Poppies in the Sun

I love watercolor tutorials. There’s so much to learn from another artist by watching their process and following along.

I very much enjoyed Karen Rice’s YouTube tutorial Poppies in Watercolour. After watching it a few times, I pulled out my good watercolor paper and jumped in with some paint.

Happy Sunday! 💚

I taped off my watercolor block and worked wet in wet to establish a nice sunlit background with distant poppies and leaves scattered about.

Color mixing green:
Payne’s Gray + Lemon Yellow
Ultramarine Blue + Lemon Yellow

Karen used Payne’s Gray and Yellow to create a very nice earthy green. I really like that combination and will definitely use it again.

Another great take away from this tutorial is that when painting wet on wet and the paper is quite saturated, if you apply a thicker paint (more paint/less water), you are able to have more control with the paint on the paper.

I continued adding more Poppies in the foreground trying to vary shape, color, and placement. Once I was happy with the flowers, I added some buds and seed pods.

Poppies in the Sun watercolor – 12 x 16 inch Saunders watercolor paper

After a few final touches, I removed the border tape and called it done. I just love these happy flowers.

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

Botanicals with a large flat brush

My usual go to brush lately has been a large round brush. I decided to dust off my large flat brush and give it a try… something different sounded like fun. 😊

Happy Sunday, friends! 💚

I was inspired to practice painting with a large flat brush after watching a Whitney Rain Skillshare class, Modern Watercolor Botanicals for Everyone.

For my paintings I mixed up a few different greens using Daniel Smith watercolors.

I tried to keep things simple at first to see what I could do with this large 1 inch flat brush. I’ve played with a smaller flat brush on occasion but not much with a large one.

 

Foliage 1 – painted on 6 x 9 inch bee paper

Just trying to create large leaves and vines with the large brush. I also used a smaller flat brush a little here as well. Not a bad start and some nice variation of color.

 

Foliage 2 – 7 x 10 inch Arches watercolor paper

I love the simplicity with this one. It was a good practice using the brush in multiple ways. You can use the side of the brush for a wide broad stroke or just the thin edge to get a straight fine line. I’m kind of amazed at all of the variation that is possible with this brush.

 

Foliage 3 – 7 x 10 inch Arches watercolor paper

I also used a few smaller brushes in this piece. Although I like the composition and many of the shapes here, I think I used too many mid tones. It’s about learning and having fun… so I’ll take that as a win.

The better quality Arches paper was nice to use for a change. The cold press has a lovely texture which I really enjoyed.

 

Garden foliage – 7 x 10 inch Arches watercolor paper

On my final piece I decided to add some pink to indicate flowers. As I’ve said many times before, I just love green and pinks together. #colorcrush

It was a joy playing and painting these botanical pieces. I painted all of them one after the other in about an hour or so. There are times when I fuss over what to paint and work on. This was not one of those times and it felt really good.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Thank you for stopping by and following me on this creative journey.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on!

🌸  Patty Anne  🌸

Patty Anne Art

I’m on Instagram @pattyanneart

 

Painting leaves with coffee

This week I decided to try another coffee painting. I have some leaves and vines to share with you today.

Happy Sunday, friends! 💚 ☕️

 

Using a #12 Round brush I painted big playful leaf shapes with a light shade of coffee.

After it dried, I used a smaller #6 Round brush and painted some playful vines using a stronger coffee mix.

The coffee used for this painting is a mix of espresso powder (for baking) with a tiny bit water. I should probably try using instant coffee next time around.

Tip: Coffee takes a long time to dry. When layering as I did above, make sure you allow plenty of time for drying. I let the first layer of big leaves dry overnight.

I used a Sepia Micron 01 pen to sketch more vines and leaves on top of my coffee painting. Since the leaves were shades of brown, I thought my Sepia pen would work well here.

It is always fun to play and see where the art takes you.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. I started this blog two years ago to share what I love and inspire others. Thank you for following me on this creative journey.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on! 💚

🌸  Patty Anne  🌸

 

follow me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Patty Anne Art

Coffee and Roses

I have a few pieces to share with you that I recently painted with coffee. I am a big coffee lover but have never painted with it before.

Happy Sunday, friends! 😊

After watching a painting with coffee SkillShare class by Yasmina Creates, I thought it would be fun. I didn’t have any instant coffee as recommended. Instead I used espresso powder for baking that I had on hand, it worked pretty well…  ☕️

For darker shades I mixed more coffee with less water

and lighter shades I mixed more water with less coffee

First try… Cup of coffee (painted with coffee 😉)

I like the shape of the cup and nice dark values here but may have added a little too much steam.

A few things I learned:

• Coffee is not transparent
• It moves a lot on paper and is a bit hard to control
• Stronger coffee/darker shades take much longer to dry
• Darker thicker coffee is shiny after it dries (kind of cool)

 

6 x 9 inch – Simple rose

A nice little practice, just playing and having fun.

 

6 x 9 inch – Coffee roses

It was fun to try something different. Painting with one color forced me to focus on value and shape, that’s a good thing.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. With all of this coffee talk, I’m ready sit back and enjoy a nice hot cup to drink.

Until next time, share a smile and shine on.

Patty Anne 💙

follow me on Instagram @pattyanneart

Patty Anne Art

Lavender watercolor revisited

Another lavender watercolor to share with you today.

Happy Sunday, friends! 😊💜

 

9 x 12 inch Lavender Bliss

Wet on wet technique with a limited color palette:

Daniel Smith Cobalt Teal Blue, French Ultramarine, and Quinacridone Rose

Brushes used:  Round 14, Round 12, and Liner 2

Oh how I love these colors together. I was able to get a nice range of purples by mixing my own. I think the variety adds some interest and it just makes me happy.

