Birch Trees – painting with a plastic card

I love painting with a plastic card. Today I have birch trees that I painted using this fun technique.

Happy Sunday! 💚

Using a plastic card to apply watercolor is easy to do and very enjoyable.

Paper of choice: I recommend a cold pressed watercolor paper. Cold pressed paper can stand up to the plastic card pushing and pulling paint without damaging the paper. In addition, the slightly textured surface of this paper gives the trees a more realistic look.

Simple Technique: Using a plastic card to apply paint.
Dip the edge of a plastic card into a puddle of paint (see photo above) or directly into pigment and then apply the paint to the paper using the card.

A view of the beginning stage.

I used the card to print lines on the paper and create various tree shapes. Then by dragging the card left and right I can pull and push paint to look like markings you might see on birch bark.

It doesn’t look very good at first but by continuing to add more paint and detail, the trees start to look quite nice.

I used three colors that really play nicely together:
Prussian Blue
Paynes Gray
Sepia

In the same area on the mixing tray, the colors slowly start to mix together as I dipped into them over and over. I just continued to add back each color to the puddle as needed.

I also swiped the edge of the card into concentrated pigment to get some nice color for darker areas. In some places a damp brush with a little water helped move paint around a bit.

It’s really all about playing and seeing what happens!

8 x 8 inch – Birch Trees on Fluid Watercolor paper

To finish things off I added a sky and some grasses. The darker area around the base of the trees helps to anchor them so that they aren’t just floating on the page.

I had so much fun painting these trees that I think I will try this again and work larger. I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love.

Until next time, share a smile and sprinkle kindness everywhere!

🌸 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

Sketchbook tour

Lately I’ve been trying to work more in my sketchbook. Today I have a few pencil sketches to share with you.

I decided to work more on sketching birds.

This was a quick sketch. I like the idea of limiting my time on a sketch which helps me focus on shape and form. Having a time limit also keeps me from getting lost in detail.

More work on shore birds… I hope this will help build my confidence when adding birds to landscape paintings.

Another page with a few quick bird sketches. I really liked this one more than the others on the page. I cropped the others out but kind of love that they are sneaking into the photo a little. 😊

More quick sketches with different views.

Finishing off our sketchbook tour is a quick flower sketch. I was thinking about painting but didn’t have enough time so I just started sketching a poppy. I’m happy that I opened up my sketchbook.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

You can follow me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Daffodils & Tulips

It was a very difficult start to Spring this year with the unexpected loss of my beloved brother. Although I try to keep my personal life and struggles out of my art blog, this is where I am and what I’ve been going through. I just thought I should let you all know.

Today I have some pretty pictures of the daffodils in my garden and a few other paintings to share.

The daffodils this year did not disappoint. They’ve since faded but I did manage to get some nice photos when they were at their peak.

I really love this close up view.

Once again no luck with tulips this year. The critters outside have enjoyed snacking on them. I think I will just plant something else in the fall.

I painted some pretty pink and red tulips in my sketchbook. These playful loose watercolor flowers are so cheerful.

I also filled a page in my sketchbook with butterflies. I used watercolor brush pens for this and really like how it turned out.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do something you love. Creating art has always been very therapeutic for me. I shall continue to lean into my art and give myself time and space to heal.

Until next time share a smile and sprinkle kindness everywhere.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Saving space for the focal point

My painting started out as simple vines and buds.

I left space for more flowers to be added later. I should have taken more photos but I’m glad I have this one to share.

I strengthened the buds with darker color and loose shapes. I love how the pretty purple flowers and leaves at the bottom guide your eye up into the painting.

There was enough space for a large flower at the top. It worked out well and became the focal point that this painting needed. The center of the flower turned out really nice. The little bit of dark color that bled into the petals from the center really makes my heart sing. The best part was that I didn’t overwork it. Yay!

It’s important to remember that showing up and having fun really makes a difference. Some paintings will work out better than others. While I may showcase some of my favorite paintings here, I have many that aren’t successful. I do my best to keep in mind that each painting is a step forward and an opportunity to learn and grow.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

Inktober 2021 Sketching

Let’s take a stroll through my sketchbook today and I’ll show you a few of my recent #Inktober sketches.

