Experimental Work

EXPERIMENTAL EXERCISE: A LITTLE GLUE INSIDE MY SHOE

| Patricia

“I was reading a book titled The History of Glue – I couldn’t put it down.” ~ Tim Vine, Comedian

In an effort to do something creative every day, I sometimes find ways to experiment with unusual materials. 

After finishing my morning bedside sketch, using coloured pencils, I noticed the pile of multi-coloured pencil shavings from sharpening them and wondered how I might use them in another art exercise.

So, taking a new sheet in my small bedside sketchbook, I dribbled glue on to the flat surface, creating a network of lines encased in an outline of sorts. I then took the pencil shavings and sprinkled them on top of the still tacky glue. I propped the sketchbook up on a basket beside the bed to dry.

Later, I realized that the glue was more runny than I thought, and had dripped off the page. When I put my shoes on, I realized that the glue had dripped into the inside of my Clark’s clogs and was now also all over my socks!

To me this piece could represent a flock of birds or butterflies alighting in a stand of saplings, or maybe wilted flower buds browning on wintry stems. Kind of like a Rorschach test. What do you see?

So, today’s message is don’t mistake your brush cleaning jar for your cup of tea; and watch out for dripping glue into your shoes, LOL. What strange or funny things have happened to you when you are working on a piece?

Art created 2/22/2026.

All artwork and creative writing is Copyright © of Patricia White. No use of this content or concept may be used without the express permission of the artist/author.

Daily Soft Pastel and Pencil Sketch

| Patricia

“In the springtime, the heart regrows hope.” – Angie Weiland-Crosby.”

ART FIX: I, once again, have restarted my practice of daily experimental art-making. Sketching, collage, writing, anything to drag the ideas out of my head and on to paper.

Journals for creative writing as well as to make notes for art-making. A tiny sketch pad and a small basket of writing, drawing and painting materials close to hand.

This is a quick little soft pastel and pencil sketch, exploring texture and colour combinations.

Grabbed colours randomly, without thinking about how they might work together. Not sure how successful this combination was but it will form part of my colour catalogue to inform choices for future works.

Practicing a total spur-of-the-moment, don’t-think-just-do, creating.

Drawn 2/6/2026.

What practices do you use to create when the spirit is not moving you?




All artwork and creative writing is Copyright ©️ of Patricia White. No use of this content or concept may be used without the express permission of the artist/author.

Rolodex Watercolour washes

| Patricia

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” ~ Pablo Picasso

When I closed down my design business years ago, I had a box of blank Rolodex cards in a storage cabinet. As most artists are packrats, I thought , “hmm, maybe I can do something with these”. So they sat for years and then I started trying out watercolour wash combinations on them. Kept in a notebook, these make great colour studies for future works.

I ran across them today and saw that they could be ‘matched up’ to create a kind of segmented landscape work. Here, a skyscape and a foreground.

Where do you find inspiration for art or written works?

All artwork and creative writing is Copyright ©️ of Patricia White. No use of this content or concept may be used without the express permission of the artist/author.

A Little Apple ‘Juice’ Notes Sketch

| Patricia

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” ~ Carl Sagan

A quick daily sketch of an apple with a bit of anticipated juice flowing from the fruit.

Drawn on iPad Pro in the Apple Notes app using the Fountain Pen and Watercolor tools native to the note-taking app.

All artwork and creative writing is Copyright ©️ of Patricia White. No use of this content or concept may be used without the express permission of the artist/author.

The Value of Miniature Sketching

| Patricia

“A day is a miniature eternity.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I try to adhere to a daily practice of creating something—be it a paragraph or two to further a story or verse; a thumbnail sketch, or a quick concept to be used later for a larger work of art. I like the challenge of doing tiny works, making sure they have the same impact and balance as larger pieces.

I found this 2” square seascape in an old sketchbook today. 

I generally list materials used for future reference: In this case, I used Faber-Castell, Grumbacher and Gallery Soft Pastels, plus a few CarbOthello pastel pencils. Created May 24, 2023, 1130am. 


What practices do YOU use to preserve ideas to use for later works?

All artwork and creative writing is Copyright ©️ of Patricia White. No use of this content or concept may be used without the express permission of the artist/author.

