Backyard Cutie

This little beauty visits the feeder often. I was pretty excited when he dropped by and I was able to snap a few photos of him.

I love those big eyes! It looks like he is checking out what’s for dinner.

 

Tufted Titmouse watercolor

I was inspired to paint my little backyard friend. I decided to keep things simple and just paint him perched on a branch. I added a fun splashy background to finish up the painting. I may have had a little too much fun with that background but oh well… 😉

Paper:  7×10 inch Arches watercolor block
Daniel Smith watercolor paint:
Cobalt blue, Ultramarine Blue, Quinacridone Burnt Orange, and Yellow Ochre

Additional details added with a .005 black micron pen and a white gel pen.

 

In this photo,  it looks like he approves and will take his food to go. 🙂
Another happy fella at the backyard feeder.

Watercolor Tips:

Over time the tip of your brushes and pens can wear down. Be sure to replace those that have become worn.

I still get a little uptight when a few paintings in a row don’t work out as planned. I’ve found the best thing for me is to hang in there, loosen up, and keep on going. The important thing to remember is to enjoy the process and have fun.

Thank you for stopping by and following along. I hope you enjoy seeing my work and are inspired to create art and do something fun. Until next time, have a great week.

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

PattyAnneArt

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Quiet Thursday – Bunny Blue Eyes

I hope this cute little bunny brightens your day. 🙂

Bunny Blue eyes

Bunny watercolor and ink – 9 x12 inch Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook

This little bunny makes me think of Spring. That makes me happy! 🙂

Wishing you a happy Thursday and a great weekend!

Patty Anne

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Blue Jay on a branch

I worked on sketching and painting a Blue Jay this week. My painting was inspired by a beautiful photo on pexels.com (a favorite online site that has free stock photos for artists to use).

After a light sketch in pencil, I used black Micron pens to complete the sketch. I love Micron pens, the ink is waterproof and fade proof, just perfect for using with watercolor.

Watercolor Tip: Gently erase any remaining pencil lines before painting. Leftover pencil markings will be impossible to remove once they’ve been painted over. If you forget to remove them, it is no big deal. I’ve done that many times. 🙂

Blue Jay ink sketch

 

Adding watercolor is the fun part and it brings the birdie to life. I added a little extra splash here and there to make the painting more lively and to hopefully create more interest.

Watercolor tip: To create a bit of splash, I loaded the brush with color and then tapped on the handle directly over my paper. I repeated the splash using a few different size brushes and colors. Splashing and spattering can be a bit messy, I like to cover my work area with paper towels to catch any overspray.

Daniel Smith watercolors used:
Ultramarine Blue
Burnt Sienna Light
Yellow Ochre
Cobalt Teal Blue

Blue Jay watercolor and ink

 

Conversation with Birdie –  a little poem that I wrote.
Now, if only Mr. Blue Jay would stick around long enough to chat. 🙂

Tell me your thoughts little birdie

Are you free from worry?

What is it like to fly above?

Is your heart filled with love?

How do you know your way?

Please share with me today.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Thanks for stopping by and following along. Until next time, enjoy yourself and stay warm.

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

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Quiet Thursday – Birdie Blues

Birdie Blues

Birdie Blues painted on 9×12 inch Saunders watercolor paper.

I hope you are enjoying my quiet Thursday posts.

Have a great weekend and do something fun! 🙂

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

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Hey Birdie!

A quick post today with a few watercolor birds. I’m guessing you are probably not surprised to see a few more bird paintings. 🙂

I painted this little bird last month. I really like the green background and the contrast of the soft bird next to the rough branch.

Bird on a branch painted on 6×9 inch Aquabee watercolor paper

Bird on a branch watercolor

 

This week I worked on painting a Tern, or beach bird as I like to call them. I just love that the Tern has a crazy cool hairstyle. My hair would probably look like that too if I played at the beach all day. 🙂

I was a bit worried about painting sand. I tried to vary the direction of the brush strokes when putting down the color. I hoped that making the sand look uneven would give it a more realistic look. I think it was a good exercise. I like that the sand softly fades off into the distance behind my beach bird.

Beach bird painted on 9×12 inch Stillman & Birn mixed media sketchbook

Beach Bird watercolor and ink

 

I hope you enjoy seeing my work and are inspired to keep painting, creating, and having fun. If you would like to receive notifications of new posts by email, simply click the follow button on the right. I would love for you to join me on this creative journey.

