For the show. HURRAH! Now I can paint something I want. 🤗

For the moment Aiken Stroll is done. I reserve the right to mess it up some more. 🤣 Painted on Canson Plein Air Art Board 12×15. Mixed media.

The sketch. That’s a baby Great Dane puppy. He was too cute.

The photo I based this drawing on. The vanishing point is just past the top of the sidewalks the distance. All the diagonals should converge there.

Notice the dog walker is not in it. BUT the empty sidewalk screamed for them. Here they are ready to jump in the drawing. Isn’t he the cutest big old puppy. Gotta love a Great Dane. No pulling on his leash for him.

So how did I get them in the picture without looking off?! Notice the girls head and the older lady’s heads are at the same level.

And if U look far in the back the tiny figures head is about the same height. It makes the people recede in the picture plane when the top of the heads are all even. So I could have added a crowd of people IF a I keep the top of the heads at about the same eight.

It’s also what makes the older lady look a bit shorter than the young lady. Her head doesn’t quite reach the same heighthaka she’s shorter.

Lamy vista Noodlers heart of darkness ink(don’t you love the name?!!) Charles Reid palette PLUS Holbein opera pink. I painted the dogs face and feet w that pink.

Why opera pink? Cads were too warm. Alizarin not pink enough. Opera pink was JUST right.

A few good YouTube videos Food for thought : My other wc hero Alex Powers

Exaggerating color Laurel Hart going to try this out on this photo of Zoe tomorrow I hope.

Stan Miller how to paint a face any color and cropping photos going to make a couple of those l brackets. Two sets one big one little. Most of his videos seem interesting. And just long enough w out being too long.

Fake or Fortune maybe you have a lost art masterpiece?!

Joseph Zbukiv, Alvato Castagnet and Herman Pikel AMAZING painting a large cityscape together.

The best synthetic brushes I have ever found. And so cheap. A good assortment of three on amazon for $29ish.

Nothing like watching paint dry in a TOO long YouTube video. 😵😵😵

Margaret ready to stream some YouTube videos. Xoxoxo

Aiken Stroll. For My Art Show opening Feb 14 6pm Aiken Center for the Arts! #ink #watercolor #art #painting #artist #painter #aquarelle #southcarolina #artist #charlesreid #urbansketcher #urbansketchingaiken #urbansketching #aiken #aikensc #usk #augusta #georgialina #csra #pleinair

A walk down Laurens Street in Aiken 12×12″ I might be done painting for the Aiken Show. Maybe. There’s one more started not finished. Instead I took a nice long nap today.

Wishing I had painted this a little brighter than I did especially that red jacket. Hmm.

Oh well it might be framed right now. Picked up a bunch of them from Art on Broad today. And Kristen was framing Plum Pudding when I walked in.

Lamy Ef Canson Plein Air Artboard Noodlers Heart of Darkness Ink Charles Reid Palette colors.

Back to my nap. Margaret xoxoxo

Laurens St for My Art Show opening Feb 14 6pm Aiken Center for the Arts! #ink #watercolor #art #painting #artist #painter #aquarelle #southcarolina #artist #charlesreid #urbansketcher #urbansketchingaiken #urbansketching #aiken #aikensc #usk #augusta #georgialina #csra #pleinair

Hmm well three out of four birds I like. Guess which one I don’t.

I seem to be obsessed with taking photos of the cardinals and wrens when I catch them on the sun on the back deck eating sunflower seeds. The little wren is brave hopping right up to the back door. Poor thing! He must be starving.

Painted with Charles Reid colors plus quin gold. I covered his tummy with the quin gold first. Then I added burnt sienna dabs of green cerulean and or sometimes heavier quin gold. Yummy. Darks burnt umber raw umber and ultramarine.

Background cerulean burnt sienna and bits of umber/ultramarine mix.

Loving YouTubes about Richard Diebenkorn whom I love. A retrospective

Also a new heroine Marlene Dumas the highest priced female artist. Her Tate exhibit Did I say she likes to make marks and draw. Me too!!! Warning: some of her artwork is quite unsettling.

Margaret xoxoxo lost in youtube land which accounts for the late post.

#outmybackdoor #nature #watercolor #animals #birds #squirrel #drawing #sketchbookskool #cardinals #naturalworld #savannah #savannahriver #augusta #mixedmedia #art #artist #wildlife #stillmanandbirn #sketching #drawing

The Willcox Inn 10×16 Cannon Art Board.

The drawing.

In process. No red watercolor pencil. And it needs a few finishing touches. I decided the leaves were overpowering the Inn. And decided to crop about an inch and a half off the top.

Painted with Charles Reid colors. Lamy EF.

Canson Plein. Air artboard is great. You can practically erase your mistakes off it and repaint without a problem. Precut in smaller sizes is a plus for Plein air painting. Minus. Kind of heavy when the pads new. I like to travel light.

Margaret Xoxoxox

Willcox Inn for My Art Show opening Feb 14 6pm Aiken Center for the Arts! #ink #watercolor #art #painting #artist #painter #aquarelle #southcarolina #artist #charlesreid #urbansketcher #urbansketchingaiken #urbansketching #aiken #aikensc #usk #augusta #georgialina #csra

Even if it’s really Sunday. 🤗

Macy 15×22 hot press fluid.

I still think she looks too old. Macy is only 21. A mere babe. First break. That forward leg was giving me a fit. The hand and foot were both extremely long due to foreshortening. and it made her head look small. This is the drawing I finally went with because I wanted to paint. I lightened it with an eraser. second break. I should have started with the face instead of leaving it til last. How I left her yesterday. I had to peel the tape off on the left to get her foot long enough.

The shadows on her face and the heavy eye brow made her look older than she is. Always a problem when you get heavy handed with the shadows.

So this morning I decided to blot her face with a damp Kleenex and lighten the shadows. Didn’t expect much but it worked. Now she’s only five years too old.

I darkened the background with bits of burnt sienna cerulean cobalt teal alizarin and viridian. By then I was just playing to see what effect I could get with little spots all over

Also darkened the lower fingers a bit of shadow on the foot made an eye bigger and darkened her hair.

Quitting for now.

Drew Murphy acrylic second break.

Finished.

Eve. Charcoal

Tom Needham small watercolor 8×10

Al Beyer first break oil

Finished.

Looks just like Macy. Sorry abt the shine on it.

Fred 2×3′ acrylic. Finished for the day. Always makes me smile. I bet he pints over it. Usually does.

My friend Ruth Pearls lovely pastels that she did Thursday in Chattanooga. You can follow her @britpeach on instagram.

And that’s a wrap kids. Everybody else rushed off before I got a chance to take pics.

Margaret xoxoxo

Macy – 15×22” Fluid hot press #watercolor #art #painting #artist #painter #aquarelle #southcarolina #aiken #allaprima #artist #painter #aquarelle #lifestyleblogger #lifestylechange #drawing #sketching #holbein #charlesreid #lifemodel

My favorite store Plum Pudding at the Corner of Laurens and Richland Street in Aiken, SC.

12×16″ Canson Art Board.

Two more sketches til I hit the magic 12 I need for the show. Plus seven flower paintings. painting under way. I really like the way my size 12 black velvet brush did the trees. Lots of nice calligraphic marks. The black velvet comes to an ultra sharp tip and holds a ton of water Aset of three only costs $28 on amazon. Hard to beat as a paint brush. A friend said she had been using hers for two years and still sharp as a razor wish I could say that about my $100 beloved Raphael Kolinsky #10. No longer points well. 😓 Drawn with my Lamy Vista and my EF. Noodlers heart of darkness ink. Red watercolor pencil. Charles Reid palette colors.

Margaret ecstatic she only has two more paintings to do for the show and she will be done. Xoxoxo

Plum Pudding@Laurens and Richland Ave! My Art Show opening Feb 14 6pm Aiken Center for the Arts! #ink #watercolor #art #painting #artist #painter #aquarelle #southcarolina #artist #charlesreid #urbansketcher #urbansketchingaiken #urbansketching #aiken #aikensc #usk #augusta #georgialina #csra

The Birds are done. I do love to imagine what they are thinking. Wonder what they are all looking at?! A squirrel?!! M maybe there needs to be a squirrel companion piece to hang to their right.

My sweet lab Honey. I have a hard time keeping paintings I have down of her. They sell as soon as I finish them. So this one will be off to Aiken. She used to eat her keep as a model for me. Dog is burnt umber and ultramarine. Eyes burnt sienna. Background peacock and burnt sienna a bit of cobalt.

I drew this last night. Wilcox Inn- A famous old inn in Aiken. My ex used to play in it as a kid before it was rehabbed.

My favorite kitchen supply store Plum Pudding. Always fun to go in and poke around.

Now putting my feet up waiting for my cherry pies to bake. Margaret who has had an oh too busy day. #Lablove #blackdawg #blackdog #lab #labrador #love #dog #dogsofinstagram #rescue #rescuedog #honey #watercolor #ink #aquarelle #sketching #dailydrawing #drawing #art #painting #cuteness #drawing #ink #LamyEf #lamysafari #lamy #georgia #atlanta #rescuedog

Got up at 6:30 after tossing and turning all night which means NO sleep. Why did I eat those chocolate chip cookies last nite. Always wake me up at 4 am.

Started this one today. It’s small 9×12 but really like the birds. Combined three snap shots of my back porch birds to do this one. I will probably add ink and some words. And some white gel pen to the eyes.

I painted this w four colors. Well five. No six!!

Birds- Cad red light and alizarin legs shadows – burnt sienna cerulean and ultramarine. Black -ultramarine and burnt umber. Background – burnt sienna cerulean

Of course I was in Aiken when I painted this. Which means a sixty mile round trip.

I took Aiken pics for the show to do some paintings in the next week.

Deadline approaching. Tic tock. EEEKKK

Ran downtown to the framer to drop off a few more paintings. Gave them their chocolate chip cookies I baked for them. Yes the ones that kept me up all night. And I only ate a few. 😱 Sold this one. Delivered to the new delighted owner. Bought a couple of salads. Ran to TWO post offices because I forgot to mail a package when I was downtown. Oh and some Dummy left a stamp off her mail so it was returned when I opened the mail box at home. Oopsey. Off to the post office again. Sigh.

Collapsed on the sofa nappwd and been watching watercolor YouTube videos. LOVE watching my buddy Joe Miller is Cheap Joes fame stretch watercolor paper.

He’s such a sweetheart. Got to go to Boone to see him.

Then I watched a couple of really interesting American Watercolor Society Videos. Joe Popodics His website and Andy Evanson His website. Oh and one by an Irish guy Grahame Booth. Love his accent.

Margaret ready to Go To BEd! Xoxoxoxo

Redbirds!! #cardinals #ink #outdoorlife #watercolor #stillmanandbirn #sketching #drawing #painter

Long admired this now deserted Kodak store on Ponce de Leon. It glows on a sunny day saying paint me paint me. I finally figured out you could park kitty corner at the Krispy Kreme.

I have four or five more places on ponce to paint. And everyone requires how do u get to it! Hmm maybe I should paint that Krispy Kreme.

There’s a cool old 1930s movie theater and shopping center. Art Deco. So cool. Ponce City Market in the sun, the old hotel that was just restored and second hand furniture stores.

I drive up and down ponce giving the old buildings a once over for sketching.

Sky is cobalt and peacock.

Grass Daniel smith green apatite and French yellow ochre.

The red is mostly cad red orange for once. Yellow cad yw light and deep.

Had some near disasters like drawing the minivan in shorter than the guy oops. And how did multiple peacock blue brush strokes end up on the yellow house?!!

Lamy EF Noodler Eelskin Black Fluid Cp block.

Margaret ready to take a shower and go to bed but gotta bake a batch of cookies. Xoxoxox

Old Kodak Store on Ponce in Atlanta. #Urbansketching #ink #atlanta #midtown #georgia #watercolor #art #painting #artist #painter #aquarelle #watercolor #kodak #photography #camera #lifestyleblogger #lifestylechange #drawing #travel #travelblogger #holbein #drawing #sketching #charlesreid #poncecitymarket