Multiple Sketchbooks

I always have multiple sketchbooks on hand to work in. I like a multimedia sketchbook that can handle watercolor and has a nice smooth surface for ink sketching too.

I’m still enjoying painting figures in watercolor and trying to remember that less is more.

Figure painting is a great way to warm up and explore.

I pulled out my ink brush pen not knowing what I wanted to sketch. I thought about the fun shapes the pen makes and started to experiment with flower centers. I kept playing and created this nice floral. I love the contrast in this sketch.

Sometimes you have to just jump in and sketch. If you don’t like it you can always turn the page and try something else. It’s a sketchbook after all and there are no rules. 😊

In this poppy painting there was a lot of experimenting with leaves and seed heads. The painting could use some darker colors. Maybe I will explore this further in another painting on heavier watercolor paper.

I hope you enjoyed this quick trip through my sketchbook. Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

-Patty Anne 💜

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Sweet Little Bird

Today I have a sweet little watercolor bird to share with you.

I started out by sketching my bird using a watercolor pencil. Then I painted the background around my bird sketch. By painting the branches on wet paper it created soft dreamy distant branches. I love how it sets the mood. 😊

little bird on 8 x 8 inch fluid watercolor paper block

I worked on the bird and branch in the foreground next. The detail and additional layers of color brought the bird forward and into focus.

I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

Patty Anne 💙

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Small landscape paintings

Today I have a few more small landscapes to share with you. They have been sitting in my drafts folder waiting for me to finish writing up this post.

What I noticed is that each painting is very different in this group. There’s a different season and feeling with each one. I love that!

5 x 7 inch watercolor sketchbook – Frosty trees in winter.

5 x 7 inch watercolor sketchbook – Sweet home in spring.

6 x 8 inch watercolor – Lakeside in summer.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more things that you love.
Keep painting and creating!

Until next time, share a smile and shine on.

Patty Anne 💚

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

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

Merry Merry Christmas!

Christmas tree 2022 – 8 x 8 inch watercolor

Let the wonder and warmth of Christmas shine!
Wishing you a Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year!
Patty Anne ❤️

Cardinal watercolor painting

Happy Sunday! ❤️

A quick post today with a sweet Cardinal that I painted a few months ago.

I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Painting more watercolor trees

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.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Inspired by Nature

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.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Sunny Floral painting

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.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

A few landscape paintings

It’s been a while since I posted a landscape painting so here we go.

Happy Thursday! 💙

I really like the distant hills in this landscape. The pine trees and the birds make me very happy.

I have a few in progress shots of the next landscape. I painted and let things dry overnight before continuing. That allowed me time to view my painting with fresh eyes and make some decisions.

Here I started out with some rocky hills in the distance.

The next step was to soften the sky a little and work on the foreground.

While I was happy with the rocks added in the front, I felt like the rocks in the center were too dark and needed to be lightened up. Also the distant hill on the left seemed too dark as well.

The white gouache that I added did provide some nice highlights but I knew that wasn’t enough.

It’s one of those things…. risk overworking the painting or just leave it as is. I decided that the risk was worth it since I still wasn’t satisfied.

9 x 12 inch – Rocky shore watercolor painting

I worked on lifting some of the color on the rocks in the center using a damp brush. I tried to be gentle and not damage the paper. I also used a damp tissue and blotted some areas. Both techniques worked pretty well.

I’m happy with the improvements and glad that I kept going. Whether successful or not, this painting did provide me with an opportunity to try various techniques and build my confidence. I will keep showing up, having fun, and enjoy the process.

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 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart