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.
Today I have a some summer flowers to share with you. All photos were taken with my iPhone. I love this time of year and always look forward to these pretty views in my yard.
Right outside my door in the evening. This just makes my heart sing!
Oh that golden yellow color. 💛
Hello beautiful!
I was so excited when these pink beauties bloomed. I’m so glad I was able to enjoy them a few days and got a few nice photos when I did. I expected them to be around a while with all those buds waiting to open.
Unfortunately we had some visitors stop by and eat all of the pink lilies. Looks like I’m going to have to move them closer to the house. I think that will keep them safer from deer and other critters.
I have a sunny floral to share with you today. These little yellow flowers make me so happy. I hope you enjoy them too. 💛
I had some fun playing in my sketchbook and started with a light pencil sketch. I used my Tombow dual tip brush pens for some bright color.
The small tip of the pen worked well to draw the lavender. I used dark purple and blue to sketch the little petals. Then I used a damp brush with clean water to wet and blend the lavender a little in some areas.
The yellow flowers were a combination of different shades of yellow, light gold, and pale orange. I tried to keep it all very simple here just blending on the page with a little clean water.
When the flowers were dry, I used a blue brush pen to make a bunch of very tiny lines and dots in the center of the flowers. I think yellow always looks so pretty next to blue and purple.
I hope you are making time to do things you enjoy. Until next time, share a smile and sprinkle kindness everywhere.
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!
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.
Patty Anne - Art 