….also from the front.I looked up T Rex in wikipedia and wrote down facts about him making this a scientific page.

Then I drew the Raffe…hes my favorite…hard not to love them. My toy giraffe is about 8 inches tall!! I drew him from various views like I was going to do with our Dr. Sketchys model. Rather like the effect. Then I wrote Giraffe all over the place. I can’t seem to stop writing on my sketches lately.

Pens used! Pentel Brush Pen, Lamy Vista Fine and a Stadler. Also my Noodler Creaper Ahab. I did add some color to the giraffe. Burnt sienna and touches of Burnt Umber in the spots. Shadows were done with Cobalt and Piemonite.

Thanks for looking…lets pray this one posts!!

Day 211- a New Beginning or Trials and Tribulations!!

February 1, 2015Leave a comment

Sometimes you just have to start over.
A new sheet of paper a new sketch.

Making progress.

Calling her done at least for the moment. I think she’s much improved. Especially her hair! But darn naked and no hair too!! Please models wear your lovely hair down!!

Henry time aka off to play with my grandson.

Thanks for looking!!

Day 2o4 – Stuck on Birds

January 25, 2015January 25, 20156 Comments

Drawing birds out my back window at the feeder this am. Not many cardinals but a wren that hangs around eating suet and chirping away in the Rose bushes, chickadees and tufted titmice diving in for seeds and those pesky red finches. Red finches an invasive species have run the beautiful purple finch out of this area.

I tried to draw these in as few pen strokes as possible. Looking at the birds as they landed. Thank goodness the wren hung around. Such cute little fat things.

Colors- Burnt Sienna, the greys were made with Daniel Smith Primateks purple hematite and piemonite with cobalt or ultramarine. That combo makes such a yummy grey. The Daniel Smith Primateks are wonderful because they granulate as they dry adding nuances of color. In case you haven’t guessed I can’t get enough color!! 😃

Black was made with burnt umber and ultramarine blue.

Shadows cerulean and burnt umber. Then I went back in with the Piemonite and purple hematite mixes to grey them some more.
Soupy American Journey Orange for the background.

Yesterday when we left life drawing the tree near the parking lot was loaded with cedar waxwings gobbling berries. Instantly I knew what they were because as a child they would descend on our bushes and gobble outside the kitchen windows. And I can hear mom saying the cedar waxwings are back. What a racket they can make.

Here’s the story!!

I also looked them up to write the left hand page. Then I remembered sitting in class in third and fourth grade entertaining myself making bird books from some little bird guides someone had given me. Those involved notebook paper and pencil sketches. I guess I have come full circle!!

Colors New Gamboge and virisian to make that Limey yellow. New gamboge is such a bright clear gold. Once again the greys were made with purple hematite and piemonite with cobalt or ultramarine.

Those Daniel Smith granulation colors!! You guessed it!! The greys were made with purple hematite and piemonite with cobalt or ultramarine.

Here are the greys with purple hematite and piemonite with cobalt or ultramarine on my pallette done. Great colors I think!!

Somebody asked me how I splatters so I took a pic of the cedar wax wing prepared for splattering. I used a soupy mix of cerulean and yellow ochre. Remember that paint will also go allover your table. So cover it up unless you want speckles.

Thanks for looking!!

Day 202 – Time Flies!!

January 24, 2015January 24, 2015Leave a comment

Especially when you have something interesting to do…I seem to draw and or paint something or someone just about everyday now. I am taking TWO Danny Gregory Sketchbookskool online classes at the same time…Beginnings and Seeing.

