Bird of the day well actually

February 18, 2023February 18, 20234 Comments

Been working on this bird for a few days. Maybe a week off and on.

This is 9×12 and done. I like a lot. So I decided to paint a bigger one. BYTW this one is available if you need her at your house.

The background wash went well but darn what was with the bird drawing. the back looks like spikes and regular ones at that. Regularity is an anathema in a painting. So how do I fix it without starting over?! So of course I kept on painting.

Starting the head. And then of course I forgot to take pics. Sigh. Really like the quin gold and the quin rose with cerulean on the neck and around the beak. But then no more pics. Sigh.

So here she is almost done but those spikes are still annoying me. So yesterday after madly painting with Vlad I thought slap some paint on the background and get rid of those spikes.

So I did. And it went well. I painted the horrible spikey look out. HURRAH!! But then I got the dreadful green run across the bottom of the beak. The 140 kilimanjaro was waffling like crazy with huge ripples making the washes run like crazy. To make it worse the green run was THALO notoriously staining of any paper. NIGHTMARE time.

Slapping cobalt on to give her some curves.

So her she is today. The paper dried amazingly flat for all the ripples it had yesterday. Maybe I can grey out the green streak. Tomorrows job! I do like the way she looks now.

Maybe a crop to take a couple of inches off on the right?? She’s a big girl at 16×20”. Did I say I have already drawn another one?! 😵‍💫

Tonite sunset was rather spectacular. I saw it out of the corner of my eye as I was heating up our dinner leftovers. We do love a good bowl of leftover soup.

Margaret ready for bed xoxoxox

Chasing the train with Vlad

February 17, 2023February 19, 20232 Comments

Chesky Krumlov, Czech Republic according to Rick Steves a charming cobbled city. One of the chase alongs for WatercolorLive 2023 was to chase Vlad Yesileyev as he painted this charming street scene. You had to paint like mad or get off the Vlad Express Train as it briefly stopped in the Czech Republic.

Mike and I entertained ourselves today by virtually painting together. My power went out just as I got the program working. Sigh. No Wi-Fi no show. So we waited. Then I had to wait til the Murdaugh trial had a break.

My palette finally ready to paint. Exciting stuff right?

My uh tracing. There I said it. I had 18 of these to do. Eeek. This is on Hahnemuhle. I agree with Vlad it’s awesome paper.

First layers. Lots of greys. Zipping down the line.

Adding some darks. Then I kept going. When I get to the end and don’t know what to do I use a thin paint brush and just draw on it so that’s how I got to here.

Not my best but it’s growing on me. I am rusty at chasing Vlad. I got thru the pandemic letting him entertain me on a lot of Sunday’s. He’s so funny and his classes are reasonably priced. I highly recommend them so just go along for the ride on the Vlad Express.

Margaret xoxoxox who is now tahred.

Another watercolor

February 1, 2023February 1, 20234 Comments

From watercolorlive2023

Chasing after Iain Stewart for an hour and a half Saturday. Got WAY too purple in the foreground so I tried to calm that imperial purple down. Then I Vlad-it a bit. Putting in tiny details w a dark dark grey. That was fun.

Then I went too far on the water but I can’t leave water just plain. I mean the only time the water here is flat is when there’s no current or no breeze. One or the other is always happening. Turned the wowed tree on the top left into a Christmas tree. That was fun.

I mean eek. What’s with that purple. I swear that’s the color he said to paint it. He does love that purple. He suggested using a palette knife for the dark lines.

I actually had the same one. Thanks dad. It was my fathers old one. I tend to the triangular springy small ones that look like cake knifes. Anyway I tried my old springy one to do the poles but didn’t work to well. Dug out dads during the break between classes. So much easier. Then I made a lot of lines w it. Did walkways gang ways porches. Over the top as usual.

Night night. Though I had. A nice long nap I need another one to get rid of this cold. Oh yes u have had quite the cold thru this whole crazy long days of painting. Xoxoxox @

WIP Paris Cafe

May 18, 2021May 19, 2021Leave a comment

Hahnemuhle 140# half sheet

Wishing I was sitting here having an espresso followed by a croque monsieur. For now. Too tired to work on it anymore today. Not crazy abt the people but then that’s not new. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

First wash yellow ochre alizarin and cobalt Cad orange.

And the rest of the first wash. Cad red light, cobalt teal, cerulean w neutral tint yellow ochre and dioxzine mixed in. Funny how light the left hand buildings look now

The shadows added and MORE windows So many windows

And now. Time to put my feet up. Color me tahred. Xoxoxox Margaret

Off to Paris

May 18, 2021May 19, 20214 Comments

Don’t we wish we could?! So ready to go somewhere NOW! I hear you can’t go to Australia til the end of the year unless you do a 14 day quarantine in your room you get to pay for. No leaving it. Eeek. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

Anyway here’s the photo.

One of those cafes we all know and love with the cute cane chairs. At least I think they are cane.

Margaret done for the day. xoxoxox hoping she will get this one painted and then finish the Atlanta one. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

The boat has sailed

May 12, 2021May 19, 20212 Comments

I actually like this so far. The morning will tell. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

Yellow ochre cobalt and alizarin This layer will eventually disappear or appear to be white.

Sky wash cerulean instead of cobalt. Otherwise the same colors. Yellow ochre alizarin and neutral tint

My terrible blotchy trees that I dry brushed. Colors cobalt Dioxzine purple yellow ochre for the purple color. Indigo and cad yellow w a bit of burnt Sienna for the greener colors.

Well zap a lot more done. Too much to tell u even a bit abt it but omgoodness that dinky little boat.

Fixing mistakes. Well trying to. Adding blacks to the trees.

And done for now. So glad those overhead branches hide my terrible rigging on the boats or the blotchy trees. Thank goodness. A reprieve.

Margaret ready for a nap after four hours of madly chasing after Vlad today. Eeek.

Xoxoxoxo

Sailing away

May 11, 2021May 19, 2021Leave a comment

You might need to squint.
15×20” Hahnemuhle rough 140# Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

That boat in the middle. Thought I would never get it drawn. Right now it’s done but who knows when i look on the am?!

If the drawings not right you can’t start painting.

Hugs Margaret xoxoxo looking at a busy day tomorrow.

Somewhere in Italy

May 5, 2021May 19, 20211 Comment

On the whole I like it but feel it’s a little light. I will sleep on it and decide. Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev

Even before painting I managed to smear the worst color of all to remove- Alizarin- on my lovely pristine white paper.
Eeek.
I did blot it off a little. By the end it seemingly became much less noticeable. Thank goodness.

First wash. Boy that took forever. While it looks dark right now it really dried to become very light. cobalt alizarin yellow ochre and cad orange

Sky wash done. I managed to keep my fingers out of for once. Cerulean neutral tint dioxzine violet

Adding shadows. Cobalt yellow ochre dioxzine and neutral tint

Suddenly those darks make the first washed look so light. How strange is that?! The blooms aka rocks on the foreground are made by splattering water on the greys once it dries a bit.

And done for now. You can only see a bit of the alizarin smears. Handy the lady has an alizarin top isn’t it!?

Margaret all in for tonite. Michael’s tomorrow for some fixative I hope. Otherwise waiting til I go to Blick this weekend.

Xoxoxo

Wet on really wet

March 25, 20214 Comments

Winter in St Petersburg makes me glad we don’t live in a cold cold clime like that. Half sheet Kilimanjaro 20×15″

These are some famous buildings in St Petersburg. Took an online class from Tatiana Assimova (she’s on IG) where you spoke Russian to us and Vlad translated simultaneously. How crazy we live in a day and age you can take a class live all the way from St Petersburg while it’s being translated in Sarasota FL on zoom?!

The sketch and my paper sopping wet. We wet both sides and let it sink into the paper. I used a big hake brush to do it.

Mine was so wet it was still dripping on the back side FOUR hours later. I kept trying to paint the people and my trees in the foreground and they just kept running.

The trees are painted with a half worn out chip brush. The cheap house painting brushes you can buy for $1 each. Or by the bagful at Michael’s.

Finally used a hair dryer on it. BOTH a front and back sides. C R A Z Y. Nothing was drying. Maybe because I had the windows open?! Usually everything dries quickly running the AC or heat.

sky wash of Daniel Smith neutral tint over a yellow ochre layer. All very wet. It does make great skies though.

Onto the buildings. Yellow ochre and neutral tint. I did not get the 911 at first that you had to use straight color to keep it from running a lot. Oops. I did by the time I got to the building on the left.

Colors neutral tint yellow ochre and a dab of burnt sienna.

More trees and buildings. My details kept mushing into the backgrounds. Oops. Too wet.

And now everything else was running together or running away. Sigh. I kept waiting for the trees to dry but no no no they weren’t. I scrubbed off the lilac grey in the foreground.

Hair dryer time.

Here it is now. A fun experiment.

Electric lines done w a liner neutral tint the gouache. The snow spattered w white gouache on a toothbrush. Lots of paint slinging. You should see the tv on my painting Table. Oops.

Quayside Doneside

March 13, 2021May 19, 2021Leave a comment

I removed the icky grey cerulean yellow ochre stripe on the bottom of the boat on the right. Looks so much better now so I signed it calling it DONE!! Paint along with Vladislav Yesileyev.

Here’s the boat with the icky stripe still. I taped it off and swiped it with a Mr Clean eraser. Softened the bottom edge. Looked at it awhile and pronounced it D O N E.

Margaret taking it easy tonite. Online class with Don Andrew‘s tomorrow. Wanted to take a class with him for a long time. LOVING Zoom classes. Xoxo