L’ORANGE: One of My First Notes App DRAWINGS. created in 2023

| Patricia

“Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.” ~ Wassily Kandinsky

One of my first experimental Notes App Sketches drawn on November 18, 2023. Then exported to Procreate to optimize and add text and outline. Anyone else out there using these note-taking tools for illustrating or other graphic uses? Tell us about it.

L’Orange Notes App Sketch 11-18-2023

Drawing whether using an HB lead pencil, a set of professional watercolours or digitally using an Apple Pencil and iPad, are all valid tools to express creativity. This simple drawing was one of my first sketches using the iPad’s Notes app drawing tools. The basic sketch was then Imported into Procreate, enlarged, digitally optimized and adding text and outline. 


What is your favourite medium? The ‘go-to’ tools you pick up when a spur-of-the-moment idea strikes your creative funny-bone? Pop them into the comments section.


All artwork and creative writing is Copyright ©️ of Patricia White. No use of this content or concept may be used without the express permission of the artist/author.

Drawing is Putting a Line Around An Idea: Henry Matisse

| Patricia

“In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing.” ~Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Post-Impressionist painter.

Work-in-Progress using coloured pencils

I love both of the quotes above. Matisse’s observation that drawing ‘puts a line around an idea’ is spot on. Sometimes getting an idea from the head to the hand is harder than one might think. Other days it flows easy as silk.

The Van Gogh quote speaks to me at a gut level. The advancing osteo arthritis in my shoulders and hands has been an ongoing block over the past few years leading to great stretches of time where I do little drawing and instead concentrate on writing (often using a voice-to-text app). Still I push on because making art is simply part of my DNA.

Drawing is still my all-time favourite way of expressing myself artistically. Whether as a simple HB lead pencil scribble or a more ‘finished’ example, such as the canine eye study shown here. Drawing is the skeleton that underlies all other techniques. It is the base construction. Here, I was demonstrating how sharpening coloured pencils to an extra long point offers a variety of line and shading techniques to the artist—from fine lines to broad shading.

What is your favourite medium? The ‘go-to’ tools you pick up when a spur-of-the-moment idea strikes your creative funny-bone? Pop them into the comments section.

All artwork and creative writing is Copyright ©️ of Patricia White. No use of this content or concept may be used without the express permission of the artist/author.

Quick sketch of painted Posies in a glass vase

| Patricia

“ I paint flowers so they will not die.” ― Frida Kahlo

This quick sketch, painted in 2022, shows how much movement can be produced in a quick rudimentary study. In this case, I created this concept in Procreate, using oil paint brushes. This process makes it easy to quickly get a concept down which can then inform a later, more detailed, work using analogue materials. It’s quick. It’s better for the environment (fewer caustic materials going into landfill). It’s a great way to test positioning various elements on the page, experimenting with how the elements relate to each other as well as testing various ways to place the elements on the canvas (I’d move the main elements a bit to the right, tho not centred, in the next iteration).



All artwork and creative writing is Copyright ©️ of Patricia White. No use of this content or concept may be used without the express permission of the artist/author.

The Great Orb

| Patricia

“As the great orb hovered above the land, it felt sadness. It was time to depart this place, this existence. To move on where others need its presence. “Peace be to all living beings who inhabit this space. May your way forward be a gentle journey.” ~ Patricia White

I often write a paragraph or two as a story idea reflecting my Daily Notes app sketch.

Above is an excerpt from the The Great Orb work-in-progress:

This Daily Drawing is part of a recent series of posts showing work that was created in the Apple Notes App (essentially a writing app) using just the basic drawing tools within the text-based app. The basic art is sometimes resized and enhanced in Procreate 5  on my 12.9” iPad Pro. Over the past year or so I have experimented with simple drawings made with these rudimentary drawing tools iPad Pro using a second-generation Apple Pencil as my sketching pencil, ink pen and paint brush. 

This drawing exercise has been an effort to show that all the bells and whistles contained in dedicated paint applications are not always needed to create interesting art. If you try the experiment of sketching in the Notes app with its in-app drawing tools, please post a link to your work in the comment section.

All artwork and creative writing is Copyright ©️ of Patricia White. No use of this content or concept may be used without the express permission of the artist/author.