I had an old painting on my desk that I’ve wanted to do something with for a long time. I planned on adding some ink sketching to it but that never happened.
Floral watercolor base from 2020
Recently I decided to just dive in and play. I used a large brush and lots of bold color. I played with expressive brush strokes and didn’t worry about what “should be”.
Here’s a close up view of the floral
and a full view … I love all the little buds and flowers everywhere. This happy painting makes me smile. I also love that years later I turned this painting into something that I really like now.
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
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?
While sorting through some paintings I came across a Cardinal that I painted three years ago. I liked the painting but something just wasn’t right so I never posted it. Today I’ll share with you how the update turned out.
Happy Sunday! 💚
This was the painting from 2018 before I made any updates.
Where I decided to make a few changes: -the far side of the head should have a partial view of the other eye -cleaning up the claws a little and maybe adding one that I noticed was missing – a few darker areas on the tail and body – bumping up some of the red color
9 x 12 inch Winter Cardinal – after the update
Rounding out the far side of the head and making the hidden eye slightly visible was exactly what this painting needed. That little change alone made a big difference. Now I can finally say this one is finished and I really like it. 🙂
I will be taking a blogging break for a few weeks and returning after the new year. I’m looking forward to spending time with family and making new cherished memories.
I have a fun watercolor project to share with you today, watercolor gift tags! Handmade gift tags make the perfect addition to any gift.
Hope you are having a wonderful day! 💚
It all starts with a simple design and very small painting. Below I have a few examples.
I divide up the watercolor paper using a pencil and ruler. Then paint some simple designs making sure to leave room at the top and bottom for some lettering.
After the mini paintings dried, I added a little ink detail to each of them using a gold and white pen. I thought the tags with leaves would look better if the leaves were outlined so I used a pen with a very small tip and gave that a try.
Adding lettering is always difficult for me. I decided to use some tape as a guide to help me keep the lettering straight. With a pencil I lightly added the message and then used my gold pen to trace over it. Later I gently erased any pencil marks left behind.
I used a hole punch and added some rustic string to finish them off. A pretty ribbon would look nice too. On a couple of them I got a little fancy and changed the shape of the tag at the top with a little snip of the scissors. I really like how they turned out.
There’s so much you can do with these little tags. I hope you have fun and get creative. I can’t want to use my tags on gifts for loved ones.
I hope you are inspired to create art and have fun. If you make some gift tags, please share with me on Instagram, @pattyanneart. I would love to see your designs.
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!
Sometimes I just want to paint flowers. Today I have a sweet delicate piece to share with you.
Hope you are enjoying your day! 💚
I painted these flowers a few months ago. I really love this one. It has been in my drafts folder for quite a while just waiting for me come back to it.
One interesting note about this painting is that the flowers were painted using a cut plastic credit card instead of a brush. The delicate stems and leaves were painted with a very small brush.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
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!
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.
Today I have some pretty Cosmos flowers to share with you.
This is an in progress view of my watercolor painting. At this point I had stopped painting thinking that it was finished. After looking at my photo I could see that it needed a little more work. It’s always good to step back and take another look.
I decided to strengthen the color of the flowers and add more detail in the center.
I think those changes made quite a difference without overworking the painting. It seemed to really wake up these happy flowers. yay!
One interesting note that I wanted to share about this painting is that I used only a small flat brush (1/2 inch) and small liner brush (#1). I’m always amazed what is possible with a flat brush the more I use it.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Jump in and let the magic happen. Until next time, share a smile and shine on!
Patty Anne - Art 