One Step at a Time

This weekend was an oil painting marathon. Six hours in two days. I really enjoy oil, the painting seems to emerge from the painting panel. When the color and shape are right, it looks “real”.

Carol's moccasin left painted

So this is what happened, Carol and I are still put the “first sitting” on. That is the first layer of color.

Margaret's right moccasin painted

Using fine bristle brushes, since they don’t come to a point like sable, use a smaller size. I like filberts, has a point and a slightly flat side of tip, making the brush more versital.
Now the hard part, look closely at moccasin(your object may be different). There are cool and warm tones on everything. Warm tones are the tones that are in the Direct light, Cool tones are in Indirect light. Wow! That really made sense.(just kidding) Here’s how I sort it out, top of moc is mostly warm tones.

Direct light- where the light hits object

the sole/bottom of moc is cool tones(cool tones-reflected light from table, deeper, darker, larger shadows)

Indirect light- No direct light- shadows and reflected lights

The side of moc are a mix depending where the light come from.

Depending on where light is coming from

Now back to looking for where the shapes of shadows are and paint on your board. I am laughing, because this little task is the hardest thing to figure out. How to tune your eye, brain and intuition about painting to make this happen. 3 years in and I still very much feel like a novice.

Carol's moccasin

Now to color!  Then mix the color as close as you can to the mid-range local color. The tan color of the suede moc. Not the highlights or shadow colors. Here’s where it gets tricky. Color mixing is practice and color chemistry.  It is about knowing what happens when you mix paint colors, there is no formula.
Back to suede color, it looks kind of yellowish, so mostly yellow ochre, with a little titanium yellow, add a touch of “red” and burnt sienna.
I work in two spots of paint, warm suede and cool suede piles.
So the warm suede adds the cad red light, burnt umber (to darken) and titanium yellow +touch of titanium white (to lighten)
On the cooler suede I add crimson (this is a super strong color, go lightly), raw umber (to darken) and titanium yellow (to lighten). The add a touch of medium to make it flow nice. Now you can see why it takes six hours and I only have half of one moc done.
Add in the drawing mistakes that were corrected. Most frustration comes back to incorrect drawing, at least I can see it earlier this time.

Margaret's moccasin

We work very hard this weekend.
Have a Blessed Sunday! Wednesday! One week later! Argh!

Have a blessed week.

Happy Fall and watercolor classes

This week has been cloudy, misty and downright wet. It has rained for three days straight.

St Stephen's church in morning fog

The morning fog is thick. We have had the most wonderful sunsets, when it clears.
With all the rain, Carol and I have been busy watercoloring. We are working on the Val Webb watercolor lettering.

Negative Space lettering by Margaret

First try… next is the letter bubbles.

Margaret's

Carol's

These bubbles are so much harder than they look. I am almost finished mine.
Carol finished her’s and is now on to the next couple lessons.

Carol's lettering with floral border

Carol's blue bird with banner

I think these two paintings by Carol are just beautiful.
The Val Webb class is wonderful, the videos are clear and concise. Very easy to follow along with Val. Only negative is that it seems like she shuts off access to videos after 3 months or so. I am not sure I can finish the class in time.

Pear from Weds. Night Classes

On Wednesday night, I am taking a watercolor basics at the Perry Hall high school thru the county adult ed. Wow! What luck a friend Nancy Van Meter is teaching the class and is doing a great. I am learning so much. Watercolor is so tricky.

Mini pumkin by Margaret

I am almost finished. I am working toward trying to get in 6+ hours of art work per week. Right now I am running about 4. The more time working the better I will become….thats the theory at least….lol. ( I don’t count painting and varnishing floors as art time 😦 I am finishing up my sons room floor)
I am looking forward to more painting.

Painting Alaska-Watercolor Kit

Business Card Palettes and travel brushes

Tonight I seriously started collecting and sorting through supplies to bring.A couple of days ago, I filled the pocket watercolor palette Carol had  given me as a gift. It is metal and the size of a business card holder. Carol found this .little gem at ExpeditionaryArt. It hold 14 different colors in mini tin trays and a magnet to hold them in with a white vinyl as a mixing tray. I wrote the name and number on the bottom of each tray with a Sakura microperm pens.

Labeled pans, color chart too!

The pen claims to be permanent on metal, will see if that is true. I filled them with a combination of Windsor Newton and Cotman tube watercolors. It took about a week to dry. Some of the colors are loose and would drip.
These colors were in my little wood box of tube watercolors. Until now I used two different Windsor Newton sets, small white pocket travel set with 8 colors and a larger set with 12 colors that I picked up at yard sale for $2.00.
As it turns out I was only missing 2 colors from the Wrangel State Park supply list. That was a first.
Then I cut watercolor paper to size and made color charts, with name. Until I can memorize the colors, .the charts are very useful. The purple triangle scrapper is a plastic credit card that is cut up.

Brushes opened, they are full sized and well balanced

Closed brushes around 4inches long

I am bringing my four travel sable watercolor brrushes, 3 from Utrect size 8,5 and 1. I treated Carol and myself to a handmade cats tounge filbert from Rosemary and Company UK .
I love the faux marble handle. All the brushes hold water well and retain there shape. Yeah!
Let me know if you have any questions. Enough for now, 1am my time. Goodnight and God bless you. Margaret
The watercolors I am taking are:
Cottman-
744 yellow ochre
346 Lemon yellow
119 Cadium yellow deep
580 Rose Madder
502 Permanent rose
090 Cadium Orange
465 paynes grey
609 sepia
100 Cadium red light
098 Cadium red deep
192 Colbalt violet
231 Dioxazine violet
179 colbalt violet
660 ultramarine blue
599 sap green
329 phathalo green
312 hookers green

Windsor Newton artist grade
422 Naples yellow
726 Windsor red (new tube)
074 burn sienna
544 raw umber
Permanent white
Chinese white (grey cast)
Zinc white

Brookside Botanical Gardens- Colored Pencil Workshop

Margaret and I attended Introduction to Colored Pencil: Small Fruit at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland on April 14, 2013. Instructor Karen Coleman taught us colored pencil techniques to produce a realistic apple.

