Category: Watercolor

Day 982 Last Nite!

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After several disastrous sketches I knew I could handle our beautiful Asian model when I did this watercolor in ten minutes or so. 

All sketches are 11×14 in a Super Aquabee tablet. Love that paper. Painted with my whisky painter box loaded with WN and Daniel  Smith Quin coral and an old Cotman palette loaded with every quinacridone I own plus thalo blue and green black and white gouache. Painted with a pentel waterbrush. 


These are all two minute sketches. Some of these will probably be altered. And most are pretty awful. As in EEEKKK I Don’t feel good and I can’t draw a thing tonite. This one was the worst. 


Better.  I decided to give up my go to Dr Sketchys pen the Pentel Brush pen and use a Noodler Konrad. Life improved.  I always think it’s interesting how a change of pen can improve your drawing skills when they aren’t going well. 

Next We had a challenge to turn her into a fox. Evidently her stage name is Foxy. As some of you know I like to draw chickens. Follow them around at Key West to draw them or sit and watch them and sketch them. Never thought chickens could be so much fun but they are. 

Really like the sketchiness of her body and legs in this one. 

Ttyl another busy day. Haircut picking up paintings and back to aiken for a reception for a friends show.  

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 980 A few of those 100 people 

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Painting the Farmhaus people 

And a few of my tv sketches. Really liking the background colors. A lot different than my usual cerulean. Sometimes it pays to get outta the box you are in. 

Painted with Ted Nuttalls transparent palette. 

Book club tonite. If you haven’t read When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanathi do. Don’t know when a book has made me cry more. So poignant. Wonderful book.

Book club tonite. Off I go. Xoxoxo Margaret.  

Day 979 -21 Days left

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Till 1000. The goal is nigh! 

Taking an online class in extreme journaling with Julianna Coles. All my questing for a book at goodwill, salvation army, thrift stores and in the garage where I found a forgotten stack of books I found the perfect book in my son’s recycle bin in Atlanta. It’s a heavy thick very slick Saks sales ad. Since it was trash I didn’t feel bad about altering it. It also had some nice photos of women in it. 

Despite babysitting the grandchildren single handedly, lecturing to middle schoolers about art quilts aka show n tell and driving about four hundred miles I bounced out of bed to start the monster mash process this morning. 


I worked on the cover since I did not like the big script Saks on the cover. 

Oddest thing happened when I opened a huge old Bartletts to cut out poetry. I don’t think I even turned a page. It opened to a page that held a poem about “locking all your heart aches inside” and “hide it in your trunk” “will hide all your failures””will rise to meet you yet” and of course I cut them out and glued them on.  


I don’t think it’s quite done the more I look at them. Bout maybe they are never done? They will tell me. Lots of fun.  Go sign up.  

 

The first double page spread. Thinking it’s still too busy. 

I painted stamped collages scribbled and painted and lettered and I could go on but it’s time for French. Acrylic paint caran dache neocolonial ii prismacolor paintstiks paint marker. 

The books about the size of a piece of printer paper. Can’t wait for the next chapter. 

Margaret xoxoxo #julianacoles 

Day 976 Time for some News

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Been obsesssed with the news as many other Americans have and I take notes and draw the talking heads. Monday I was almost late to class listening to Comey FBI director talk about their investigation into the Presidents claims against Obama which of course as most people knew even before the testimony were completely unfounded. 

His other bomb  shell  was that the FBI has been investigating the Trumps campaigned connections to the Russians since July.  And I am keeping track of what they are saying and how it’s interlocked. 


It’s just all to incredible. 

About the picture. I had a few problems with Comeys face. His eyes and mouth should be parallel. They weren’t. I fixed him by adding a dark left corner to his mouth which raised it slightly. 

The purple brown on his face is Daniel smiths piemonite. Love that color. Makes delicious darks combined with blues too. And stays transparent. 

I think I nailed Schiff. 

Most of the red is a grease pencil. SO much fun. Loved them. Got a box of 5-6different  colors on Amazon.  It’s like a crayon on steroids. 

Otherwise the colors are Ted Nuttalls transparent palette plus piemonite on their faces for shadows. 

Ttyl Margaret xoxoxo Where’s my Dick Blick 40% off coupon?? Heading that way today. Art store shopping!!  

Day 975 One more St Paddys Day

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Could not resist drawing this great pirate ship passed by loaded with people tossing beads to the crowds. So much to draw and so little time. I really like parts of this but the foreground people watching are all assorted sizes. The middle group too tall for the other two groups. 

And I completely forgot to draw the buildings in the background. OOPS!!! 

Oh well that’s the thing about live sketching. Some you win some you mess up. Lol. 

One more to go. The Whiskey Bar Lamy Safari. Lexington Grey ink in a Stillman and Birn Alpha. 

Colors used. Every green I own. Pants are all some combo of ultramarine blue and burnt umber. Sky peacock blue I think.  

Ttyl off to delve into Atlanta after talking to two groups is middle school art kids. One was awesome second one ready for lunch. Fun classes though the kids are so cute. Just hungry. 

Margaret xoxox 

 Day 974 More St Paddys Day Parade

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St Paddys Day Parade ladies from St. John’s tower. They were actually riding another truck but I liked this one better. Augusta Ga 
A dab of gel pen on the antennae. I loved those. And they were riding in chairs. 

#stjohnstower #augustaga #stpatricksday #watercolorpainting #sketchbookskool #urbansketcher #undercoverspy #urbansketching #usk #georgia #ink #lamysafari #lamy #stillmanandbirn

Gotta run. Heading to Atlanta. Hope to sketch there. I am Ready!!

Margaret xoxox 

Day 974 Art for Breakfast

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Decided to quickly draw my Sunday brunch before I ate it. Hmm it’s an omelet. Got a little dark. Aka lost my yellows. But on the whole I like this a lot. 

The tulips were really standing up but they are so pretty decided to draw them flopping so they would fit. 

Since I also used a Prismacolor art stick or two and a white gel pen this is really mixed media. 

Lamy safari Arches #280 paper Lexington grey ink. 

Margaret xoxoxo

Day 973 St Patrick’s Day in Augusta 

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We had an Urban Sketchers of Augusta meet up at Artus to draw the St Patrick’s day parade Friday. Fun time with Sandy from Artus and AC who fell in love w my Lamy EF that I lent him and sweet Katie Padgett.  
These guys were enjoying some Guinness in front of Soy Noodle House and watching the parade go by. Architecture is a little wonky because I was standing on the sidewalk looking around the mob that passed by. Some of them would just stand in front of me. Eeek. 

Whiskey Bar still needs paint. These two are on 280# Arches cold press. Oops cut off their legs. 


A great pirate ship passed by. I taught AC and Katie that u don’t have to draw everyone you see but can add people from different floats to the one you are working on. Who will know!? Just you. 


One float was full of an adorable group of older women from St Johns Towers a retirement home. I forgot to draw the crowd in front darn it because I was so enthralled with the old truck and the ladies. 

These two are in my Stillman and Birn Alpha which is almost full. 

All are drawn with my Lamy Safari. Painted w Ted Nuttalls transparent palette. 

Ttyl class in Aiken. 

Margaret xoxoxo 

Day 972 Approaching 1000 days of daily blogging. 

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Neither sleet nor snow nor sickness nor activity will stop the daily posting. Only 28 days to go til DAY 1000!!! I started out aiming at 50 days and didn’t think I would make that goal. So now I have far surpassed that. 


Waiting for His Shift at the Inner Bean. 

He sits out on the sidewalk in front of the Inner Bean reading and smoking cigarettes till time for his lunch shift. He’s a fixture there. And no idea of his name. Need to fix that. 


This guy was sitting under my favorite light at the Bean. I think I need another go at that light. Because the table is near the window it gets a great light on a sunny day. 

It’s a high table so the angle is off on it. 

Ted Nuttalls transparent palette. Lamy Safari pen. Stillman and Birn Alpha 

Off to shop for a few more supplies.  Starting another online class tomorrow with Julianna Coles Book of the Night extreme journalism. She offers a lot of other classes in visual journaling.  I really enjoyed  her week in the sketchbookskool class Polishing.  

And yes I started scribbling this morning on another page but not done enough yet to share it. Stand by!!  

Ttyl Margaret xoxox off to walk the dogs and get an old kids book to turn into a journal. Oh and wet wipes. Required!!