Soothing Blue Watercolors

Today I have selected some of my watercolor paintings in soothing blues to share with you.

Hope your day is wonderful!

This loose floral with gray blue flowers is very calming.
It’s just simple and delicate. I really like that.

Playing with the gray blue here with a single flower. I love the lost edges and the pale petals in back.

A little abstract landscape with some soothing blues in the distance. I love the bright flowers in the foreground. I’m always inspired by o_aquarelles on Instagram. The ease with which she paints beautiful landscapes always makes me want to pick up my brush and paint away!

Limited palette leaves. Playing with a plastic card, brush, and watercolor pencil. The little lines with pencil add a touch of detail that wakes up this painting.

As I was putting together this post I was looking back through some recent paintings. The single flower and landscape jumped out at me. I’m always amazed at how much more I appreciate some of my paintings later on. As for the landscape above, I’m loving it now.

I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Until next time, share a smile and sprinkle kindness everywhere.

Patty Anne 💙

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Telling a story with watercolor

I used to think the goal of my art was creating something that looked very realistic. Over time I’ve found much joy in loosening up and getting lighter with detail.

The more I explore and play with that idea, the happier I seem to be about what I am creating. It’s like a story develops on the paper and the viewer gets to fill in some of the blanks. 

Favorite Quote

“A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people.”

 – Edgar Degas

Garden view landscape

My thought as I was painting this landscape was a pretty view from a garden looking out into the quiet distance. 

I like the energy in the foreground from the bold red flowers. I used gouache paint for the tiny white flowers. That created a little contrast and softness.

Maybe the story is:

– A summer drive through the countryside looking out the window.
– Walking around the garden and taking it all in.

You the viewer get to decide. 😊

Strolling around the city

More practice with figures in this painting. Many people moving about in the city. It feels alive with many stories to tell.

Where are they going? What’s their story?

I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love.
Until next time, share a smile and shine on.

-Patty Anne 💚

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Spring tulips in watercolor

Today I have some pretty tulips to share with you.

I’m so happy spring is here!

A quick painting, loose and simple. Loving the purples here.

Tip: mixing blue and pink creates a nice purple. Simply adjusting the amount of each color in your watercolor mix and you can create a lovely range of colors. Have fun and play with it. I like to mix ultramarine blue and quinacridone rose.

For this one I went with a bright orange and red combination. I’m really happy with the movement of the leaves.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Creating has always been something that brings me joy and I love sharing my watercolor journey with you.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

Patty Anne 💜🌷

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Silent Sunday – watercolor flowers

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Lovely Summer Flowers

Today I have a some summer flowers to share with you. All photos were taken with my iPhone. I love this time of year and always look forward to these pretty views in my yard.

Right outside my door in the evening. This just makes my heart sing!

Oh that golden yellow color. 💛

Hello beautiful!

I was so excited when these pink beauties bloomed. I’m so glad I was able to enjoy them a few days and got a few nice photos when I did. I expected them to be around a while with all those buds waiting to open.

Unfortunately we had some visitors stop by and eat all of the pink lilies. Looks like I’m going to have to move them closer to the house. I think that will keep them safer from deer and other critters.

What’s blooming in your garden?

Until next time, share a smile and shine on.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Sunny Floral painting

I have a sunny floral to share with you today. These little yellow flowers make me so happy. I hope you enjoy them too. 💛

I had some fun playing in my sketchbook and started with a light pencil sketch. I used my Tombow dual tip brush pens for some bright color.

The small tip of the pen worked well to draw the lavender. I used dark purple and blue to sketch the little petals. Then I used a damp brush with clean water to wet and blend the lavender a little in some areas.

The yellow flowers were a combination of different shades of yellow, light gold, and pale orange. I tried to keep it all very simple here just blending on the page with a little clean water.

When the flowers were dry, I used a blue brush pen to make a bunch of very tiny lines and dots in the center of the flowers. I think yellow always looks so pretty next to blue and purple.

I hope you are making time to do things you enjoy. Until next time, share a smile and sprinkle kindness everywhere.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Daffodils & Tulips

It was a very difficult start to Spring this year with the unexpected loss of my beloved brother. Although I try to keep my personal life and struggles out of my art blog, this is where I am and what I’ve been going through. I just thought I should let you all know.

Today I have some pretty pictures of the daffodils in my garden and a few other paintings to share.

The daffodils this year did not disappoint. They’ve since faded but I did manage to get some nice photos when they were at their peak.

I really love this close up view.

Once again no luck with tulips this year. The critters outside have enjoyed snacking on them. I think I will just plant something else in the fall.

I painted some pretty pink and red tulips in my sketchbook. These playful loose watercolor flowers are so cheerful.

I also filled a page in my sketchbook with butterflies. I used watercolor brush pens for this and really like how it turned out.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Creating art has always been very therapeutic for me. I shall continue to lean into my art and give myself time and space to heal.

Until next time share a smile and sprinkle kindness everywhere.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Saving space for the focal point

My painting started out as simple vines and buds.

I left space for more flowers to be added later. I should have taken more photos but I’m glad I have this one to share.

I strengthened the buds with darker color and loose shapes. I love how the pretty purple flowers and leaves at the bottom guide your eye up into the painting.

There was enough space for a large flower at the top. It worked out well and became the focal point that this painting needed. The center of the flower turned out really nice. The little bit of dark color that bled into the petals from the center really makes my heart sing. The best part was that I didn’t overwork it. Yay!

It’s important to remember that showing up and having fun really makes a difference. Some paintings will work out better than others. While I may showcase some of my favorite paintings here, I have many that aren’t successful. I do my best to keep in mind that each painting is a step forward and an opportunity to learn and grow.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

More fun in my sketchbook

I’ve been playing in my sketchbook and have a few pages to share with you. I layered watercolor shapes with markers. It was a fun and easy exercise that I hope you will try as well.

I’m always inspired by watching Shayda Campbell videos on YouTube. She has so many great ideas for filling your sketchbook. I love her style and enjoy her watercolor tutorials.

I painted simple watercolor leaves and flowers all over the page. I love the combination of peachy pinks and soft browns together.

Once the page dried I used my dual tipped Tombow markers for some detail. I’m always amazed how adding detail with a pen or marker really wakes things up. I tried to keep the detail all very simple but I did get carried away with a few of them. 😉 Looking over my page, I really like the simple flowers much more.

Note to self…whether painting or drawing with markers, you have to know when to stop.

For my second page, I switched up the colors. I covered the page with a variety of leaves. I ended up with a nice little playful pattern.

Wow, the fuschia really added a nice punch of color. Nothing shy or boring about that color.

These dual tip markers are really nice to work with. They have a fine tip on one end and a larger brush pen on the other. I do need to practice more to learn how to control the brush pen though.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Art is for everyone and I hope you play and fun in your sketchbook too.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Silent Sunday – Hello Spring

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart