Grant my sons pit bull rescue.  He’s a sweety. Loved treats and pets and outside.  Did I say he’s a big boy with a massive head. Lucky he’s very gentle. A lot of puppy in Grant. 

Pentel techno pen  in strathmore mixed media journal. I used the pentel because my Konrad was running out of ink and because Grant is black and white I was not going to paint him.  Tge Pebtel pen runs a bit. 

I drew him twice because I thought the head was just too large on this sketch. 

Noodler Konrad in strathmore mixed media journal. 

Off to the High to meet a friend from high school …actually we went to Junior High, high school and college together. Our last names were McCarthy and McCorkle so alphabetically we always sat together in any class we shared. 

Ttyl

Margaret xoxox

Brunch at Cafe Lily in Decatur.

 Atlanta is loaded with people to draw and delicious food to eat. Cafe Lily is no exception. I met my college friend Patsy Cain there yesterday for a petite dejeuner. The most amazing Greek Omelet ever and polenta from heaven. Think the richest creamiest grits ever. 

Colors used quin gold and burnt sienna for trees. Umbrellas cerulean and burnt sienna. Quin gold and a green Daniel smith primateks on table cloth and bushes. Ultramarine blue and burnt umber for blacks. Brown hair burnt sienna and umber. 

Sketchbook Stillman and Birn Beta. Lovely cold pressed paper that lets you lift color so easily. 
Off in search of people to draw and photograph. 
Margaret xoxoxo

Babysitting the dogs in Atlanta.Some dogs are just interesting to draw and Livia is. Livia my sons pitbull lies around striking elegant poses.

Drawn in my Strathmore watercolor 400 journal.

Here’s one I haven’t finished yet. Livia walked off no doubt to bark at someone walking down the street.  This house should have a sign “Pitbull Dog Patrol!”   The thing about a dog is that usually sooner or later they strike the same pose so if you are patient and wait she will get back in the same position.

I do love drawing animals. I bought this book for $5 at Sam Flaxs yesterday on their sales table upstairs. She bases her funky animal sketches on sidewalk cracks so something else to look for when I go out people watching today.

About my new  Stillman and Birn Mixed Media Journal.  WHY am I excited about it?

My two favorite sketchbooks because of their paper are the Stillman and Birn Zeta and Beta series books and the Strathmore 500 Mixed Media Journals. Lovely crispy paper that loves ink and watercolor. .

Usually my biggest problem is that neither of them ever lay flat when open like the moleskines do. Sadly Moleskine has been outsourced to China and now has really nasty paper in them. Frequently I end up with the Strathmore because I like them both equally and I can get it with a coupon and a hefty discount at Michaels.

HOWEVER the new Stillman and Birn SOFTCOVER Mixed Media journals  lays pancake flat when opened and the round corners should be good in my purse. Square ones tend to get bent.

I was so thrilled to find how flat it lay that I went back into Sam Flaxs and bought two more on the spot. You can’t buy them in Augusta.

So why does that curve bother me you ask?

The wc Strathmore and the hardcover Stillman and Birn books always have a lot of curve in them. Hard to take a pic of and terrible on a scanner unless you stand and flatten the book with extra pressure. Sometimes even if you do lean on the book to flatten it as you scan frequently the offending sketchbooks have  a curved line if you draw across the pages. Not good.
Off to the Atlanta races. Brunch at Cafe Lily with a college friend.
Margaret xoxox opening that oyster

My next big painting and auditioning photos as well as taking how many since yesterday 300 of them?!

So far this is the winner. 

Power went out today So a bit late. 

Ttyl

Margaret who might really be on vacation 

Drawn from the boat. I like this one much better than yesterday’s post though it took just as long to draw and paint. Five hours or so. The colors are more transparent.  Not so heavy. 

The water is the Seine River at Conflans which is about twenty miles outside Paris. It’s a retirement community because it’s much cheaper than Paris but nearby. The bateaux are all alon the shore line and is called the Retirement Community because they are full of retirees.  

I used Ted Nuttalls transparent colors. Plus cerulean   Just can’t give up cerulean!   

Restocking the used up  colors  Monday at Binders. They sell Holbein Daniel Smith and Winsor Newton watercolors. 

Ttyl. Off to play with my grandkids! 

Margaret with Atlanta for her oyster. Trip to the High Museum on Tuesday. Excitement. 

I have been trying to add this picture to my blog and write about it since hmmm 2 pm today.  I had this BIG LONG post I was going to write…I guess I can do that tomorrow since OBVIOUSLY it did not want me to do it today.

This black and white sketch took me about two hours just to draw…took most of Tuesday nite to paint.  I should have stopped while I was a head.  I got a little heavy handed with the paint. OH well….Thats the facination of water color ….unlike other media its going to do what it wants sometimes!!

A Bientôt!!

Margaret off to Atlanta to dogsit…my son is flying off to Rome Italy with his bride for thier honeymoon..soooo exciting…I DO love France but Rome and Florence are on my hit list SOON!!! Like in a few months!! Or its back to France!!  In the meantime I am going to binge watch Shameless season 7…he has on demand..something this country mouse does not have!!

Been working on finishing up my sketchbooks from our Viking Seine cruise last fall. 

The swans followed the boat the now decommissioned Viking Pride on its last journey. We found out why at Conflans. The crew fed them scraps off the Prides fantail.  Table scraps after every meal. There were other birds too like flocks of commorants, geese and of course the ever voracious sea gulls. 

Colors used a Daniel Smith primatek green Wn Peacock blue and DS quin sienna, wn French ultramarine. Swans DS cerulean and quin sienna. 

Thanks for checking by!! Off to Yoga at the y! 

Margaret xoxoxo

Is done. She’s a commission.  I just finished her and got the dads approval.

An English setter I think. Bet she’s a ball player though I don’t know.

Colors used. Cerulean, Quinn sienna for eyes, Quinn gold ultramarine and burnt umber. The blacks were mixed with both ultramarine and burnt umber – nose face and spots or alizarin indigo and burnt umber on the ears. Tongue alizarin and Quinn coral with ultramarine blue. Background cerulean and Quinn gold.  

Drawn on hmm no idea. Fabriano cold press 300# or cold press #280 arches.

The 4 x 6 I cropped and blew up and lightened on my iPad.

Thanks for checking by. Now to finish my other commissions. Christmas is coming. 

Margaret watching the Durrell s of Corfu. Love that show.

Still open for discussion like should I put the sketch lines back in or more of them. So how did I change it?! I added yellow highlights and pops of orange to the cafe tables on the right side. 
Worked on the lady’s hand which was drawn wrong.  Added some peach highlights on the guy. Stared at it a lot thinking what’s next?! 

Oh darkened the shadow on the bottom Left. 
Can you find the changes?!

And I worked on Saturdays painting some. I decided that her formerly blue head got lost above the red. 

I may do something more to her when I see her again on Wednesday. 

Aurevoir!

Margaret xoxox