Until next time, enjoy yourself and do something fun! 🙂

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

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Quiet Thursday – Vixen watercolor

Vixen watercolor and ink

Vixen watercolor and ink painted on Canson Mix Media paper.

I hope you are enjoying my quiet Thursday posts. Have a great weekend and do something fun. 🙂

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

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Great Blue Heron watercolor

This week I worked on painting a Great Blue Heron. I decided to work in my Stillman & Birn mixed media sketchbook that I recently received as a gift. It was a great choice, the quality of the paper in this sketchbook is excellent. I can see more of these sketchbooks in my future. 🙂

My initial sketch is below.  Nice big shapes first, and then more detail with ink. Early on, it is important to get the position and shape of the eye correct. Then it is just a matter of working out from there with more detail.

Great Blue Heron sketch

Below is the second phase after adding watercolor. This is when it really starts to come alive.

Daniel Smith watercolors:
Payne’s Gray, Phthalo Blue, Quinacridone Rose, Yellow Ochre, and Hansa Yellow

Great Blue Heron – part 1

I debated whether to add a background color or not. After looking at a photo of my painting, I realized that I needed to punch up some of the colors. I also thought that a background would give this painting more interest.

It was a good choice to add more color, it made a big difference!

Great Blue Heron

Background colors:  Permanent Green, Green Gold, and Phthalo Blue

For the background I used a mix of Permanent Green and Green Gold. I splashed some Phthalo Blue and Permanent Green on the wet background by tapping on the handle of a brush loaded with paint. I like how the little drops of paint vary in size and spread out and in different shapes depending on how wet the paint is where they land.

I hope I have inspired you to create some art and do something fun. Thanks for stopping by and following along.  Have a great week.

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

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Fox watercolor and ink

I’ve been working on sketching and painting a fox. It has been on my list for a while and I had a little time over the holidays to give it a try. I really love wildlife art and enjoy combining watercolor and ink in my artwork.

I started off with a few pencil sketches before diving in with watercolor and ink.

Fox watercolor and ink sketch

painted on 9×12 inch Canson Mix Media paper

Daniel Smith and Winsor & Newton watercolor paints
Black Micron pen .03

After lightly sketching the fox with a pencil, I added more definition with a Micron pen. I like using the pen to make fun squiggles and random loose lines for the fur. When making the the ink squiggles and lines, I had to keep in mind that the length of the hair is shorter on the face and longer on the neck and body of the fox. I used a pen with a small tip so that the ink markings would not be too harsh and take over the painting. The final step was adding watercolor. That is the most exciting part, when things start to come to life. 🙂

Watercolor tips:

• Make sure the eyes are well defined and that the colors are dark enough. The eyes really need to pop to give life to your painting.
• Set goals for your art and keep working at it.

I started painting 3 years ago and fell in love with watercolor. I have been taking classes, reading books, and following many talented artists online. The key has really been to paint a lot.  About 2.5 years ago I started trying to paint a little every day or every few days (as it goes with a busy life and work schedule). The more that you paint, the more you will learn.

I hope you enjoy seeing my work and are inspired to keep painting, creating, and having fun. If you would like to receive notifications of new posts by email, simply click the follow button on the right. I would love for you to follow me on this creative journey.

Until next time, enjoy yourself and do something fun! 🙂

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

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Thursday Blues – Penguin Dance

Penguin Dance

Penguin Dance watercolor painted on 7×10 inch Canson watercolor paper.

Another blue post for you…Blue is my favorite color. 🙂

I hope you are enjoying my quiet Thursday posts. You can see more of my work on Instagram and PattyAnneArt.

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

Birdie Roundup – 2017

As we close out 2017, I thought it would be fun to look back at a few of my favorite birdies from this year.

A few paintings and photos from 2017…

 

Penguin Buddies – Ink and Watercolor

A couple of joyful penguins,

Duck – inktober

 

Ducks on the pond

an afternoon swim,

Goose watercolor with background

a happy goose,

Sweet Bird watercolor

a sweet little birdie,

Birdies at the beach

and a lovely day at the beach with these beauties.

Painting and sharing with you this year has been such a joy. I will continue on this watercolor journey and will probably paint a few more birds next year as well. 🙂

If you would like to receive notifications of new posts by email, simply click the follow button on the right. I would love to have you join me on this creative journey.

I hope my art continues to improve in 2018 and that I can inspire you in some way to be creative and do what you love.

Wishing you a very happy and creative new year!

Patty Anne

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