Birch Trees – painting with a plastic card

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 🌸

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart.

Inspired by Nature

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.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Little seascape painting

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.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Sketchbook tour

Lately I’ve been trying to work more in my sketchbook. Today I have a few pencil sketches to share with you.

I decided to work more on sketching birds.

This was a quick sketch. I like the idea of limiting my time on a sketch which helps me focus on shape and form. Having a time limit also keeps me from getting lost in detail.

More work on shore birds… I hope this will help build my confidence when adding birds to landscape paintings.

Another page with a few quick bird sketches. I really liked this one more than the others on the page. I cropped the others out but kind of love that they are sneaking into the photo a little. 😊

More quick sketches with different views.

Finishing off our sketchbook tour is a quick flower sketch. I was thinking about painting but didn’t have enough time so I just started sketching a poppy. I’m happy that I opened up my sketchbook.

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

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

You can follow me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Calming leaves in my sketchbook

Today I have a few pages in my little watercolor sketchbook to share with you.

I’ve been painting leaves using a plastic card and brush. I just can’t seem to get enough of this. 💙

I like simplifying my color choices. Here I used just three colors.

I push paint around with the plastic card and use the watercolor brush to wet the paper and smooth out any areas that need it. A damp brush helps encourage the paint to move around a bit.

I am so in love with these colors. I decided to let the paint to bleed out a little on opposite corners. It needed a little something extra and that worked well.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Many thanks for all of the kind words and condolences on my last post. It was very much appreciated.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

You can find 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

Silent Sunday – Peachy Floral

Peachy Floral – 9 x 12 inch Fluid Watercolor paper

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Follow me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Layering watercolor leaves

I painted some pretty leaves and have some in progress photos to share with you. The lighting is not great but it will give you an idea of how this painting came together.

Hope you have a wonderful day! 💚

9 x 12 inch Fluid watercolor paper

The first layer starts off with pale blue leaves that will become the background.

Then I added some pale green leaves after the first layer dried.

As I continue adding more leaves, I am building up with darker color. Using a large round brush (#12) and big carefree strokes I’m able to stay loose as I paint.

I continued using soft colors adding more blue and brown in the last few branches. I think it looks really nice with my gray couch in the photo above. I painted this late last year and am finally getting around to writing this post. 😊 Where does the time go?

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 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Painting a little bird

I decided to paint a little bird and play around with the background. I have a few in progress photos to show you how it all came together.

Hope you are having a lovely day. 💚

I started with half a sheet of a 9 x 12 inch watercolor paper. I taped off a small border and then I outlined the shape of my bird using a pencil.

The background was first:
I wet the paper around the bird using clean water. This lively watercolor background quickly took shape as I dropped in green gold, sap green, and prussian blue on the wet paper. I used mostly lighter colors in the top area and darker colors below the bird. For some additional interest, I dragged the edge of a credit card through the wet paint in random places and it created some nice markings.

Painting the bird was next:
After the background was dry, I wet the bird with clean water. Then I painted an initial layer of color.

I had to lift off a little bit of the green that had covered the bird’s beak area when I painted the background. These things happen so I just went with it and made an adjustment. It was an easy fix. If the green wouldn’t have lifted off so easily, I would have just gone with a darker beak instead.

The next layer of paint adds more definition. I added some feathers to the body and tail and then started working on the eye and beak. Placement of the eye is very important so I took my time with it.

At this point, the bird was starting to look pretty good.

Tip:
When painting the feathers, be sure to paint them in the same direction as they would be on the bird. To soften any hard edges, you can use a damp brush with clean water.

Sweet little bird

Finally it was time for a little more color and detail. I noticed that my bird was just floating without a branch (oh my)… so that was a last minute fix. 😊

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

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

To see more of my work, follow me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Visit my shop on Society6

Silent Sunday – Lovely Leaves

Inner Light – 9 x 12 inch watercolor painting

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart