Day 406 – the Pier

August 19, 2015August 19, 2015Leave a comment

The Pier at Garden City

This was sketched on the pier at Garden City. A very long pier. The late evening sun glinting off the boards was turning the dock to gold.

A bit of the pier

People were everywhere. Some sitting some walking enjoying the breezes others waiting to get weaves done in their hair. Who knew weaves were in demand on the piers of the Grand Strand?!

Put these together to see the whole pier.

And of course you guessed that gold is Quin gold. The people’s shadows were made with a soupy Inathradone and burnt umber mix that I let drip from the feet by propping the sketch book up. I added burnt sienna to some of the figures to give them a tan. Tans are big at the beach.

I seem to be into drips and splatters lately. I find the splatters are easier if I load a large brush like my #12 Legend sable brush with a soup of darker colors like blues and the Browns. Sometimes together sometimes separate.

Tip of the day!! Just remember splattering can make a BIG mess!! BeWaRe!!! It will go everywhere.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 404 – Practice

August 17, 20154 Comments

Off to Paris and the Seine Rover Viking cruise in a few months.

Like the diligent students we were my sister and I are preparing in our own ways. We have been watching a lot of YouTube videos and Rick Steves videos of Paris and Normandy.

Usually I get a little bored with TV if I just sit and watchdog it was time to practice some urbansketching and work on my brush pen skills.

The brush pen requires diligence to use it well. Lately it has been frustrating me so time to practice.
I drew Sacre Couer – the highest point in Paris (I think) – from a YouTube video.

Also want to practice fast drawing and fast painting. While my sister is patient waiting while I sketch I don’t want to impose too much.

Colors used: Quin gold burnt sienna cerulean cobalt and a dash of purple.

Google earth is also a good place to try some urban sketching or the Linrary of Congress photos.

Anyway like the way these turned out. Get that brush pen out and get sketching.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Day 403 – Work in progress

August 16, 2015August 16, 2015Leave a comment

Mermaid House thank you card Finished

Thought u might like to see one in progress. I frequently take pics of my work as I go to check on values.

I also sometimes change the photo to black and white to check the values. I, like most people, usually need more darks to make the lights pop.

The first time I checked values and general do I like the way it’s going?!

Adding more darks to the palms. Love the palm on the right.

The sun was coming from the right in this early morning photo.

I lifted some color from the palms to make more lights.

This is what I used to lift some of the color. It’s an architect erasure shield and an old hog bristle paint brush of my dads. I did get a little carried away scrubbing the darks. Then I blotted them with Kleenex.

I decided the lifted spots looked to uniform and too stripey.

So I added a little green on some of the stripes as well as some cobalt blue for even more darks.

U can see that I taped down the paper.

This is some Stonehenge that I ripped the wrong size for a sketchbook. Stonehenge does well with watercolor. All my people strips are made from Stonehenge or Strathmore Mixed Media 500 paper.

Finished card

I added another wash of cerulean to darken the sky and make the very light house pop. Adding more darks under the porch roof and too all the rails and steps also made it pop more. Then I splattered it with Inathradone blue and burnt umber.

Contrast makes it pop. Not enough darks and it will be bland!!

Oh and I had to make an envelope. It’s a thank you note for the beach house owner for inviting my sis and I last weekend. I buy boxes of cards on sale for the envelopes especially after Christmas.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret ️xxx

Day 402 Wishing I was

August 15, 2015Leave a comment

at the beach. I almost always do especially in the summer.

Saturday at Garden City

A little something I painted last weekend while managing to get a nice sunburn. I am always amazed at the sheer number of people on the beaches at Garden City and Myrtle Beach.

I am used to going to Edisto where there are fewer people on the beach. If someone is close as close as fifty feet to you the beach is full at Edisto. On the Grand Strand you hope you can find a square inch as the tide rises!!

Here it is in progress on the beach. The same group of ladies say and giggled nearby the whole weekend.

A crow stole the guy in the redshirts sunflower seeds when the guy got up to get in the water. You just never know what is happening on a beach. Too much to take it all in.

Here is the sketch done with my Noodler Creaper Ahab. Very loose and scribbly.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret ️xxx

Day 401 – impressive number of

August 15, 20152 Comments

continual posts. Almost broke the record snoozing today. Oopps. So make this short and sweet. More Garden City!

These three sweet children were waiting for their mothers who were busy making money doing hair weaves @ $5 each on vacationing little girls. They were so well behaved I drew the whole pier before I noticed them. The one small girl was literally sitting under the palm.

That’s it for Tonite.

Thanks For reading.

Margaret ️xxx

Day 400 – A lot of Days!!

