Finding joy in simple things

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. 💜

Walking with my Puppies watercolor

Out for a walk with mom on a chilly day. This scene just makes me smile and I love that pink jacket.

gone fishing watercolor

Enjoying the day fishing.

Thinking of my brother… He loved the outdoors and fishing. ♡

Playing with the Pup watercolor

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!

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!

Purple watercolor tulips

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.

orange and red watercolor tulips

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

Small landscape paintings

Today I have a few more small landscapes to share with you. They have been sitting in my drafts folder waiting for me to finish writing up this post.

What I noticed is that each painting is very different in this group. There’s a different season and feeling with each one. I love that!

winter wonderland watercolor

5 x 7 inch watercolor sketchbook – Frosty trees in winter.

countryside watercolor view

5 x 7 inch watercolor sketchbook – Sweet home in spring.

Weeds and lilies at the shore watercolor

6 x 8 inch watercolor – Lakeside in summer.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more things that you love.
Keep painting and creating!

Until next time, share a smile and shine on.

Patty Anne 💚

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Merry Merry Christmas!

watercolor christmas tree

Christmas tree 2022 – 8 x 8 inch watercolor

Let the wonder and warmth of Christmas shine!
Wishing you a Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year!
Patty Anne ❤️

Cardinal watercolor painting

Happy Sunday! ❤️

A quick post today with a sweet Cardinal that I painted a few months ago.

I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Inktober and Mini Landscapes

Today I have a few more #Inktober sketches to share as well as a few mini landscapes.

Hope your day is wonderful! 💚

Potted Plant Ink Sketch

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.

Botanical brush pen sketch


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.

Five minute landscape practice


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.

mini landscape watercolor

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.

Patty Anne

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Inktober Sketching 2022

Today I have a few ink sketches to share with you. My sketching time has been limited this month but I was able to find a little time to play in my sketchbook.

Ink Botanical sketch

A little botanical sketch using my Pentel pocket brush pen. It’s been a very long time since I’ve used this pen and I’m not sure why. I love this pen!

Floral with petal patterns

A quick little floral playing with patterns on the flower petals.

Magnolia ink sketch

Magnolia sketch playing with the brush pen

Trees and branches - ink sketch

This sketch was done a little before October. I was really exploring what I could do with the long lost brush pen. 😊 I like that you can make delicate marks and fine lines as well as large bold stokes using this pen.

I hope you are inspired to create and have fun. Just grab a sketchbook, pen, and see what happens!

Until next time, share a smile and shine on. 💜

-Patty Anne

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Painting more watercolor trees

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.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

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! 💚

dipping credit card into paint puddle

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.

painting with card - start of birch trees

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.

birch trees in progress - watercolor

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!

Birch trees - watercolor painting

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

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