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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Oh that coral pink!

I recently bought a pad of Arches watercolor paper and decided to limit it to only floral paintings. Today I have one of those paintings to share with you.

Happy Sunday, friends! 💗

My favorite coral pink watercolor combination:
Quinacridone Rose +
Yellow Ochre +
Pyrrol Scarlet (just a tiny bit)

I started by painting the flower petals first. That way I have lots of room and freedom to position them anywhere on the page. Then I can fill in with leaves and stems all around and balance things out.

I’m very happy with the soft petals. While the paint was still wet, I used a clean brush and a little water to soften the edges.

For the flower centers, I used a very small brush and a dark color mix. It took a couple layers of paint to get the deep color that I wanted. The dark color in the center of the flowers really wakes up this painting.

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

Blue Hydrangea watercolor

Today I have a blue hydrangea to share that I painted with a limited palette.

Hope your day is wonderful, friends! 💙

9 x 12 inch – Blue Hydrangea watercolor

Daniel Smith watercolors used:
Prussian Blue
Undersea Green

A limited palette seems to free up my mind while I am painting. I love that it also pushes me to use colors in a way that I might not have tried before.

This painting was done using cut up credit cards. I haven’t given up on my brushes but lately this is my jam! 😉

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 @pattyanneart

Color inspiration – hot pink!

My pink Azaleas just make my heart sing. That color is amazing! 💗
#colorcrush

Happy Thursday, friends! 🌸

The green gold leaves look so pretty next to the bright pink.

Now on to my sketchbook for some play time.

Daniel Smith watercolors used:
Quinacridone Magenta
Prussian Blue
Undersea Green (just for the tiny stems)

I decided to experiment by painting my flowers using a cut up credit card. I’ve been using a plastic card on landscapes and thought I’d give it a go with flowers.

I wet part part of the paper with clean water. Just trying for playful strokes by pulling and pushing around the paint on the paper. I really wasn’t sure if this would be a success or a big fail. Color mixing happened right on the paper. At times I dipped the card into thick paint and other times a watery mix.

Using a plastic card can be unpredictable but I found it was also quite exciting. My flowers ended up rather loose and artsy. Yay, I like that.

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

Tulips on Parade

Happy Sunday, friends! 💚

Bluebird and Tulips – 9 x 12 inch watercolor

I recently painted a vase full of pretty tulips and a sweet little bluebird. I always love painting flowers and birds. 😊

Red Tulip – 7 x 10 inch watercolor

I also painted a single red tulip in my sketchbook. This simple tulip makes me happy. I can feel the movement of the leaves and love that bold red color.

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 @pattyanneart

Looking forward to Spring

I’ve been thinking about Spring and decided to paint some tulips.

Hope your day is wonderful. 💚

Lavender Tulips – soft and loose

I had some fun with the leaves on this one.

Magenta tulips – inspired by the beauties in my yard. I can’t wait to seem them again this Spring.

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

Soft flowers with ink detail

I have a sweet little floral to share with you today.

Happy Sunday, friends! 💚

I started out painting some pretty watercolor flowers and layered in some leaves and buds.

Soft pink and yellow petals combined with green gold leaves make up this palette today. I just love the layered petals and peekaboo flowers.

Adding ink sketching came next.

Outlining the petals and adding some detail in the center always wakes up my flowers. Some ink leaves and vines were added to balance things out and add some playfulness to the painting.

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 @pattyanneart

Watercolor with wax resist technique

I decided to try out the wax resist technique and have some interesting results to share with you.

Happy Sunday, friends! 🌼

In each of these little paintings I used a birthday candle to make marks on dry watercolor paper before painting. You can see the tiny candle that I used in the lower left landscape near the bottom.

The waxed area resists the paint and you are left with the visible white of the paper showing through. It worked well on a few of my mini paintings.

Watercolor Notes:
-After making marks on the paper it’s hard to see where the wax is and how much coverage you actually have. It’s a bit of a risk but was fun to try.
-The wax will remain on the paper and does not wipe off. Once it’s down, you can’t go back.
-There were a few tiny wax bits left behind on top of the paper after I finished drawing/mark making with the candle. I just brushed them off the paper before I started to paint.

After playing for a while I decided to try using the technique on a bigger painting. A happy sunflower sounded like fun. 😁

Mom’s Sunflower – 9 x 12 inch watercolor

In the center of the flower I used the little candle to make some markings on the paper. The bright white area is where the wax went down. In some places I ended up with a light coverage but I think it’s rather nice.

I am super happy with my bright and splashy sunflower.

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

Joyful flowers

I have a joyful sketch to share with you today. This simple piece makes me happy. I hope it brings you a smile as well.

Happy Sunday friends! 💙

I started out with some playful flower shapes using my two of my Tombow watercolor brush pens. Nothing difficult, just having fun. Oh, I love those colors!

9 x 12 inch – Love is Love

Then I used a pen to outline my flower petals and add a few simple touches. The ink pulls it all together and brightens up this playful piece.

Once again I am reminded that less is more 😊

I think this would make a lovely card. I’ll have to give that a go.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Until next time, share a smile and sprinkle kindness everywhere!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Watercolor and ink bouquet

Today I have a watercolor bouquet to share with you.

Happy Sunday, friends! 💚

I decided to limit my color palette to four colors. Then I mixed up a few more shades with those colors.

I started out painting a few big flowers and then developed the rest of the painting around them. I just love how the little buds and leaves surround the bigger flowers.

The muddy patch in the middle needed some attention so I set the painting aside for a while to think about it. About a month later I decided to go back in and add some ink.

I pulled out my micron pens (Sepia 01 & 005) and started in with a few leaves and some detail in the center of the big flowers.

The simple ink lines on the vase worked out well. I like how it cleaned up the edges and added a little more weight to the bottom of the painting.

More detail and leaves were added on the last round. I decided to call it done at this point before completely overworking it. 😉

Colors used: Daniel Smith Yellow Ochre, Pyrrol Scarlet, Indigo, and Sap Green. The additional color combinations mixed are on the right side.I really like the lighter shades of green and peach.

I think the ink detail was the added touch this painting really needed.

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