Tag: strathmore
You Can’t Have Enough Blue!!
Ultramarine Cobalt and Thalo Blue!!



Colors used Ultramarine cobalt Thalo lemon yellow cad red alizarin titanium white.

I noticed that my liquified seemed to have dried out much more than the more expensive golden paints.

The brushes. Used a lot of those dirt cheap house painting brushes. Make great grass like marks.

Everyone needs one of these. It opens any jar or better yet tubes of paint. Opens the small to the large size. My youngest son said he wanted to inherit mine. I found them at Publixs in the kitchen section during the pandemic. He was thrilled when I gave him his.
Go buy one. You will be glad you did.
Quitting for now because it’s annoying me greatly!!

Margaret xoxoxo
Blue Bell time
About 15×15″ rough Fabriano 300# mixed media. Goauche Watercolor and pastel.
Who would have thought that would ever be a combo you would use together but LOVED the technique the speed and the splashy fun.
Spring bluebells at Castle Howard
Got a little carried away making lines with my sword brush but who knew it made those long splatter marks. Load a sword brush with a lot of paint and water and sling it and you get stripey lines like on the bottom right.
I had my splatter all over the floor feeling my inner Jackson Pollack and the tv and the table and goodness knows where I will find it.
Cobalt and alizarin I think. Oh and cerulean. This was just using a regular brush making lines rolling it. Who knew you could roll a paint brush to make marks?!
Adding greens by making them. Viridian and yellows for the green more splattering and slinging paint
Adding pastel to the trees abs blue and green pastel to make shadows and marks. Then white gouache mixed with yellow. Last thing I added was some cheap Joe’s American Journey sky blue mixes with white gouache. I may go back and add some Andrew’s turquoise mixed with white gouache too and some blue & purple pastel. Maybe
If you ever get a chance to take a class from Robert Dutton do. The man is a wild man with ideas popping out of him like a pot boiling over. Taking a three hour class from him next week. Can’t wait. Had to order some new soft pastels for it from Amazon because we don’t have an art supply store anymore. 😩😩
Margaret xoxoxo
Candace Bohannon
The other half of the dynamic duo that taught us this weekend. What a sweet heart and so talented. Can’t wait to see them both again next time.
I drew both of their sketches when they were standing mere feet from me. I think Candace looks a bit older than she does in real life. She’s glowingly 7 months pregnant but that didn’t slow her down a bit.
Everytime I see that delicious nude she painted on the first page of her website I wish I had bought the one she brought to class to sell. It just glowed. That’s what tempera does when it’s complete and polished.
Well I have completed my order of pigments from Natural pigments Wonder if I will like stirring up my own paints?! Something new in art I haven’t tried. Also need to finish my painting and polish her. Maybe tomorrow.
If not when I return from Daufuskie. Margaret ready for bed. Xoxoxox
Day 2122 So many windows with great views
A sketch of the cute bungalow next door. To say it’s a cottage is a misnomer. It’s big. Really big. The roof is rolled like one on a British cottage. Peachy brick with yellow ochre trim.
The sketch in ink. Done with my Lamy vista with Noodler eelskin ink. Painted with a waterbrush. Did I say I am not fond of them at all. Hard to move color around. And I used my tiny tiny whiskey painter brush. It does work but rally ended by larger brushes.
Always wonder if these type sketches are urban sketches. Well qualify as urban sketches. I think so but do the powers that be?
Time to hop in the shower and then head home. Margaret sitting on a front porch that is just becoming too muggy. Aka temps a sticky 78. Xoxox
Day 2121 Painting Hippo Hopp in how many colors??
Really like this one now. Bright colorful. Just like Hippo Hop.
This one still needs something.
Not sure what but both look a lot better with color. At least to me.
Today we had a picnic and art In The park. A big hit with Liv and Henry. Livie kept on paintingfor quite a while after we got home.
Time to put the grandkids to bed and watch the last episode of Shameless which is my favorite tv show. LOVE the Gallaghers and their crazy lives.
Margaret heading home manana. Xoxoxoxo
Day 2119 Van Gogh did NOT commit suicide

Auvers Van Goghs Blue Church on the hill my version
But I knew that.
This article based on a forensic analysis of his death says otherwise.
Of course I can’t get to my sketchbook and share a map of Auvers. It’s in Augusta and I am not.
Go on a Viking Seine River cruise in the winter and they will take you to Auvers since Monets Giverny near Normandy closes in October.
Margaret in Atlanta with the grandkids. Xoxoxox
Day 2117 So many blues
This painting is all about using different blues.
The High has several gun slit shaped wndows – tall and narrow- at the ends of corridors. They always have interesting views.
I had to think long and hard how to paint this one because basically all the buildings were a version of white and grey.
The sky is cobalt. I used cerulean and burnt sienna for greys onthe right hand building. the left building got more cobalt watered down.
Then I started adding black made with cerulean and burnt umber.
The changes are almost imperceptible.
Anyway grandkids time in Decatur. Ttyl
Xoxoxo Margaret
Day 2113 Court reporter time!!
Best thing about congressional hearings is getting to draw the talking heads. My dear friend Ruth Pearl and I would LOVE to be court reporters of any needs us. Too much fun. Will share a couple of hers with you after I ask her.
AND I finished this hahnemuhle journal. Now I can go back to stillman and birn. The hahnemuhle hated the tombow markers. When I tried to brush them out the paper peeled. WHAT?!!
And the spine is totally broken and falling apart. Last time that happened was when I first used Stillman and Birn. They sent me a stack of four to replace that one book. WHAT was I thinking changing even if it was to try out a nice non plastic covered journal. Sigh.

Page 1&2
Tombows. Always fun not as messy as watercolors BUT I think I will paint the other two pages I drew today. 11 heads all together.
Have to say he’s DIFFICULT to draw. Not sure why.
One tip. You can draw these guys in 5-10 min. If u start where he’s looking right and don’t finish wait. Sooner or later he will resume the same position and you can finish. Try it – it’s a lot of fun. That’s how I did the big one. Every time Schiff or Nunez questioned him I worked on the big one some more.

Page 3&4
Page three. Especially like the one on the bottom right.
Ink ones are my Lamy Ef a sweet writing pen with noodler brown ink.
Margaret who might have to listen to more news. Xoxoxox
Day2112 hmm that looks wrong

Out the second floor window at the High
This still needs work. Meant to do it today but went to Lion King instead. It was almost standing room only. The cgi was amazing. The animals looked so real.
And still haven’t decided if this is done. Maybe there’s too much yellow background?! Seemed like a good idea except I don’t seem to like one solid color. Will have to think about this.
When I was home I spent a lot of time looking for a sketch of Kate I did a while back. Finally found it in the FIRST palace I looked. And I looked there several times. How did I miss it. Now to get Miss Kate painted. Time is running OUT!!
Margaret who has to watch the first Fantastic Beasts so I can figure out what was going on in the second one. Of course I find all the cgi highly entertaining. Xoxoxo