Happy Thursday, friends! 💚

Sunflower

There are sketching prompts for each day of the month. Many people like to use the daily prompts but I like to sketch whatever inspires me at the moment.

Floral pattern play

This was the first page in my new sketchbook. I didn’t know what to sketch so I decided to just play and see what happened. I love this type of sketching because it often helps me develop ideas that I can use in future sketches or paintings.

Playful cityscape

I worked on a quirky cityscape in my small sketchbook. Something very different for me but kind of fun.

Happy Flower

One more flower to finish off our tour.

I hope you grab a pen and some paper and join in on the sketching fun. Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent.

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram at pattyanneart

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Undersea painting – watercolor and ink

I thought it would be fun to work on an underwater scene. I’m fascinated with sea life and really love visiting Aquariums.

Happy Sunday, friends! 💙

I painted some circles and fun shapes first. Then once it was dry, I started sketching on top.

In my sketchbook I practiced a bit and played with different pens and colors. It doesn’t look like much but it really helps build confidence before adding all of the ink detail on the final piece.

This is a close up of the finished piece. I really like this color palette of blue, green, and gold. I layered different shapes and used a variety of pens and markers from my stash.

It’s so much fun to just let go and see what happens.

7 x 10 inch mixed media- Ocean

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Thank you for stopping by and following along.

Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

Join me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Inktober sketching fun

A quick post today sharing a few recent ink sketches.

Happy Thursday, friends! 💚

I used Sepia micron pens in this one. Just sketching different types of trees and adding some imaginary fun. This sketch makes me think of changing seasons.

 

Trying something different with an underwater scene. It was a lot of fun, I think I will try a few more of these.

 

I couldn’t get away from flowers for long. 😉  This was a very quick doodle sketch. I might try another one in a larger size later and take my time with it. I ended up some messy lines in this one but I love it anyway.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love.  I will be taking a little blogging break and will be back in a week or so.

Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!

🌸   Patty Anne   🌸

 

I’m on Instagram @pattyanneart

Patty Anne Art

Tulips on my mind

I have more tulips to share with you today. I can’t seem to get enough of them lately.

🌷💚 🌷

Happy Mother’s Day, friends! 🌷

I was excited when my tulips started coming up this Spring. A short time later though, I found that something had dined on all of the buds. My beautiful daffodils nearby survived so I was thankful for that. 

I thought I would have to wait until next year to see the tulips I planted last fall but luckily,  a few survived. Oh happy day!!

I snapped this pic last weekend.  This little beauty made my day…

What a gorgeous color!  That’s a #colorcrush for sure 😀

 

I played with coffee again and painted a few tulips. After the painting dried, I sketched on top with a sepia micron pen.

 

Always fun playing with design ideas

 

and splashing around some paint.

Adding color on top of an ink sketch as I did with this one, is a challenge for me. I feel this internal struggle with where to start and how much color to add.

 

Tulip bunch – 9 x 12 inch Arches hot press watercolor paper

A loose watercolor painting with a large round brush. Direct paint to paper with no sketching first. I like this simple composition and was happy that I walked away before I had time to overwork it. Knowing when to stop is often the hardest part.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do what more of what you love.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

🌸 Patty Anne 🌸

 

I’m on Instagram at pattyanneart

Patty Anne Art

Tufted Titmouse digital art

I sketched a cute little Tufted Titmouse recently and decided to enhance it in Procreate.

Happy Thursday, friends!   💚

This little guy is a frequent visitors at my backyard feeder.

 

I used the Procreate water brush and technical pencil for this digital piece.

The background color was added using the abstract pattern, Opticon. I used various colors and brush sizes to create this cool pattern. I love how dreamy it looks.

Tip: To connect my bird with the background, I allowed the abstract pattern to overlap the bird in a few places.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Thank you for stopping by and following along.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

🌸  Patty Anne  🌸

follow me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Patty Anne Art