Inktober – 24 Down

October 24, 2021October 24, 2021Leave a comment

Seven to go. Used three pens. Lamy Ef or a micro uniball and sometimes a white pentel gel pen.

Here’s the star. She’s run me off the sofa except for the corner of one cushion. She needs the rest today.

If at first you don’t success try try again.

So I succumbed to too much white pentel gel pen. Might have been a good one otherwise.

The best one so far I think. Drawn w a micro uniball.

Kicking back. She rarely lies on her back.

Out my windows this am!! Love the light hitting the mist.

Margaret excited I have made it this far in inktober. Xoxoxo

More inktober

October 18, 2021October 18, 20212 Comments

Can scarcely believe I am keeping up. 18 days now and 18 drawings. That’s a first for me.

As you no doubt know my model is prone to rolling over stretching and turning her back on me if she’s annoyed. Does she care if she’s holding the pose like a good model?! NOPE!!

Margaret trying to keep the words to a minimum. Lamy Ef w Platinum Black ink black micro uniball white pentel gel pen and stillman and birn alpha. Small books are so much less demanding. Xoxoxox

Inktober – One Week down!!

October 8, 2021October 8, 20215 Comments

It’s that time of the year and so far I have done seven drawings. That’s a new high. Usually do one or two and stop.

Blue uniball in a stillman and birn alpha.

It’s the smallest stillman and birn. 4×6”
Thought I might actually do the drawings if I didn’t have too much space to fill up. So far that’s working.

Giving me the Jack Russel state. No idea what she wanted.

And a superhero quilt for my oldes grandson. His request.

And a car quilt for my youngest grandson whose two.

Also baked and baked and then baked some more. Pumpkin spices cookies. Choc chip cookies. Scratch biscuits. A quiche. Pumpkin streusel muffins. I am tired now. Nite nite.

Margaret xoxoxox

Nest time

September 28, 2021September 28, 20212 Comments

We started with an egg sketch.

From a fun paint along with the delightful Berskshire, England artist, Liz Chadderton, on Shopkeeparty.com. She’s always a lot of fun and brimming with ideas, tricks, and tips. Plus she loves to paint any and all animals. I wish I had her energy!

We started by drawing eggs off center in the sweet spot. 1/3 up and 1/3 from edge. Used a piece of rough arches.

Next we applied masking fluid to our eggs..

Then we drew the nests and applied more masking fluid. I used a bamboo stick. Masking will ruin your good brushes so NEVER use it on them.

Then we applied a light layer of watercolor using our chosen colors. Liz said to only use 6 colors. You never needed more than that.

Mine were indigo, Thalo blue, Prussian blue, burnt umber, Payne’s grey, and moonglow. I finally added raw sienna. I needed a lighter earth tone.

Then we dried it added more masking fluid for more sticks and added a middle tone layer. As usual I went a little dark.

Hair dried a lot of masking fluid today. Something ideally you should never do as it makes it tough to remove.

More masking fluid added and dried then the darkest color. I tried using Q-Tips to put the masking fluid on. DONT. Yuck.

Lots of blobs of masking were what the teacher ordered. They take a while to dry.

Then we rubbed and rubbed and rubbed off all that masking. Now it’s too white. So we used a rigger, in my case a Cheap Joes Scroogys Loose Goose brush. Don’t you love the name? It’s really a slim dagger brush. Makes the best curls and swirls. And terrific curly hair.

Last we added more color to knock out some of the whites. Mine were a little over powering. I also used my loose Goose to sling lines aka brushes on it.

I also dipped my Loose Goose into some Winsor Newton white gouache to add a few more pieces of straw and curly bits where I didn’t have any. Bet you can’t tell where I did that.

This class is available for purchase on Shopkeeparty soon if you would like to try your hand at a nest or one of Lizs other classes. All are available as video on Shopkeeparty.com.

I highly recommend Liz! Margaret xoxoxox

Painting with Don Andrews

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021Leave a comment

My friend Mike and I usually go to Cheap Joe’s to take a class and paint together but all that has gone virtual with covid. She had signed up for a class with Don but it had canceled early in the epidemic.

When he posted a zoom class we decided to have a virtual get together and paint with Don. He does these every other month or so. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see what he’s up to.

Class evaluation. Don has been teaching at Cheap Joe’s for years. Several of Cheap Joe’s American Journey watercolors are named for him like one of my favs Andrew’s turquoise.

Anyway Don really knows his subject matter and explains it well. Has great class paceing allowing plenty of time for drying the watercolor and breaks. Technology has greatly improved since he and his wife started. He also allows plenty of time for questions after class plus access to the class video for a year on Vimeo.

We started by doing small samples of what he calls granulated washes. You start off wetting the paper then adding colors one by one and letting them blend together. This is on Arches 140 rough.

There’s another word for them – is it ombré washes!? But can’t think of it off the top of my head.

First layers of Mountains in Guatamala I think. The class was about Granulation which he calls his wet on wet technique. He said he thought he got that term from Edgar A Whitney who taught all the older watercolor painters back in the mid twentieth century. The technique is very similar to Whitney’s as you can see if WordPress ever lets me post the photo.

I got this book quite cheaply used on Amazon. Finding the new word press format oh so annoying still and cumbersome compared to the old format. I find “Improvements” in technology frequently make my life more annoying not less. Thanks for listening to me whine.

I checked Whitney’s book. These are called graded and granulated washes in his book. Two types.

