Peachy Floral – 9 x 12 inch Fluid Watercolor paper
🌸 Patty Anne 🌸
Silent Sunday – Peachy Floral
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 🌸
Watercolor warm up
Today I have a simple watercolor warm up to share.
Hope your day is wonderful! 💙
This little landscape warm up in my sketchbook was a great way to loosen up and play a bit.
It’s always fun to watch the colors mix and mingle on the paper. I love that it ended up looking like waves rolling in.
I hope you take the time to do what you love and enjoy the process. Until next time, share a smile and shine on!
🌸 Patty Anne 🌸
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
Silent Sunday – Lovely Leaves
Reworking an older painting
I had an old painting on my desk that I’ve wanted to do something with for a long time. I planned on adding some ink sketching to it but that never happened.
Floral watercolor base from 2020
Recently I decided to just dive in and play. I used a large brush and lots of bold color. I played with expressive brush strokes and didn’t worry about what “should be”.
Here’s a close up view of the floral
and a full view … I love all the little buds and flowers everywhere. This happy painting makes me smile. I also love that years later I turned this painting into something that I really like now.
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
🌸 Patty Anne 🌸
Thoughts for a creative 2022
Happy New Year, friends! 💚
As we head into the new year I like to think about new possibilities and what I will focus on. I don’t like resolutions but I like having goals and things to reach for.
My thoughts for a creative 2022:
Keep working to improve my watercolor skills.
Have fun and explore different techniques.
Improve my watercolor backgrounds.
Allow for more playtime in my sketchbook.
Share videos and snippets of my painting process.
Remember to be gentle with myself and slow down when I need to.
Watercolor Backgrounds
I plan on putting more thought into backgrounds this year. Hopefully playing more with backgrounds will improve my paintings and make them more interesting.
As an example, I recently painted this lively background above with the wet on wet technique. I used a damp brush to lift off paint in some places for placement of bigger flowers.
I think playing and experimenting with backgrounds will be a lot of fun.
Here’s a photo of the final painting taken with better lighting. 😊 I added some flowers and bumped up the color. It think it looks a bit dreamy… I love that.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do what you love. What are you planning on focusing on in 2022?
Until next time, share a smile and shine on!
🌸 Patty Anne 🌸
Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart
Updating a Winter Cardinal
While sorting through some paintings I came across a Cardinal that I painted three years ago. I liked the painting but something just wasn’t right so I never posted it. Today I’ll share with you how the update turned out.
Happy Sunday! 💚
This was the painting from 2018 before I made any updates.
Where I decided to make a few changes:
-the far side of the head should have a partial view of the other eye
-cleaning up the claws a little and maybe adding one that I noticed was missing
– a few darker areas on the tail and body
– bumping up some of the red color
9 x 12 inch Winter Cardinal – after the update
Rounding out the far side of the head and making the hidden eye slightly visible was exactly what this painting needed. That little change alone made a big difference. Now I can finally say this one is finished and I really like it. 🙂
I will be taking a blogging break for a few weeks and returning after the new year. I’m looking forward to spending time with family and making new cherished memories.
Wishing you peace and joy this holiday season,
Patty Anne
Making watercolor gift tags
I have a fun watercolor project to share with you today, watercolor gift tags! Handmade gift tags make the perfect addition to any gift.
Hope you are having a wonderful day! 💚
It all starts with a simple design and very small painting. Below I have a few examples.
I divide up the watercolor paper using a pencil and ruler. Then paint some simple designs making sure to leave room at the top and bottom for some lettering.
After the mini paintings dried, I added a little ink detail to each of them using a gold and white pen. I thought the tags with leaves would look better if the leaves were outlined so I used a pen with a very small tip and gave that a try.
Adding lettering is always difficult for me. I decided to use some tape as a guide to help me keep the lettering straight. With a pencil I lightly added the message and then used my gold pen to trace over it. Later I gently erased any pencil marks left behind.
I used a hole punch and added some rustic string to finish them off. A pretty ribbon would look nice too. On a couple of them I got a little fancy and changed the shape of the tag at the top with a little snip of the scissors. I really like how they turned out.
There’s so much you can do with these little tags. I hope you have fun and get creative. I can’t want to use my tags on gifts for loved ones.
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. If you make some gift tags, please share with me on Instagram, @pattyanneart. I would love to see your designs.
Until next time, share a smile and shine on!
🌸 Patty Anne 🌸
Landscape Painting Series -3
Today I have another recent landscape to share with you.
Hope you are enjoying your day. 💙
9 x 12 inch watercolor – Look Beyond
Materials used:
Fluid Watercolor paper – hot pressed
Daniel Smith watercolors
Brushes: Flat 1 inch, Squirrel Mop #4, Liner #1
Cut up plastic credit card
Spray bottle
I’m loving this limited color palette. The pretty blue really stands out and just makes my heart sing. The raw sienna seems to glow and gently guides your eye around the painting. I love the little bits of unpainted white paper, it creates a little sparkle on the page.
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Until next time, share a smile and shine on!
🌸 Patty Anne 🌸
Patty Anne - Art 