I have a couple beach paintings to share with you today. I’m always inspired by the beautiful colors at the beach. 💙
Happy Thursday!
First layer of quiet beach watercolor
After applying the base layer of a painting it’s a good idea to step back and take a thoughtful look.
You can see that the horizon needs to be straightened up and the distant water needs to be darkened. In addition, the foreground needs darker colors and more detail to bring it forward.
Quiet Beach watercolor painting – 9 x 12 inch
The second layer and final details make a big difference.
Beach blues watercolor painting – 8 x 8 inch
This is a beach painting from a few months ago. I’m not in love with the sky in this one but I do love the sparkle in the water and how the grasses frame out the foreground.
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Take good care of yourself and shine on!
I have a few paintings to share today of people enjoying life and doing things they love.
I hope you find time to do the same. 💜
Out for a walk with mom on a chilly day. This scene just makes me smile and I love that pink jacket.
Enjoying the day fishing.
Thinking of my brother… He loved the outdoors and fishing. ♡
A couple out playing with their dog in the snow.
My dog is getting older but he still loves to run and play. I’m looking forward to taking him to the lake this summer. Swimming is one of his favorite things.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Until next time, share a smile and shine on!
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.
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.
Today I have a few winter scenes in my sketchbook to share with you.
Happy Thursday! 😊
Out for a winter walk with the pup.
My eyes go right to the cozy blue jacket and the winter boots. I really like the color palette and simplicity.
Winter Day
I used a limited palette in this gray winter landscape.
The dry brush work and fine lines in the foreground were made with thicker paint (less water). Those darker details in the foreground come forward and help to create depth.
Walking dogs at the park.
Here I added a covered path and another walker in the distance. Those simple additions really help tell a story. I’m happy that I decided to try something new and challenge myself with painting figures.
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
I recently decided to try painting figures. I’ve been wanting to add people to my landscapes for a while now so I watched a few videos online to help me get started. Today I have a few tips to share with you that have really helped me.
My thought is to keep it simple starting off with views from behind. -no hands or shoes necessary -keep brush stokes to a minimum (that is a challenge) -start off with a jacket first then add legs with simple brush strokes. -be careful with head size, not too big -add few darker areas of shadow
I love that little pop of color on the scarf and hat.
Here I started with a few figures and then played around and added a background of city buildings.
Out for a walk hand in hand. This simple scene makes me smile.
Chilly walk in the park was a good practice too.
I’m not sure where my art will take me this year but I hope to keep working on landscapes and dropping in more people and animals. I needed a new challenge and something fun to work on. I think this will be a good direction for me this year.
What are your creative goals this year?
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Thank you so much for your kindness and support. Wishing you all the best this year friends! 💜
Today I have a few more #Inktober sketches to share as well as a few mini landscapes.
Hope your day is wonderful! 💚
I really enjoy sketching potted plants. For this sketch I used a few micron pens. I have a variety of sizes and colors in my collection. 😉 I decided to use sepia and burnt orange colors for this one.
This sketch I started with a few light pencil marks as a guide for the leaves and vines. It was fun to play and see what kind of shapes I could make with the pen.
When I attempted to remove the pencil markings with an eraser things started to go a little sideways… the ink smeared on me. Oh well that’s how it goes sometimes.
I worked on a few more mini landscapes in my 5 x 7 inch sketchbook. This one above was a quick five minute painting. I love the freshness you can achieve with when there’s no time for fussing.
I spent a few more minutes on this mini. These little landscapes are a nice warm up and a great way to build painting skills. I hope theses little paintings also lead to new ideas. I’m thinking about filling an entire sketchbook with more of these quick paintings.
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Until next time, share a smile and shine on.
I’ve been painting more Birch trees and today I have another to share with you.
Hope you enjoy your day! 😊
I used the plastic card technique once again on my trees pushing and pulling watercolor paint as I did in my previous post. I went with a bright blue sky in this painting and I really like that choice. To fill in the background a bit, I used a small sponge to add some foliage.
Watercolor Tip: I used very little paint on the sponge and applied it with a light touch. I would suggest practicing on a scrap piece of paper first. That way you can get a feel for using it and you can make sure you get the desired results you are looking for with it.
I’ve got a busy October schedule but hope find time for some Inktober sketching. Hopefully I will have some ink work to share this month.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Until next time, share a smile and shine on.
I love painting with a plastic card. Today I have birch trees that I painted using this fun technique.
Happy Sunday! 💚
Using a plastic card to apply watercolor is easy to do and very enjoyable.
Paper of choice: I recommend a cold pressed watercolor paper. Cold pressed paper can stand up to the plastic card pushing and pulling paint without damaging the paper. In addition, the slightly textured surface of this paper gives the trees a more realistic look.
Simple Technique: Using a plastic card to apply paint. Dip the edge of a plastic card into a puddle of paint (see photo above) or directly into pigment and then apply the paint to the paper using the card.
A view of the beginning stage.
I used the card to print lines on the paper and create various tree shapes. Then by dragging the card left and right I can pull and push paint to look like markings you might see on birch bark.
It doesn’t look very good at first but by continuing to add more paint and detail, the trees start to look quite nice.
I used three colors that really play nicely together: Prussian Blue Paynes Gray Sepia
In the same area on the mixing tray, the colors slowly start to mix together as I dipped into them over and over. I just continued to add back each color to the puddle as needed.
I also swiped the edge of the card into concentrated pigment to get some nice color for darker areas. In some places a damp brush with a little water helped move paint around a bit.
It’s really all about playing and seeing what happens!
8 x 8 inch – Birch Trees on Fluid Watercolor paper
To finish things off I added a sky and some grasses. The darker area around the base of the trees helps to anchor them so that they aren’t just floating on the page.
I had so much fun painting these trees that I think I will try this again and work larger. I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love.
Until next time, share a smile and sprinkle kindness everywhere!
Patty Anne - Art 