Daily Painting

Multiple media: A world of Hurt in those eyes

| Patricia

“The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.”
~ St. Jerome

A World of Hurt in Those Eyes - Multiple mediums.

Today I combined my DAILY SKETCH with a bit of CREATIVE WRITING, a paragraph I jotted down for a story I’m writing.

SCENE: Madeleine is taking a walk up the main street of her town, trying to come to grips with the fact that her best friend, has just died under mysterious circumstances.

Madeleine was looking at her reflection in a store window, and momentarily wondered who that old woman staring back at her might be. “Oh, dear” she murmured. “I almost didn’t recognize myself” she thought. “Then again”, she realized “there’s something about the eyes”. Madeleine was right. There was a world of hurt in those eyes. An untold story of pain and loneliness, betrayal and despair; a lifetime of dreams put on the shelf for another day. A day that never came.” Multiple mediums were used to draw this sketch. It was then scanned and enhanced digitally.

Artwork Copyright Patricia White, March-11-2023.

‘I’m Still Here’—an illustration in recognition of International Women’s Day 2023

| Patricia

“It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” ~ Madeleine Albright

March 8, 2023: – ‘I’M STILL HERE’, an illustration. A woman, seemingly cobbled together from disparate parts, to become a whole person, seems appropriate to recognize INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, a global day to celebrate women’s social, economic, cultural and political achievements.

While there is some way to go, today marks a time to raise awareness of the progress made toward achieving true gender equality and the work still to be done.

The beginnings of International Women’s Day can be traced back to the early twentieth century. Emerging from the labour movements in Europe and North America, reflecting a call for women’s equal participation in society. International Women’s Day first took place on March 19, 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, when over a million women and men attended public events to show their support.

Other countries began to celebrate this day, with the United Nations recognizing 1975 as International Women’s Year; celebrating March 8 as International Women’s Day—a day of unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy, and action and is celebrated in many countries worldwide. https:// www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day

Artwork Copyright ©️ Patricia White 2022

Art Books: One Drawing a Day – A 6-week Course

| Patricia

“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow.”
~ Kurt Vonnegut

Years ago I purchased Veronica Lawlor’s book, One Drawing a Day – A 6-Week Course Exploring Creativity with Illustration and Mixed Media. Coming across it again recently, I thought it would be a good addition to my current daily art-making regimen.

The author opens her book with this quote:

“The important thing is to do,
and nothing else; be what it may.”
~ Pablo Picasso

Thinking about Picasso’s statement, I felt an easing of the grip of creative block that’s been haunting me for months. It’s not what I make that is the most important consideration. It is the action of creating, even something I might consider sub-par, that is at the heart of any habit we want to establish.

As Andy Warhol said, “Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”

Angry Sky: Splashing Around with W&N, February 28, 2023

| Patricia

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” ~ Pablo Picasso

This is a quick watercolour sketch of a seascape, painted with a small travel set of Cotman Winsor & Newton watercolour half cakes. Testing a new watercolour paper to see how the paint flows, absorption, etc. I found the 90 lb. cold press stock too thin to stand up to the reasonably light wet-in-wet application in the sky area but handled the flowing liner brush strokes on slightly damp paper on the bottom half of the painting quite well. The paper was quite absorbent, grabbing the paint in some areas before edges could be softened.


These quick watercolour sketches, using a familiar subject I paint regularly, help me concentrate on the materials rather than the subject. I find that doing quick smaller sketches helps embed a sort of painting ‘muscle memory’ that gets easier the more often we ‘exercise’ it. While the travel set is great for tucking in your pocket for small on-the-road sketches, I still prefer using tube paint in studio.

Artwork Copyright Patricia White 2023

Ink and wash Apple

| Patricia

“There never was an apple, in Adam’s opinion, that wasn’t worth the trouble you got into for eating it.” ~ Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Sometimes I sketch concepts on my iPad when an idea occurs and I want to get it down quickly or don’t feel like dealing with the mess of using analogue materials. I often tap the tablet’s screen when holding my Apple Pencil and it opens an Apple Notes page with the drawing tools panel open. Most times I take this as an unplanned opportunity to relax for a few moments and jot down some concept, scribble down an idea or draw a random object. I’ve drawn and painted a ton of apples these past months and this time I tried out Note’s new watercolour tool. I chose red, created a curving swath of ‘paint’ as the background, completing the object with an ink pen line drawing. I then enhanced the watercolour, added some splashes and the cast shadow.

Artwork Copyright Patricia White 2023.

Cloudscape: February 13, 2023

| Patricia

Cloudscape February 13, 2023

“When I do not walk in the clouds I walk as though I were lost.” ~ Antonio Porchia


DAILY PAINTING: Today it’s a quick cloudscape, this time with a bright colour space that brings an aqua-green into the mix.

Really enjoy these quick sketches that encompass movement, stretching the boundaries of possibility, taking my imagination to more expansive places.

Artwork Copyright Patricia White 2023.


Tree Sketch 2-12-23

| Patricia

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” ~ Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass

Lately I’ve been on a tree-drawing binge. This tree concept framework is based on some of my vintage pastels (see thumbnail below) worked in a style that I want to revitalize. I’ll build on this concept with various mediums going forward.


Art copyright Patricia White 2023.

Scribble Ornament Sketch FEBRUARY 1, 2023

| Patricia

“When I was a kid, my sisters and I used to get a little present in our stocking each day of December, usually an ornament, some sweets, or a little toy.” ~ Birgitte Hjort Sorensen, Danish Actress

This is just a wee scribble that turned into a hanging ornament. My mother used to gift me and my sisters an ornament every Christmas with the year written on it. It is one of the things I miss now that mom and dad are no longer with us.

Artwork Copyright Patricia White 2023.

Spotty Tree – January 31, 2023

| Patricia

“Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”  ~ Kahlil Gibran 

My interest in sketching trees was ‘twigged’ when I recently unearthed an old oil painting of a tree from a storage closet in my studio, and went on a tree drawing spree. This is Spotty Tree, drawn January 31, 2023.

This is the vintage painting that spurred this theme. Painted in 1972. Artwork Copyright Patricia White 2023.