Day 917 Urban Sketching the Woman’s March

January 22, 2017Leave a comment

Despite the deluges yesterday a large crowd turned out. It was a rainbow kind of crowd – old and young, men and women, LGBT and even a few dogs.

I drew these yesterday on a very wet day in downtown Augusta. The March and the speeches were at historic Springfield Park where Morehouse College started at Springfield Baptist across the street.

The flame like sculpture on the rampart is all a part of the park. I did paint these at home. I didn’t think watercolor would work too well in deluge weather. Besides there was nowhere to put anything down because it POURED all morning too.

A second even faster sketch of the happy crowd of raincoats and galoshes. I think the correct number of marches was actually 671 but the speakers said 370 and 20 countries.

The sketches were done in my Stillman and Birn Zeta mixed Media with my very patriotic Red Noodler Konrad. I added the flags and the signs to give more interest to the sketches.

Notice the big raindrop blotches on the ink?! Oops. Bravely I kept on sketching standing on top of a bench for a better view.

Here’s the first sketch and a picture of the crowd and park. The local news reported 600 people were there. I think there were closer to 1000. Guess it’s impossible to count.

Somebody asked me how I drew these. The only thing I can say is start at the front and fill in the crowd moving back or you won’t have room for the people in the foreground.

You can not draw a counter in a restaurant and then add people. You have to do it people first then the counter or pencil in the counter which I rarely do. Sometimes it gets me into trouble when I forget the order :

People first background last!

Happy sketching.

Margaret madly painting black edges on canvases for her show at 4p in February. Xoxoxo and yes it’s still raining.

Day 916 skies

January 21, 2017Leave a comment

When you live on a river you see a lot skies. Sunrises sunsets and

wild storms blowing in from the west across Georgia and the Savannah River.

Because it was a stormy sky I used a lot of marks to make it hopefully seem stormier.

These are done with Prismacolor art sticks and colored pencils in my Stillman and Birn Zeta Mixed Media Journal. Lines and lettering with the Lamy Safari I think or the EF.

Ttyl Margaret xoxox

Day 915 Atlanta

January 21, 2017Leave a comment

These are based on photos I have taken in Atlanta the last few years. Drawn on Stonehenge paper with Prismacolor pencils and art sticks.

The High Museum 5×8″hmm this building is all white but not in my version. Added the red sky to hopefully make building pop. And dabs of lime green to make the red pop or was it the other way around. Complimentary colors do that.

Ponce City Market- 5x 8″

I take so many photos of this building. So hard to get close enough to take pics of Tower on the right and the name on top of the building. I think one day that name will be an Atlanta icon similar to the Hollywood sign.

The only difference in these two is the sky. The blue made the orange pop. Complimentary colors do. Think it helped don’t you?! Also like the letters sort of there but not quite.

Fox Theater

I am always getting stuck turning left onto Ponce de Leon from Peachtree in front of the Fox Theater. I love looking at it. And since I am stopped dead in traffic at a light I whip out my phone and snap a photo or two.

The Fox is a fairytale Moorish palace complete with a twinkling star strewn ceiling worthy of Scherazades tales in the heart of Atlanta downtown. If you haven’t been to a show in this one or the one in Detroit treat yourself and go. Just magical.

I am going to have another go at this one because it was the first one I tried and it’s not too great. And the Fox needs more from me.
Thanks for stopping by!!

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 912 a little conch republic

January 18, 2017January 19, 2017Leave a comment

And a little more FauvismWhat we jokingly call a jacaranda when we head to key West. The trail on the Sunshine Parkway to Key West and we try to entertain ourselves. One way is the first jacaranda sightings which we usually spot south of Orlando.

The Tale of the Jacaranda

Now why do we call Norfolk Pines Jacarandas? My first trip to Key West I sent a picture of a very tall thin tree to a friend who grew up in Florida. She told me it was a Jacaranda even though we thought it was a Norfolk Pine. I finally looked it up and yes it’s a Norfolk Pine. They grow fifty or more feet tall in southern Florida. Straight up like a cornstalk.

But that’s southern Florida for you. Every house plant we have grows to enormous size. Our house plants are their outside foundation plants. Pothos and philodendrons have leaves bigger than dinner plates and grow stories tall just like the Jacaranda Pine tree.

Stillman and Birn mixed media Zeta Ted Nuttals transparent colors. My small Isabey mop. Well mostly.

Yesterday after I bough the sunflowers I remembered that Earthfare sold some gorgeous red radishes with lots of green leaves. So I made an extra trip 8 miles up the street and got a bunch. $2.99 ouch. Cheaper than flowers though.

Once again we were to use as many cooors as we could to draw these after drawing the first one in the colors the object is. I was lazy and left them on the plastic bag.

Number 1. Fun but I like the other one better.

And all the colors I used.

Day 910 – Hours of Marks Making

January 16, 2017Leave a comment

Happy MLK Day dear readers!! A holiday is always a good day for lots of drawing and painting.

Spent three hours last nite drawing this old rice paddy down the street from my house which is built on an old antebellum rice plantation. No idea how many pens I used. Also scratched the wild rice tops with my xacto knife. At least I assume that’s what they are.

The assignment was to make a variety of marks. And I tried to add a variety of tones and not relie on lines. Have you ever tried drawing weeds and trees without line. Not easy.

Stillman and birn Zeta. I know I used my Noodler Konrad, both pentel brush pens, my carbon platinum pen and my Lamy Safari and a white pentel gel pen. They each make such different lines both in weight of line and style of line. Even the two pentel pens are very different from each other.

A detail for those who don’t like to click on the big pic.

And a few words from MLK himself. Words to live by in a daily basis too.
Ttyl off to draw.

Margaret xoxox

Day 909 A bit more of Key West

January 15, 2017Leave a comment

Been meaning to finish this for a while. Today I did it. A compilation of two of our tours the Historic Inn Tour and the Christmas Trolley Light Tour which was our fav. $15. A bargain.

Still have three more spreads to finish. Guess it’s time. Anyone know a publisher who needs a Key West book?!

The tools.

Hmm painted with my smaller #2 Richeson mop and my #10 Da Vinci Sable. And mostly I used the mop.

Tips on The Christmas tree. Leave a lot of white. First layer is quin gold. Then I added hematite green and a bit of hookers green and ultramarine blue. Did the palm the same way.

Last I used a white pentel gel pen to add white lines and lights to the trolley. And anywhere else I wanted a bit of white. It doesn’t show when u use it but it does show in photos. Strange but true.

Off to sketch the park in black and white. Wonder how many pens I will use?!

Ttyl

Enjoy your Sunday

Margaret xoxoxox

Day 908 Lazy Saturday

January 14, 2017Leave a comment

After all that sneezing and Benadryl decided to be lazy today and binge on Netflix’s.

Maybe I should do some urban sketching off of Midsommer Murders? It’s always set in the most charming Bristish villages as long as you overlook a serial murder or two in every village.

About the sketch one of the Key West sketches. A steel drum player at Buzzards Roost. Sketched on location of course.

Colors are Ted Nuttalls transparent colors. Pentel. Rush pen in a Stillman and Birn Zeta.

Tip: I do much better painting all trees when I use my squirrel mops. I have a 12 and a big fat Isabey mop. It keeps me from getting to detailed. Then I usually splatter them to give the small lead effect.

Love my mops. Top one is the Isabey 12 second one is an Isabey 8 I think. Bottom one is a Richeson 2. The 12 is from Blick Atlanta Peachtree store. The bottom two are from Cheap Joes. I use the two smaller ones the most.

It’s really hard to get detailed with these which is great for trees or painting Charles Reid style. The smallest brush he likes to use is an Isabey 16 Kolinski sable.

That’s is for today. Go forth and sketch.

Margaret xoxoxo thinking about a run to the nearest park to sketch the kids in the manufactured snow park. One day only event.

Day 905 – the Bean

January 11, 2017Leave a comment

Everybody’s favorite place to eat lunch in Augusta or for a coffee or even better some of their amazing cake. They give you a slab of home made cake for $4 or $4.50. Today I had their Tuscan Bean Soup which was delicious. A big bowl and some delicious ice tea $5. A good deal.

I don’t think I have ever eaten anything that was not delicious at the bean as we call it. Their coffee is from that other fabulous cafe that I drew a couple of weeks ago The Dancing Goats in Decatur.

Painted in my new STillman and Birn Zeta. Drawn with a Lamy Ef loaded with Lexington Grey and painted with Ted Nuttalls transparent colors.

Sketchbookskool Homework.

Draw some textured objects. I might have gotten carried away but have had these on my art table for a while to draw. I can check them off my list now right?!

Pens used Staedler .01, carbon Platinum pen w carbon platinum black ink and a Pitt calligraphy pen which I soon abandoned because it was too dark to me.

Stillman and Birn mixed Zeta journal.

Ttyl

Margaret off to bed early after two hours at the gym and walking a couple of miles. Color me tahred. Xoxoxo

Day 904 Movie challenge

January 10, 2017Leave a comment

There’s something about a Miss Marple show. I love all of them in their various reincarnations.

I have sketched Miss Marple before – the previous actress before Julia McKenzie. Julia portrays a sharp tougher version of Miss Marple and GPTV our PBS channel has been replaying her series on Thursday nites and Sunday afternoon.

Sunday I like to just let PBS run as long as it’s not begathon time. Thank goodness they are done with that for a week or so.

I paused the tv and took a pic of her in an interesting pose.

I drew her with my pentel brush pen off my iPad. And it didn’t go well. I got too heavy handed with the dark shadows.

Gouache to the rescue. Almost like using acrylics. The background is watercolor. Peacock blue and hematite green. Then I scratched the wc off the palm tree.

Last spread in my Stillman and Birn Zeta. Hurrah.

Ttyl

Margaret xoxox

Day 903- I had to

January 10, 2017Leave a comment

Paint Calvin the guy who showed up for me to draw Friday. In the rain playing “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.”

47 degrees rain and I was out there with him drawing him. Which of us was crazier.

Stillman and Birn mixed Media zeta journal Ted Nuttalls transparent palette.

Here it is before I drew it.

Sketchbook School homework. Fill a page up with doodles using various pens and pencils.

Here are the six pens and pencils I used to make the marks with. I have to day I thought this was a dumb assignment but really enjoyed the 15-20 minutes it took to draw this.

Made me feel like Picasso or maybe Matisse.

Try it I bet you will like it too.

River Bend sunset out my back door tonite. So bright it lit the den up which was how I noticed it. I was too busy blogging to look. Oops.