Whitney has some of the best explanations of washes in his book.

The graded wash-Done on paper flooded with water the graded wash is an even gradation of color dark at the top almost white at the bottom. Also called ombré.

The granulated washes are done by flooding with plenty of water. Then tilting the paper back and forth “letting the pigment settle in small basins in the paper.”

This might be a pic of the mountains finished. I really should check.

We started with the sky and water wash. Then we dried it.

Then the far background trees and some on the left which I managed to paint out. Oops.

Then we dried it. Notice a repetition here?? Everything is quite sloppy wet using this technique which can be quite fun.

Last layer was applying the darkest darks. And the boat. All the reflections.

Would I take another class from Don. Definitely. I find some watercolor painters just hurry hurry hurry they the class leaving no time to catch up with the teacher or to dry the watercolor. NEVER a good thing trying to paint on a still damp watercolor.

That said now I am off to sew. Been madly making quilts for babies and for my grandkids for Christmas.

Cece and Mikes quilt for sweet Julianne
These are small quilts about forty inches square.

A tiki inspired quilt I made for a friends new grand baby. Her daughter loves tikis and loves this quilt a lot. evidently she had always wanted a quilt so was delighted when she pulled this one out of the mail.

One for my new granddaughter whose due Dec 21. What do you bet she gets a Christmas quilt too?!!

Her big brother David out of his crib now hers and in his big boy bed. He needs a new twin sized quilt. Today’s project to get it the quilt sandwich pinned together and start the quilting which will be a BIG job.

Hugs Margaret who needs to finish her morning caffeine. Xoxoxo

Fun with David R Smith

July 23, 2021July 23, 20212 Comments

Stay tuned for part two.

Never wear blue readers when you paint. Lots of fast slapping paint around. And splattering water to make dots in the damp paint. Then painting again.

Arches 280# cold press paper

Well who knew I would be painting rocks? But I did. I liked it so much I did two. Another Shopkeeparty class.

And then I took another longer class from David and his friend Bob Ross today. Another crazy fun class. He sweetened the class by giving a 20% discount. Now I am thinking abt buying the video. 😳😳😩

The first layer. Quin gold Andrew’s turquoise alizarin cobalt. Maybe ultramarine?! You can watch the cideo too on Shopkeepartys YouTube channel.

The photo. Just those plain rocks they use in landscaping yes those. If you wet them they are actually colors. Who knew!!

The second one on Hahnamuhle 140 Cezanne. And yes I wore the blue readers again like a dummy. Then I took them off and returned them to Costco. Nowhere on the wrapper did it say they turned everything yellow. But truly why didn’t I take them off. This one is better BUT just think what it would look like if I took off my blue readers DUH!!

Two for one. So this one counts for Friday too. Off to Atlanta tomorrow for the next week. plenty on my phone that you have not seen so I can continue my knitting.

Hate to leave this morning view out my back window but needs musts. Off I go tomorrow.

Hugs Margaret. Xoxoxox

I am back

July 22, 2021July 22, 20217 Comments

Well I never really left. Just haven’t felt like posting. Sorry.

The Yorkshire Fells Soft Pastel on Black Mi Teinte paper

Took a Shopkeeparty zoom class today with Robert Dutton a Yorkshire artist whose a terrific sharing teacher.

I am crazy about his drawings and love his book which u can buy on Amazon. It’s just amazing. He leaves no stone unturned to explain his techniques.

Robert does wonderful mixed media and pastels. You can follow him of Facebook or Instagram.

Be sure to check out Shopkeeparty for their classes. Twice a week they offer short hour long classes on youtube or zoom. The Thursday classes are £6. Not sure what that is in US $$.

Sketching it in with a mauve purple and a yellow green

And then it went fast. As somebody said it was trying to chasing a rabbit.

At the end our two and half hour class. I was actually drawing with my left hand and I am SO right handed.

I sent it to my favorite critic Ruth who is a great pastel artist. She said a little busy. she of course was right. But I had been busy trying to catch a jack rabbit. Lol.

So I calmed it down quite a bit. Always listen to The Ruth. Saved a lot of time and headaches. Really like the sky and the tree on the right now.

So this evening I spent a lot of time looking out the window at the river bathed in gold sunlight thinking that would make a pastel and so would that and that.

And I could add a few boaters that zoomed by in that silvery water.

And then there’s that sky. With the fog and the golden light. The fog kept getting thicker. The egrets started roosting in one of the trees. Yup there’s a painting in there somewhere if I crop it right.

My set up today. Had to draw vertically so the dust would fall off the paper I think the dusty pastel got to my sinuses. Stuffed up.

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. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Strawberry Time

May 16, 2021May 16, 2021Leave a comment

So good. It’s terrible to have a fresh strawberry stand less than two miles from my house. And lots of other good fresh veggies like corn -delicious- and fresh local spinach and lettuce to name a few.
Most beautiful fresh onions I have ever seen complete with tops. Pulled that morning.

I left the house with $20 in cash in my pocket. by the time I went to pay for my items it was gone. No check and they do not take credit cards which I had plenty of.

A very kind man paid for mine when I told the lady I would run back to the house and find it or a check. Wow!! Thanks mystery man. His story is the pencil writing in the background. Had to commemorate the event.

Anyway Stillman and Birn Epsilon or hmm is it a Beta? heavy paper compared to the Alpha that I usually use. Uniball micro pen. American Journey watercolors.

Margaret xoxoxoxo