Something new – painting figures

I recently decided to try painting figures. I’ve been wanting to add people to my landscapes for a while now so I watched a few videos online to help me get started. Today I have a few tips to share with you that have really helped me.

My thought is to keep it simple starting off with views from behind.
-no hands or shoes necessary
-keep brush stokes to a minimum (that is a challenge)
-start off with a jacket first then add legs with simple brush strokes.
-be careful with head size, not too big
-add few darker areas of shadow

I love that little pop of color on the scarf and hat.

Here I started with a few figures and then played around and added a background of city buildings.

Out for a walk hand in hand. This simple scene makes me smile.

Chilly walk in the park was a good practice too.

I’m not sure where my art will take me this year but I hope to keep working on landscapes and dropping in more people and animals. I needed a new challenge and something fun to work on. I think this will be a good direction for me this year.

What are your creative goals this year?

I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Thank you so much for your kindness and support. Wishing you all the best this year friends! 💜

-Patty Anne-

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

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

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