August 13, 2015Leave a comment

400 Days of consecutive Posting!! Anyone see any sky rockets and fire works going off?! Grown a lot on this journey both with my art and the number of followers- almost a 1000 on Instagram and over 100 in six months on WordPress. My original intention was 50 days. I have exceeded that now haven’t I?! Thanks for all the support!! Let’s see how far I can go?! Two years?! I am settling for day by day!
A quick sketch of a grandmother playing with her granddaughter on the Garden City beach last weekend.
Flesh is yellow and cad red light with some burnt sienna on the grandmother. The sand is burnt umber Inathradone and yellow ochre.
Thanks for reading.
Margaret ️xxx

Day 399 -Garden City

August 13, 2015August 13, 20159 Comments

The swarms of people at Garden City were calling to my pen saying draw draw draw. If I hadn’t been drawing this is what I would have been doing consuming books like peanuts.

I really like this painting a lot. The water is more of a Caribbean blue than an Atlantic blue but I like it. It’s done in cheap joes Andrea turquoise, cobalt, purple, and a bright yellow green. The sky is cerulean and cobalt.

The sand is really grey when it’s wet. It’s done with burnt umber Inathradone and yellow ochre.

Bytw the horizon line is really straight but the books would not lie flat. The only fault I can find with a Strathmore 500 mixed media sketchbook.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret ️xxx heading out on another trip. Thank goodness for house sitters!!

Day 398 – The Pegasus Hotel

August 11, 2015August 11, 2015Leave a comment

Is a landmark that sits at Duval and Southard.

I drew this while standing on the sidewalk waiting for my sister Jan. We were off to eat breakfast at the Cuban Coffee Queen and then to prowl Duval.

Heres a photo of the sketch in progress.

And the actual building. I would call the style South Beach Art Deco built in the 30s. In Key West it is called Art Deco and moderne. Another building in this style is the Scottish Masonic temple now the Art Studio on Eaton.

You can read more about these buildings here. http://architecturestyles.org/art-deco/

I got the perspective off a little on the left side oops. Easy to do when it’s drawn in ink instead of pen. May have to do a redo because this is a really cool building and hated got it twisted looking.

Bytw the best Key West car and bicycle Peking is under the trees in this picture. Shade all day long. Important on hot afternoons.

What can I say?! Colors cobalt cerulean and Quin gold. Black is Inathradone and burnt umber. Tree trunk is Quin gold and cerulean I think! All the greens with some Quin gold for highlights and Inathradone for darks.

Thanks for reading.

Margaret xxx

Thanks for reading.

Day 397 – Louies Back Yard

August 10, 2015Leave a comment

Louies Back Yard Key West

Whenever I go on a trip there always seems to be some leftover sketches that don’t quite get painted. I call these making my own coloring book because sooner or later I go back and paint them.

Right now I have six from Key West and 8 or ten from Garden City to paint. Hopefully I will knuckle down on the next few days and get some knocked out. Several of them I really like including more of the court house chickens. Of course you said she has more chickens to paint lol.

This is one I got around to painting. Louies should have about ten stars on its sketch.

Mahi Mahi with Mango sauce.

The food is superb the servers outstanding and the views are amazing. Hands down our favorite for divine food. Go at lunch to save a little on the bill!!

A not to be beaten combo of great food and gorgeous view.

After we ate inside we sat on the back deck enjoying the breeze and the view of the Florida straits.

The view from out table.

My divine sautéed yellowfin tuna a la Julia Childs flounder in Julie and Julia. I have the recipe. I guess I need to turn it into a recipe sketch. Easy and oh so delicious. We used to make it with striped and hybrid. To think I almost didn’t get it because I am tired of tuna a la Charlie in a can. Not the same at all!!

My sisters Beef. Also fab.

My creme brûlée with a brownie buried in it. Melt in your mouth deliciousness.

A coconut orange cream pie like nothing you have ever eaten. The creme brûlée wins the desert contest BUT if you go twice like we did you can try both!!

Day 397 – Travel Day

August 10, 2015Leave a comment

Louies Back Yard Key West

Whenever I go on a trip there always seems to be some leftover sketches that don’t quite get painted. I call these making my own coloring book because sooner or later I go back and paint them.

This is one I got around to painting. Louies should have about ten stars on its sketch.

Mahi Mahi with Mango sauce.

The food is superb the servers outstanding and the views are amazing. Hands down our favorite for divine food. Go at lunch to save a little on the bill!!

A not to be beaten combo of great food and gorgeous view.

After we ate inside we sat on the back deck enjoying the breeze and the view of the Florida straits.

The view from out table.

My sisters Beef. Also fab.

My creme brûlée with a brownie buried in it. Melt in your mouth deliciousness.

A coconut orange cream pie like nothing you have ever eaten. The creme brûlée wins the desert contest BUT if you go twice like we did you can try both!!