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!
I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite photos. I love the beautiful colors and patterns found in nature.
I hope you enjoy. 💚
The patterns here are so amazing. It looks like leaves painted on leaves. I took this photo a number of years ago and still remember my excitement when I walked past these beautiful leaves.
A look into the center of this plant and you can see tiny ribbons unfolding in all directions.
Lily of the Valley in my garden always delights me every year. I love the delicate white bells against the larger green leaves that seem to swirl about on the page.
Another beauty taken a few years ago. Oh how I love these colors!
This landscape photo was taken from the car last week. I looked out to see this gorgeous sky and was able to quickly take a few photos with my phone before we drove by.
Until next time, take good care of yourself and enjoy the beauty that is around you.
I’ve been working on more landscape paintings lately. I thought it might be good to look back and remind myself just how far I’ve come. Today I have a recent beach painting to share and a few to look back on.
So here we go back to 2017
Beach watercolor – 2017
and then 2018
Beach watercolor 2018
Below is a recent beach painting before final details were added. I really like the color palette and the simplicity of the sky.
Beach watercolor 2022
I decided to add a few birds and some grasses in the foreground. I think that really completes the scene.
Beach watercolor 2022
I can definitely see the progress I’ve made over the years and that makes me really happy. As they say, practice makes progress! 😊
I am enjoying the journey and trying to remember that not every painting will be a success. When I am unhappy with a painting I find that taking time to step back and reflect on what worked and didn’t work helps me with the next painting.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Until next time, keep playing and having fun!
Today I have a seascape to share with you. I was playing in my 5×7 inch sketchbook and was pleasantly surprised with the results.
Happy Sunday! 💙
My first step was color mixing. I painted a few samples in my sketchbook documenting the colors that I planned on using.
The next step was deciding where to place a light pencil mark for the horizon line. The space is quite limited in the 5 x 7 inch sketchbook but I didn’t let that stop me.
I worked from top to bottom with the wet on wet technique. I simply wet the paper by brushing on clean water first and then added some paint on the damp paper.
I like to focus on the sky first and then move on to the middle and foreground areas. There’s something very calming about painting a water scene and I love all the blues of the sea.
I placed a matt over the painting to see how it might look in a frame. I think it looks pretty good that way. 😊 I hope you make time to play in your sketchbook and have fun.
It’s been a while since I posted a landscape painting so here we go.
Happy Thursday! 💙
I really like the distant hills in this landscape. The pine trees and the birds make me very happy.
I have a few in progress shots of the next landscape. I painted and let things dry overnight before continuing. That allowed me time to view my painting with fresh eyes and make some decisions.
Here I started out with some rocky hills in the distance.
The next step was to soften the sky a little and work on the foreground.
While I was happy with the rocks added in the front, I felt like the rocks in the center were too dark and needed to be lightened up. Also the distant hill on the left seemed too dark as well.
The white gouache that I added did provide some nice highlights but I knew that wasn’t enough.
It’s one of those things…. risk overworking the painting or just leave it as is. I decided that the risk was worth it since I still wasn’t satisfied.
9 x 12 inch – Rocky shore watercolor painting
I worked on lifting some of the color on the rocks in the center using a damp brush. I tried to be gentle and not damage the paper. I also used a damp tissue and blotted some areas. Both techniques worked pretty well.
I’m happy with the improvements and glad that I kept going. Whether successful or not, this painting did provide me with an opportunity to try various techniques and build my confidence. I will keep showing up, having fun, and enjoy the process.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
Patty Anne - Art 