Landscapes

Painting Sunny and Cloudy Skies

| Patricia

“The sky, a perfect empty canvas, offers clouds nonetheless. The shift and drift and beg interpretation. Such in the nature of art.” ~ Jeb Dickerson

Explore light, color and movement in cloud studies inspired by those of John Constable.

Artists Network has a good tutorial on painting skies from Maria Baggetta. Take a look and consider a membership. I’ve been a member for a couple years and, even as a seasoned artist, I constantly find interesting information and techniques to explore. Click the image below to read the article.

7 Tips for Painting Sunny and Stormy Skies

by Marla Baggetta

All artwork and writing is Copyright of the artist/author.

Notes App SKETCH – Skyscape

| Patricia

“The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

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 offered 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 exercise has been an effort to show that all the bells and whistles contained in dedicated paint applications are not always needed to create something interesting where there was nothing before.

If you try this experiment, sketching in the Notes app with its in-app 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.

excellent guide to pen and wash painting

| Patricia

“Anyone who stops learning is old. Whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” ~ Henry Ford

Pen and Wash, an artist‘s guide to combining ink and watercolour by John Harrison.

I recently purchased John Harrison’s excellent book: PEN and WASH – an artist’s guide to combining ink and watercolour.

Though I have worked in these mediums for years, I believe that we can always learn new techniques or ways of looking at creating, from others.

Like Mr. Harrison, I was also a graphic designer, and found that my design was influenced by the knowledge of scale and placement that I learned studying fine art. Check out this excellent guide: https://drawninyorkshire.com/pen-and-washthe-book/

The book is also available on Amazon and as Kindle and Kobo downloads.



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.

‘EYE SEA’ – A Wee play on words

| Patricia

“Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.” ~ Wayne Dyer

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 offered 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 exercise has been an effort to show that all the bells and whistles contained in dedicated paint applications are not always needed to create something interesting where there was nothing before. This piece is one of a number of works created for use as a greeting card series.

If you try this experiment, sketching in the Notes app with its in-app 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.

Drawing in the Apple Notes App

| Patricia

“A drawing is simply a line going for a walk.” ~ Paul Klee

The chronic arthritis in my arms and hands can complicate the making of art. On days when it is particularly problematic, I often draw on my iPad Pro in apps such as Procreate, Adobe Fresco and other dedicated painting apps. Lately, however, I have been enjoying the simplicity of the Apple Notes app drawing tools as a vehicle for creativity. I generally use the Apple Pencil for navigating around the tablet to cause less stress on my hands. If the sleeping iPad screen is awakened with an Apple Pencil, it will open Apple Notes with a drawing page open with the tools available (I also open a Quick Note by using a gesture from the bottom right into the centre. See more info here). In this drawing I primarily used the watercolour and ink pen brushes. Give it a try and post a link to your drawing in the comments.

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.

Paint Like CÉZANNE

| Patricia

Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one’s sensations.”
– Paul Cezanne

Over the past months I have been reacquainting myself with many of the master artists of the past. Most of them came from traditional roots and many were ridiculed when they broke with tradition to explore other ways of looking at and depicting a subject. They are also the artists we revere the most all these generations later.

This is my quick study, working title ‘Paint Like Cézanne’

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 Eco-Conscious Studio: Tiny 2” x 3.5” Acrylic Seascape

| Patricia

“Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known..” ~ Carl Sagan 

I have become more conscious of what I throw into the garbage and look for opportunities to repurpose found items when creating art. So, when cleaning out some office papers recently, and finding a bunch of business cards mounted on magnetic backing, plus having recently re-read The Big Book of Tiny Art by Karen Libecap, my art material hoarder brain said “hey, these would be cool for miniature paintings”. Two coats of gesso and a limited palette of acrylic tube paints and this little 2”x 3.5” seascape popped off my brush.


BELOW: When finishing a piece, I generally use up any paint left on my palette to make a number of textured washes that I use as bases to start new paintings, or for collagés. Some I scan and import into digital drawing apps to use as a starting point for digital works. Below are a couple quick texture sheets made from palette left overs of this tiny painting.This is just one small way of limiting the waste that goes into landfill.

Red Apple BG Wash
Blue Cloidscape Texture

Artwork Copyright Patricia White 2023.

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

COLOURED PENCIL LANDSCAPE Work-in-Progress, February15, 2023

| Patricia

“Memory is the fourth dimension to any landscape.” ~ Janet Fitch, American Author

Coloured Pencil Landscape WIP February 15, 2023

Took a break from doing techie work to cleanse my tired brain. It felt like recess! 😉

This is just a quick little coloured pencil sketch of an imagined landscape. These small works stretch the boundaries of possibility for subject matter as well as the capability and limits of chosen materials. This sketch experiments with complementary color combinations. These small sketches often serve to develop concepts for a larger works.

Materials used include Faber-Castell soft pastels and Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils on Strathmore drawing pad, 5.5” x 8.5”.

Artwork Copyright Patricia White 2023.