Lots of fun! Some great teachers. I highly recommend it. Each one is six weeks long with a different teacher every week…and theres that dreaded word HOMEWORK!! aka Assignments….OH MY!! But since I am drawing and painting sometimes all day long it’s not a problem!! All those skies started out as homework…we only had to do one…I did EIGHT!! OPPS!!! And have one more in mind to do…

Today its rained all day. Skies were an uninspiring grey grey grey so I drew this perky violet that seems to resist my best attempts to kill it. A friend gave me a small piece last winter saying it would root easily in water. Hers was huge!! More than a foot across. I thought uh huh…this wont last long. Lo and behold it rooted…I planted it in an old McCoy pot of my grandmother’s it continued thrive. It sits on the kitchen counter where it gets little sun except thru the backporch skylight. So today I drew it…growing against impossible odds…thriving!! I also journaled about my mother and grandmother -both famous for their green thumbs.

Now to get my homework drawn-draw a piece of bread. In my case a biscuit. Near enough!!!

Thanks for looking!

Day 201 – A Sunset and some Ink!!

January 23, 2015January 23, 2015Leave a comment

The contest winners are Karen, Rena Lewis and Peg. Thanks for all the comments. There will be another contest soon!! Please contact me at m c m h u n t @ m e. C o m so I can mail you your prize!! I will also try to contact you!

I had another go at Tuesday’s sunrise. I was tired of painting the sycamores so I traded them for firs.

I got my bottle of Platinum Carbon Black ink from Goulet today. So excited. I drew this pic to see if it would bleed. Not a smidge. The ink didn’t even lift. Hurrah!!!
Get a bottle at Goulet Pens

Pictures of the box just in case you need them.

Your ink should have INKC 1500 on it. Beware of the one with 1200 on it. It’s not waterproof. Now to get some. De Artmentris (sp?) document ink. Also supposed to be waterproof and comes in colors!!

Day 200 – Sky Practice

January 22, 2015January 22, 201513 Comments

Don’t forget to leave a comment and a like to have a chance on a watercolor. Contest is over at midnite.

My 200th day of consecutive blog posts!! Who would have thought I would get this far. Originally I was trying for 50 days of posting, and here it is Day 200!! No skyrockets but a wild sunset.

A redo of last nights sunset. This picture is bluer than the actual painting. The treeline and foreground is purple and blue not blue in the original. I used quinacridone Rose instead of the red in the first version. This is the third try and I think the best. The first one got glued over with a fresh piece of paper. I think I am ready to paint some new trees. Some firs?! My neighbors are looking better and better.

Tip: wash sky starting at top with cobalt shading to burnt sienna. It won’t go green like yellow will. With a hog bristle brush add bits of the pink and purple blue at an angle for the clouds. Darker at the top, brighter toward the horizon. Some thinned Sienna or nickel Azo gold on the bottom of the clouds makes a nice yellow glow.
Tip 2: Fuzzy tree and bush tops Paint them while the sky is wet. Add some burnt sienna for a glow on the tree tops. Hmm should have tried that on the bushes and the trees.

Here’s the first one so you can compare them. Have fun.

Thanks for looking!!!🎉🎉🎉

Day 199 – Two Skyscapes!

January 21, 2015February 5, 2015Leave a comment

Don’t forget the giveaway. Leave a
Comment and a like.

Second go at this post. WordPress crashed after I finished the first one and it evaporated. 😜

This is my fourth go at this early morning view out my back window.
I painted the background a very pale yellow and let it dry. The. I washed it with water. Added cerulean and some piemonite mixed with cobalt for the grey clouds.

The tree line is piemonite and cobalt as is the water and the foreground trees.

The trees are done with my wonderful Isabey #2 I bought at Utrecht dick Blick with my Christmas money. Love it. Long and a narrow tip. I have 1s and 0s that are bigger. I smeared some of the branches to make them look fuller. Twiggier.

Some negative painting in the tree line. A little sponging on the river to make fog.

Tonites sunset. Aglow with pinks and touches of yellow. I laid down lines of Quinacridone red and aureolin yellow. Then I filled I with cobalt and cerulean. The treeline is cobalt violet and ultramarine blue with a touch of burnt umber. Trees painted with the same paint.

I will try to add the other skyscapes. But saving this in case of crashes.