Painting the beach

I have a couple beach paintings to share with you today. I’m always inspired by the beautiful colors at the beach. 💙

Happy Thursday!

First layer of quiet beach watercolor

After applying the base layer of a painting it’s a good idea to step back and take a thoughtful look.

You can see that the horizon needs to be straightened up and the distant water needs to be darkened. In addition, the foreground needs darker colors and more detail to bring it forward.

Quiet Beach watercolor painting – 9 x 12 inch

The second layer and final details make a big difference.

Beach blues watercolor painting – 8 x 8 inch

This is a beach painting from a few months ago. I’m not in love with the sky in this one but I do love the sparkle in the water and how the grasses frame out the foreground.

I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Take good care of yourself and shine on!

Patty Anne

Join me on Instagram @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

Inktober and Mini Landscapes

Today I have a few more #Inktober sketches to share as well as a few mini landscapes.

Hope your day is wonderful! 💚

I really enjoy sketching potted plants. For this sketch I used a few micron pens. I have a variety of sizes and colors in my collection. 😉 I decided to use sepia and burnt orange colors for this one.

This sketch I started with a few light pencil marks as a guide for the leaves and vines. It was fun to play and see what kind of shapes I could make with the pen.

When I attempted to remove the pencil markings with an eraser things started to go a little sideways… the ink smeared on me. Oh well that’s how it goes sometimes.

I worked on a few more mini landscapes in my 5 x 7 inch sketchbook. This one above was a quick five minute painting. I love the freshness you can achieve with when there’s no time for fussing.

I spent a few more minutes on this mini. These little landscapes are a nice warm up and a great way to build painting skills. I hope theses little paintings also lead to new ideas. I’m thinking about filling an entire sketchbook with more of these quick paintings.

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

Beach painting – then and now

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!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram @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

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 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Visit my shop at Society6

Landscape Painting Series -2

Today I have another landscape to share with you.

I hope you are doing well and enjoying your day. 💙

12 x 16 inch – Saved by Grace

Materials used:
Arches hot press watercolor paper
Brushes: Round #14, Flat 1 inch, and Liner #1
Daniel Smith Watercolors

This painting was inspired by artist Scott Swinson on youtube. As with most landscapes I started with the sky area first and then worked my way down the page. Most of my time was spent on the middle section where the focal point is. I love how the distant trees turned out. The snowy path leads your eye into the painting (hopefully 😊).

One minor issue I had while painting the trees was that a little paint spattered into the finished sky. I was able to go with it and carefully turned them into distant birds. yay!

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 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Visit my shop on Society6.com

Landscape Painting Series -1

I’ve been painting more landscapes lately and am having a lot of fun.I feel like I am making progress. I’m finding that decision making is getting easier and feels more natural. I’m trusting myself more when things don’t go as expected and am able to work with it instead of against it.

Today I’m sharing the first in a series of recent landscapes.

Happy Thursday!

On and On – 9 x 12 inch watercolor

This painting was a simple practice in my sketchbook using a limited palette. There’s something very peaceful about this painting. I love how the distant land goes on and on.

Lately I’ve been very inspired by Steve Swinson and have been enjoying his watercolor tutorials on youtube. I love his work and teaching style. I painted the trees in this painting using a fan brush, just one of the many tips I learned watching Steve.

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

Visit my shop at Society6

Long lost landscapes

I’ve been working on cleaning up my art/painting area this week. I’m trying to pack away some older work and tidy things up. I found a few simple landscapes from 2018 that I wanted to share with you today.

Happy Sunday, friends! 💗

I love the mood and the soft blue trees in this one. They look a bit frosty to me. This is painting #669. As of today I have painted close to 1500 pieces.

Even though the horizon is not straight (something I would fix today), I love the color of the distant trees. This is painting #671.

This final landscape was painted on 9 x 12 inch Arches watercolor paper. I love the blue green trees and the pretty sky. The placement and separation of trees created a nice depth that really draws me in. This is painting #668.

It’s fun to look back at my older work. I’m kind of amazed at how much painting and learning I’ve done over the last few years. I still have more cleaning to do, I wonder if I will find any more long lost paintings that will be saved from the packing box.

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

Visit my new shop at Society6

I’m Just getting started on Society6 (an online marketplace that allows artists to sell their work on a variety of products). More details to come. 😊

Abstract watercolor – 2 views

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend.

Happy Independence day! ❤️ 🇺🇸

I painted this watercolor landscape using a large flat brush and a limited color palette.

I was pretty happy with the results. When I decided I was finished painting I flipped it around to let it dry a bit upside down.

I was a bit shocked by how much I loved this painting upside down. It made me smile and think, how did this even happen?? It looks like a water view now. There’s always something to learn from each painting.

I waited a while before removing the tape around the border and deciding where to place my signature.

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 🌸

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart