Watercolor with wax resist technique

I decided to try out the wax resist technique and have some interesting results to share with you.

Happy Sunday, friends! 🌼

In each of these little paintings I used a birthday candle to make marks on dry watercolor paper before painting. You can see the tiny candle that I used in the lower left landscape near the bottom.

The waxed area resists the paint and you are left with the visible white of the paper showing through. It worked well on a few of my mini paintings.

Watercolor Notes:
-After making marks on the paper it’s hard to see where the wax is and how much coverage you actually have. It’s a bit of a risk but was fun to try.
-The wax will remain on the paper and does not wipe off. Once it’s down, you can’t go back.
-There were a few tiny wax bits left behind on top of the paper after I finished drawing/mark making with the candle. I just brushed them off the paper before I started to paint.

After playing for a while I decided to try using the technique on a bigger painting. A happy sunflower sounded like fun. 😁

Mom’s Sunflower – 9 x 12 inch watercolor

In the center of the flower I used the little candle to make some markings on the paper. The bright white area is where the wax went down. In some places I ended up with a light coverage but I think it’s rather nice.

I am super happy with my bright and splashy sunflower.

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 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

California dreaming -watercolor landscape

I’ve been watching more tutorials and trying different techniques. I just love how this painting turned out. I may have done a happy dance when I finished. 😉

Hope your day is wonderful! 💙

California Dreaming – 12 x 16 inch Saunders watercolor

I used a 1 inch flat brush, a credit card slice/wedge, and a mini spray bottle.

The spray bottle was used a few times when my paper started to dry too quickly.

The credit card slice was used to gently scrape off some of the paint on the mountains when the paint was slightly damp. The scraping technique works best when the paint is damp and not too wet. I also dipped the edge of the credit card in paint to add some nice straight lines here and there.

I usually paint the sky first but this time it was painted last. After finishing with the mountains and water in the foreground, I wet the sky area and dropped in lots of paint on the right side. Tilting the paper then helped the paint move about in the sky. A damp brush also helped encourage the paint in the sky to fall downward a bit.

I think the key to keeping a painting fresh is to be brave, have fun, and don’t fuss with it.

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 🌸

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Silent Sunday Floral

Share a smile and shine on!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Inktober 2020 – here we go

October has arrived and so #Inktober2020 has begun. I will be trying to increase my sketching this month. Hopefully I will be able to sketch at least 30 minutes a day. I have a very busy month ahead but think this is a reasonable goal to set.

Happy Sunday, friends! 🧡

A quick little underwater sketch with day 1 prompt, “fish”. It was fun to play with different patterns on the fish and have some of them only in partial view. I found myself counting and trying to find all of them later. I’m going to have to sketch a few more of these and maybe add some bright color… Just love how one idea leads to another.

and this sketch of flowers, no detail and no real plan. Just Pen to paper and letting things happen and not overthinking anything.

Ink leaves – pattern and color play sketch. I used both Sepia and Rust colored Micron pens for this one. (Sepia .01, .005, and Rust .05)

I will continue to play in my sketchbook this month and hope to have more to share sometime later. It’s a busy month ahead with my son getting married soon.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Art is for everyone, hope you join in on the #Inktober sketching fun.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

🌸🌼 Patty Anne 🌼 🌸

I’m on Instagram at @pattyanneart, follow along to see more of my work and whether I can ever pass the 450 followers mark 😁 (not sure it’s possible since it hasn’t really changed in the last year). It used to bother me but now I find it rather amusing.

Sketching and painting birds

I’ve been wanting to learn more about painting with gouache. After watching a Skillshare class by Kate Cooke, I was inspired to paint this little bird.

I decided to practice a little watercolor version first. Once I get better acquainted with gouache I’ll be sure to share my adventures with you.

Happy Sunday, friends! 💚

watercolor bird painting

I just love how this little guy turned out. Oh those sweet little legs.

Which then inspired more birds…so here we go!

bird sketching practice

A few quick sketches working on shapes and not worrying about detail.

It’s always good to warm up and play. I really need to do more of this. Just fill the page and have fun.

watercolor bird sketch

Tip: A little planning and sketching before any paint hits the paper is really important. By sketching first I can make sure the shapes are as desired and that all elements fit nicely on the page.

Chickadee practice and color mixing

This little guy was painted in a separate sketchbook to get ready for my larger painting above. I mixed up a variety of neutral colors and tested them out on my paper.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Art is for everyone. Just play and have fun…be good to yourself.

Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

You can see more of my work on Instagram @pattyanneart

Playing with Watercolor and Collage

I’ve been playing with watercolor and ink cutouts lately. Today I have a cheerful collage that I put together using my cutouts.

Happy Sunday, friends! 💚

I painted some shapes on mixed media paper and let them dry. Later I outlined the shapes with ink and then cut them out.

up close view of my sweet little collage bird

I used an old watercolor painting to cut out some additional shapes for my bird.

A round head, oval body, and small wing. It turned out pretty cute.

punching out paper flower shapes

I’m so in love with these little flowers shapes and the designs left behind on the paper after using my new punches. 🌼

My cute little bird surrounded by joyful flowers and leaves.

After playing with the pieces a while, I was inspired to start putting the collage together.

The butterflies were put together using some scraps from my bird. I needed something at the top of the piece and the flowers and butterflies filled in that area nicely.

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 🌸

Painting with a large flat brush

It’s starting to feel like Fall and I am loving it. This is my favorite time of year.

I’ve been busy getting ready for a very special bridal shower next weekend but found time to do a little painting. 🌿

Botanical Blues 9 x 12 inch

I used a large 1″ flat brush for this painting. The paper is mixed media and pretty smooth. I like the simplicity and color combination.

This is a similar style painting from last year on Arches cold press watercolor paper. I was able to achieve some nice texture with this one. Paper choice does make a difference.

Some pretty Fall mums to add some cheer to this post and my deck.

Hello beautiful buds!

A little close up with my iPhone. The colors and shapes are so inspiring. So many clusters of tiny flowers getting ready to sing and dance.

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 🌸

Ink sketching makes it all better

Today I have some colorful leaves to share with you. This piece hit a little bump in the road during the first layer of painting. As the title suggests, ink sketching makes it all better… well, this time it did. 😊

Happy Thursday, friends! 🧡

 

I mixed different shades of red, orange, and pink. The painting was all pretty basic with some leaf shapes and stems.

The last touch was to add something in the upper right corner to balance things out.

 

As  I painted away I realized… uh oh, I just painted the leaves in the wrong direction. My plan was to paint a few more leaves in the right direction with a little darker color to see if that would fix it.

More paint wasn’t the solution I decided. I planned on adding ink sketching anyway and just hoped for the best. Now I had to wait for the painting to dry.

 

To keep things more interesting I used different shapes and sizes for the leaves. I let the watercolor act as a guide and let the sketching bring things into focus.

My previous painting issue was saved by the ink sketching. I outlined a stem with leaves in the right direction and the other leaves just became part of the background.

I was able to make a save here and just go with it. There are always choices to make with every painting. My best advice is to just keep practicing and having fun.

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  🌸

 

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Patty Anne Art

Silent Sunday – at the beach watercolor

At the Beach watercolor painting inspired by Jodi Hand on Skillshare,
Mini watercolor landscapes.

Hope your Sunday is wonderful! 💚

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Follow me on Instagram @pattyanneart

More practice with different landscapes

I have more landscape practice to share with you today.

Happy Thursday, friends! 💚

 

Mini landscapes are a great way to play and learn.

I used a pencil and ruler to divide my 7 x 10 inch watercolor page into four sections. This mini size is just perfect for playing with different colors and ideas.

 

Using the lower right landscape above as inspiration, I worked on a larger painting of countryside pines. I did switch a few things up in this larger piece and that’s ok. I think it worked out well.

Watercolor tip:  The pines (or objects) that are further away should have less detail and be a lighter color. This helps create distance and depth.

 

This landscape was inspired by a picture from my daily calendar. I wanted to try something different with a pretty green countryside. I love the distant hills and am happy with the calm soothing feeling.

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  🌸

Follow me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Patty Anne Art