Haley is finally done

January 25, 2023January 26, 20236 Comments

Over painted her with muck on my palette instead of using fresh color. Then I added some white gel pen to our sweet girl. Even the turquoise was already mixed on my palette. Super aquabee 93 lb paper. Loved watercolor and dries almost flat. Just a little waver. Spiral so cheaper than a Stillman and Birn.

My amaryllis had finally bloomed. Fighting the urge to write what took you so long a little late for Christmas on it. Was trying to take a page from the late great Charles Reid’s playbook when I painted this. Loosing some edges. Hard and soft edges. Really needs fresh paint for it.

The Very Vera chocolate pound cake overflow that I turned into cupcakes. They were actually better than the pound cake. Super soft and moist. At book club we all voted we liked my lemon Very Vera pound cake better. I bought her book just for the lemon pound recipes but it’s actually the same one on the back of the Swan Cake flour box. The cream pound cake with an extra teaspoon of vanilla and two teaspoons of lemon. Yummy.

Nap time. Starting Watercolor live 2023 tomorrow. Runs 10-9 every day for three days. I will really need a long nap on Sunday.

Margaret who hopes she’s ready! Xoxoxoxo

Haley is finally done

January 25, 2023February 1, 2023Leave a comment

Nap time. Starting Watercolor live 2023 tomorrow. Runs 10-9 every day for three days. I will really need a long nap on Sunday.

Margaret who hopes she’s ready! Xoxoxoxo

And I thought I had zero to do today

January 24, 2023Leave a comment

But NO I promised I would bake a chocolate pound cake for book club which is today not next Tuesday. Did I say I used up all the eggs yesterday duh. So off to the store. I always end up with a few cupcakes because my pan is only ten cups and the recipe is for a 12 cup pan. A delicious side benefit right?!

We are going birds around here. Counted 30 cormorants flying south before it got dark last night. Add in a bald eagle or two and all the normal birds we enjoy the birds. Crows love to chase the bald eagles. Not sure why but they do.

Here’s a few more. I do enjoy doing a scribbly great w with my black ink pen.

One line crow on a page full of birds and cats. Drawn with a uniball micropen.

Almost forgot these funky fabulous birds. Drawn during Inktober. Maybe next year I will draw a bird every day. So much easier than using the Inktober prompts.

A pair of Hanukkah socks I knitted for a friend for her birthday. She’s all set for next year.

Margaret who will post the cake tomorrow after it’s out of the oven. The hubby pronounced those cupcakes perfect. Almost like a cheesecake.

Xoxoxoxo

Crazy busy day

January 24, 2023January 24, 2023Leave a comment

Somebody is filming a movie here and needs artwork.

Spent half the morning digging thru four years and abt 6000 pictures to find the missing art work pics on my phone.

Finally found them all.

They had to be larger than three feet so that knocked out all but two watercolors.

All had to be ready to hang immediately.

More digging required.

And then I spent the rest of the day gettting class work ready for Watercolor I’ve that starts Thursday. Drew nine of the drawings for class paintings. Six more to go! 😵‍💫 Now putting up my feet wishing I had a kitty curled up beside me.

Speaking of kitties Bear is getting to be such a sweet kitty. Need to get him fixed so he can be a house cat. No spraying males allowed inside.

Hugs Margaret who now has her feet up. Xoxoxox

The Great Mary Whyte

January 23, 2023Leave a comment

Have finally had the honor and privilege of taking classes with her. I don’t think you can ask for a better hard working sharing teacher. If she knows it she will tell you.

Mary Whytes painting. Took her an hour and a half. Not quite a half sheet

Outside of a college art class the atmosphere is hard working and on your toes kind of environment. Lecture and Mary painting in the am then it’s your turn. If you work hard u can turn out two paintings in one day. Since my rotator cuff is shot I didn’t try that in the second class.

Full sheet Arches 300# done in Mary’s class in St Simons. Of course I can’t remember the lovely models name. No doubt in my notes.

The first one I took from her I did a full sheet in under two hours. That’s a lot of fast painting. Since the studio floors were concrete as I told Mary I limped out in both feet. OUCH. But I would do it again if I had too.

The sweet UGA student who modeled and played the guitar. Last time I will use fabriano. Sucked up the color like a sponge. I gave it to him and he was delighted. His dad Ken was our workshop helper and they were both delightful.

Mary’s painting. Oh so much better than mine. I am always tight on my first attempt in a class.

Painting #1. Tight but not as tight as the guitar player

Second time I sat. I really don’t like to and the floor was wooden BUT I didn’t want to limp the blocks to much car after class so I sat.

A quick sketch of Teesha. Something I do during class when I take notes. I listen better.

So since Mary says the secret to painting is to paint I signed up for a two day class in Charleston with her at Gudger Hall at St Johnnes Lutheran south of Broad on the Charleston peninsula.

Out the north facing windows at Gudger Hall

A lovely old building. Of course the paint flew during the day and the evenings on Edisto were heavenly.

The great Teesha by Mary Whyte painted in class. She’s the model in a lot of Mary’s books and is like Mary just a sweet heart.

My painting of Teesha the last afternoon. Then we were off home. If you can’t take a class with Mary there’s a Northlight video for $15 that you can buy and it’s almost as good as being there and her book on how to paint portraits. She leaves nothing out. Bytw Mary’s assistant thought this was Mary’s for a minute when I showed it to her. Made my day as well as my husbands.

Oh one last nite before I close. When you take Marys class in Charleston she and Sharon treat the class and a plus one with a reception in her studio. Heavy hors d’ouevres and the wine flows.

Margaret in rainy Georgialina curled up on the sofa reading when she should be painting. xoxoxo

Eight ways to jumpstart creativity

January 21, 2023Leave a comment

Got this in my email yesterday or the day before and decided to give it a whirl. Eight ways to jumpstart creativity

My right shoulder has been bothering me so decided to try the one making marks with my left hand and of course I got carried away. I spent an hour or more and eventually shifted to my right hand.

Messy but fun! The View from my window. mixed media still and and birn alpha

Both sides are a Pitiful mess till u think that most of the drawing was done with my left hand and I am a definite righty. A lot of the watercolor was too.

Trees with buzzard or vulture depending on where u live. They swirl and float over German Island across from the house on the other side of the Savannah. I used my Cheap Joes Scroobys Loose Goose to splatter long lines. Also to draw branches and weeds oh and the buzzard as it’s called around here. Looking I think it
needs a buzzard on the right top corner not the left.

At any rate it was a fun exercise. Next time I will stop before I go too far. Well maybe.

A kitty in progress. The Kitty in the Window. More abt that later.

Hoping if I put enough black Pitt pen on her I can just was it w the paler orange color. Not easy to paint a tortie.

Margaret who is off to cook a pot of soup for this grey dismal British kind of day we are having. Xoxoxox

Morning scribbles

January 20, 2023Leave a comment

To say my sketchbook habit has fallen off would be an understatement. Been working on this stillman and birn alpha sketchbook for a year. Oops. Mostly these are birds and 2 cats on the back porch done with a uniball that I smear w a damp finger.

Daisy the cat was done with grey tombow. She loves to sit in the window and stare in at us in the den. Sooty the black male being solitary like he’s prone to be and yes he’s fixed. All our outdoor cats are.

Out back last night. It went from a nothing to this in about a minute last nite. Then it fizzled out just as quickly. Sunsets are so fleeting.

And yes the kitties still think they are starving ever morning.

Margaret show has to get busy drawing for Watercolor Live today. xoxoxox

Drawing the lovely Crystall.

January 18, 2023January 20, 20236 Comments

Chrystall as a fairy. You have to love her as a model. You never know what she will wear or if she will wear anything. She designs and makes all of her awesome costumes and also does fire batons as well as other performing. You can follow her adventures at crystallinecreative on instagram

These are both gesture sketches with a pentel ink pen drawn quickly. Then painted. This one was probably ten minutes The first one was a longer pose. Chrystal posed for us in a Zoom session. Lots of fairy poses. Best $10 I have spent recently.

My favorite type of sketchbook when I am doing live model drawing. Lotsa sheets. Loves watercolor and ink plus it flattens out mostly when it dries. I have it in every shape and size they make. I usually use the two biggest sizes for life modeling thru zoom or Dr Sketchys. Great for all those gesture poses.

This is one I use for everyday things when I don’t have my other fav Stillman and Birn handy.

Margaret xoxoxox

A question

January 18, 20237 Comments

Trying to decide which two portraits to enter in the GWS show. which ones would u choose?!

AC at the sweetest guy and a great artist. But NOPE I won’t let him give me a tattoo. Ouch I think they must hurt too much. If I ever got one he would be doing it. He’s a sweetheart.
Half sheet Kilimanjaro 300# M Graham paint.

The Church Lady. A great model from Mary Whyte class in St Simons last February. Love her red hat and those pearls. Half sheet Kilimanjaro 300# M Graham paint.

Garden Party. Another great model from Mary Whyte class in Charleston last year. Think she’s out. She gets lost in the background.
Half sheet Kilimanjaro 300# M Graham paint.

Time to clean up my painting table. Taking watercolorlive next week w my friend Mike.

Ttyl Margaret xoxoxox

Out my window

January 17, 2023Leave a comment

Kayakers head down the Savannah on any given day that’s half way nice no matter the temperature.

This was part of a thirty day challenge Ruth and I did to draw our neighborhood. I got three done she got a couple before we got hot drawing the Inktober challenge which we did do everyday for 31 days.

Mark this one for sale! 11×15” watercolor and gouache 😘

Margaret xoxoxo who will try to do better posting in this new year!