Color mixing tip: French Ultramarine and Quinacridone Rose were used to mix different shades of purple. It’s as simple as changing the amount of each color to create a nice variety.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do what you love. Thank you for stopping by and following me on this creative journey. Until next time, share a smile and have a great week.

Happy Painting! 💜

Patty Anne

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Patty Anne Art

Barn owl watercolor

I’ve been working on painting a barn owl and have a few photos to show how it all came together.

Happy Sunday, friends! 😊

I started off with a simple sketch. It is important that the big shapes are positioned correctly and that your proportions look good.  No detail is needed at this point, just light lines to serve as a guide.

Next I added a few small ink details with a Micron pen. The eyes are very dark so I like to use a pen to outline them to get the shape set before putting down any paint.

 

I used Daniel Smith watercolors for my owl. I started out by wetting the paper in sections and dropping in color allowing it to mix and mingle on right on the paper.

 

The first wash of quinacridone gold, yellow ochre, and burnt sienna. It doesn’t look good at this point but it gets better with each wash.

 

The second wash with more definition. Things are now starting to take shape. I’m not sure why this photo has a rosy glow but hopefully that’s not a distraction.

 

Barn owl – 9 x 12 inch Stillman & Birn beta sketchbook

The final wash added even more detail and deeper color. I love watching the transformation with this type of post. I hope you enjoyed it as well.

For me this post reinforces the importance of three washes and that getting the eyes dark enough makes a big difference.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do what you love. Art is for everyone, keep painting, creating, and having fun!

Until next time, share a smile and have a great week!

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

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Patty Anne Art

Backyard Tufted Titmouse

The Tufted Titmouse is a regular visitor at my backyard feeder. I love to photograph and paint this little guy. Today I have a few backyard birdies to share with you.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday! 😊

Tufted Titmouse – 9 x 12 inch bee watercolor paper

A quick sketch with a Micron pen and watercolor. I love this simple line and wash style. Splashing paint around at the end adds a little movement and fun. 😀

Watercolor tips:

• a few light washes to build up color always works well
• leave a few white spots here and there to add a little sparkle

 

A few inspiration photos from the backyard feeder.

A visit last Spring perched above the feeder

 

and a little rest on a nearby branch… ❤️

 

A recent visit with Autumn colors in the background.

I hope you are inspired to create art and do what you love. If you would like to receive notifications of new posts, simply click the follow button. I would love to have you follow me on this creative journey.

Until next time, share a smile and have a great week!

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

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Patty Anne Art

Painting the garden

A little painting inspiration from last summer.

Happy Thursday, friends! 🌼 😊

Black-eyed Susans – July 2018

It’s always good to practice and play. Learning what works and what doesn’t with watercolor takes time and a lot of practice. Allow time to experiment and observe, no need to fuss, just play.

A few notes on my little flower practice below:

I used a round #12 brush (and a #6 for some of the smaller petals).

1 – add a round puddle of color for the flower center

2 – add simple petals around the damp center

3 – add a drop of water in the center of the damp flower and allow it to bleed out into the petals

4 – add a little water to the edge of a few petals and allow the damp color to soften and bleed out

 

Center: Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Burnt Sienna
Petals: Cadmium Yellow, Hansa Yellow Dark

Below I tried a darker center with lighter petals.

There are so many options…just have fun!

Center: Sepia, Burnt Sienna
Petals: Hansa Yellow light, Yellow ochre

My watercolor painting of Black-eyed Susans reminds me of summer. 🌞

Summer Flowers – 9 x 12 inch Bee watercolor paper

I hope you are inspired to create and have fun. If you would like to receive notifications of new posts, simply click the follow button. I would love to have you join me on this creative journey.

Until next time, share a smile and have a great week.

Happy Painting! 💛

Patty Anne

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Patty Anne Art

Painting butterflies

I have been painting butterflies inspired by Jean Haines. I absolutely love her loose free style of watercolor painting. I found that with just a few simple steps you can paint a little butterfly.

Happy Sunday!

Steps to paint a butterfly:

1. Using a liner #2 brush and a black brown mix, add a small round head. Then just below that, add a line of dots for the body getting smaller as you near the bottom.
2. Outline the top of the wing with a deep color and then use a little clean water to smooth it out.
3. Next to the midsection of the body, add paint with the side of your brush and pull it out away from the body. Continue this on both sides and build up the color.
4. Add more color to the head and wings as needed.

Special notes:

• Allow the paint from the body to touch the wet paint of the wings. Remember that the mix and mingle is where the watercolor magic happens. 🙂
• Be careful to not overwork your butterfly, less is more here.

 

It is always fun to play with different shapes and colors. My favorite butterflies here ended up being the ones in the middle where I left part of the wings unpainted. It feels like they are moving across the page. 🦋

 

Trying to put it all together with a little painting of a flower and butterfly.

Butterfly dreams painted on Bee watercolor paper

I hope you enjoyed this little butterfly practice and are inspired to pick up a paint brush and create art. Thank you for stopping by and following along. Until next time, I hope you have a great week and shine on!

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

follow me on Instagram

PattyAnneArt

 

Lavender and bees

A little more practice painting flowers and bees.

Happy Sunday!

Lavender Days 9 x 12 inch Bee watercolor paper

A loose and simple lavender painting adding a few little bumbles. As I painted the lavender I left a few places to drop in my little bees. They were painted using the 4 simple steps from my previous post, Painting bees.

I love painting and creating, it is such a joy to share my art with all of you. Thank you for stopping by and following me on this journey. All of your kindness and encouragement means the world to me. 💜

I hope you have great week and do something fun. 😊

Happy Painting!

Patty Anne

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PattyAnneArt