Our journey started with an apple.  This apple represents the first class Margaret and I attended to prepare us for our Alaska expedition.  Colored pencils are a great medium for travel they are lightweight and effective to add color to a sketch. Colored pencils are a must have for our sketching kit.  

Rock Paper Scissors- Sketchbook and Paper

Komtrak sketchbook

Komtrak two different bindings

I sat down last night taking my box of 9X12 inches watercolor papers and cut them into 3 pieces. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches to fit in my Komtrak Sketchbook. A few minutes punching holes did the trick.
Second cut was for the 3 x 8 1/2 inches. To fit business envelopes, I found some vellum envelopes I found in my basement supplies. Carol made address labels for our trip. This will be fun to sent homemade cards to send.
The last part of the paper is for bookmarks to give as gifts to freinds and family.
I placed all the paper into ziploc bag for safe keeping.

Cut watercolor pages waiting for holes

The sketchbooks come with two different bindings, both removeable. A spiral and a O ring clip. I have one of each. I am using the O clip currently and love being able to flip cover to the back. Being able to add or remove pages is great. I really like using this sketchbook.

Your Taking What! Art Cart to Alaska

Why on earth am I dragging my art cart or trolley for you guys overseas four thousand miles to Alaska.
Well I love this cart we have been together several years now.
BAC- Before Art Cart. I tried tote bags, boxes, paper and plastic grocery bags, milk crates on wheels, rolling backpacks, scrapbooking carts and the list goes on and on. Some I bought, some people gave me or lent to me, on sale or not on sale. Talking to other cart owners at conventions, stopping cart people on street. Going to workshops, art classes and conventions carrying my supplies up steps, in elevators and back and forth to car was killing me. This was a crazy back breaking obsession to find a better way. After I really hurt my shoulders at a convention and a couple months later pulled a couple of ribs out of place. I finally found my true cart love- Rest and Roll Trolley. This cart is like a good spouse, you think of ways you could change it, but all and all you are so happy with what you found. What is so great about this cart. #1 reason I love this thing is the fold out chair, that a full size human being can sit on comfortably and it ROLLS off road too. Now for the nuts and bolts of this cart.
QVC discription– One smart cart. From around-the-house use to away-from-home-excursions, the Rest-n-Roll cart is designed to simplify life. Carry anything from groceries to a change of clothes in the large, multipurpose storage bag, then, keep drinks and munchies in the insulated pouch. There’s even a there-when-you-need-it, comfortable, sturdy, flip-down molded seat.,Extendable handle,Durable, lightweight polyester construction,Open, measures 26″D x 37-1/2″H x 16″W; supports up to 300 lbs, Made in China.
11Pounds weight.
If you want a good laugh: watch the you tube videos for this product.

Well how much can this cart hold. 2 wood palettes, 4 wood brush boxes, medium wood paint box for oil tube paint, 2 plastic travel palettes for wet paint, small tote bag with turps, gamesol and other flamables.
Funnel, wet canvas holders, mixing tile, and two aprons.

Pockets inside and out are stategically placed for good use- umbrella pocket, small tripod pocket.
Came with a snap on pencil case- I have been thinking about what to put in it for 2 years..lol.
To top it off, the front of the bag has a insulated pouch for drinks, lunch and snacks.
Our trip to Alaska will be a sketching watercolor trip, so I will update later on the packing list.

Now, the big dilema it to fit it in my suitcase and not be over 50lbs. .It folds up nice, take wheels and handle off, i think it fits in my suitcase. ….I hope so at least…..
God bless you travels….. Margaret

Sketching Classes with Nancy Thompson

Carol and I had the great pleasure of taking a sketching class with Nancy Ellen Thompson of Snow Hill, Md. Wow! What a class. Learning to put your simple drawings and thoughts on paper into a sketchbook is freeing. Carol and I have tried sketchbooking before. Carol’s sketchbooks are beautiful detailed, but take hours and hours. Mine are disorganized and do not tell a story.

Nancy helped us to learn to layout areas for drawings, pictures and journaling. Next to block out the actual drawings of subjects, then to complete the drawings in a permanent ink pen, like a thin line Sakura Pima Micron pen. Even my 86 year old mom joined in the fun.

What a hoot!
Nancy has classes regularly at her studio in her Snow Hill Studio and at Anne Marie Gardens in Solomon’s Island, Md.
Happy Sketching! Margaret

Plein Air -Cute Sun Hats

plein air -En plein air is a French expression which means “in the open air” and is particularly used to describe the act of painting…
Plien air always means being outside. YIKES! What’s a fair skinned redhead to do. Wear a hat of course.
A couple of years ago I found a roll up sunhat at Art Things Annapolis, Md to  use for art days and beach days.

The sunhat is made of flexible straw with a velcro closure.  Lightweight, cool and rolls up for easy packing.
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Then by chance, I found a beautiful white crocheted hat at Comfort  One Shoes Towson . Oh so nice. Makes me think of earlier romantic times, or as my son Peter says “Bonnet Movies”. Frilly and feminine. I love it!
Both hats are from Sandiego Hat Company.
Just four more weeks.
Godbless Margaret