This Sketchbook Changed My Life! 📕 

I paint paint in watercolor painting is my meditation and I relax I forget my pain

Such a gorgeous progress… u went through so many hit and miss and with that knowledge you have became and incredible artist and teacher ❤

Geez! I'd kill to be able to do the paintings you called failures! Serious talent, Anna! Thank you for sharing.

I think an hisbiscus would look lovely with the green bird

You are such an incredibly, talented artist. I am always in awe watching your videos. Your attention to color harmony, blending skills, the intricate details, it is all completely mind blowing. Thank you for sharing your sketchbook journey and your wealth of artistic knowledge on RU-vid, it is greatly appreciated!

That was a fascinating autobiography. The folk art influences are apparent now. I love the Ukrainian folk art and you've inspired me to have a go at Hungarian folk art which is my heritage and similar in many ways. The indian picture you did for your friend Deepak was also very beautiful and I hope you do something like that on your Patreon at some point.

Thank you for sharing your AMAZING journey. Your work is stunning and I so enjoy watching and learning from you. Blessings dear Anna!

Anna, I just found you and am SO very happy I did!! Your art is INCREDIBLE and your videos, I have to confess I have only watched 3 so far, are an absolute joy to watch. So inspiring! I am still a beginner and I cannot tell you how helpful and informative they have been, so far 😊 I am a proud Canadian and to see your beautiful art depicted on our on our money just blew me away. Wow, Anna!! I look forward to watching all of your videos 👏🤗❤️🇨🇦

Everything you paint is stunning to me! You are so incredibly skilled and gifted and such an inspiration. I so enjoyed seeing your sketchbook and hearing about your journey. Thank you so much Anna.💜🙏

Im so grateful you shared this book and your beginning as a watercolor artist and illustrator. Im still struggling with this, as when I started working with my first author she demanded watercolor, a medium I was trying to avoid. Im so happy I overcame that part of my journey with watercolor but I feel perfecting the medium is so far away. Ive only been doing this medium a year and a half. Now Im working with three authors, doing different things, like wall art and poetry and now my first book about a purple dragon and a girl who lost her mom. You were my very first inspiration with watercolor, mostly because of your calm demeanor and your thorough explanation of your own journey and work. Much love to you, Anna! ❤

Just love, love your use of colour - so creative ❤

Wow, your work is absolutely gorgeous, Anna! Watching your process is so inspiring. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.

Really enjoy your artwork Anna. Your compositions and colors combinations are wonderful. Thanks for the effort you put in to provide these videos!

What a fabulous way to share your journey with us. ThanI you. Your opening statements really hit home for me. I must repeat them in my head or write them down and post over my desk! I love your vibrant colour style and the mix of creature and plants… very inspiring. And yes, practice practice practice… but love the journey along the way. Now running to my studio to go play with a fish! What fun!

Hi. I am new to your channel. I particularly enjoyed the fish and bird painting. To me, it was a great combination for quite personal reasons. As a beginner, I love your art and your honesty about your journey.

Thank you for sharing this, it is great to see your progress. Beautiful paintings!

Thank you for sharing ❤ this is so inspiring

Thank you for this, Anna. Your work is beautiful.

Thank you so much for sharing so many details of your life with us, Anna! It's amazing to see how you've progressed over the years. I'm going to watch a few more of your videos before I break in my paint set and begin my own watercolor journey. Thanks for the inspiration!

Stunning! You are so talented.

What an incredible journey. I'm left very inspired. I love how you kept it clean and cohesive. Such a relaxing sketchbook tour. Thank you for sharing it with us.

This was so lovely to watch, Anna. I hope you’re doing well! 💜

I really enjoyed seeing your work progress over the years. I hope things are going well for you. ❤

Thank you for sharing your beautiful journey. I love the embellished elephant in your sketchbook!

The most beautiful watercolor art I ever seen , just gorgeous 💞

Absolutely beautiful!

Wow, thanks for sharing your journey!

Thank you so much for showing us your awesome sketch book! Anna, I have to say the paintings you did in your book are so amazing. I really love how you painted different fish and flowers. It’s absolutely amazing and makes me dream of painting like this some day! As for asking which flower would look good with the little green bird, I was thinking of sunflowers. I have enjoyed your video tremendously!❤ Thanks again!

So inspiring ❤ I simply adore your style of art. Thanks for sharing :)

I absolutely love your flowers and fish!

Wow !!Stunning painting ♥️♥️♥️

Stunning artwork is absolutely beautiful. This is great progress! I hope this benefits numerous artists.😍☺

I am always so amazed when I see someone's watercolor book and every page is flat and all the edges are smooth and paint free and there were no strange blotches around the painting mine is kind of a mess

Wow these paintings are so gorgeous 🥰 I have ever seen you are such a great artist 😊

Beautiful work Anna, indeed! To all the new artists embarking on their watercolor journey: it’s NORMAL for your first sketchbook to NOT look anything like this. To not have every image on every page perfect and/or fantastic. In fact, it’s normal to have a first sketchbook (and eventual next sketchbooks) full of pages with just brush strokes of your color mixing testing, or the most basic exercises with brush strokes! Or maybe it’s got plenty of basic pencil sketches of painting ideas. Notes on the tricks & tips you’ve learned peppered throughout. Notes on top of the painting, even! To have images like flowers and animals that will make you cringe to look at now (and in the future), but getting better with each try. That’s NORMAL sketchbook’ing when you’re learning. It’s normal when you’ve been painting 20 years! Your sketchbook is your private, immersive, explorative work. Never give up because the images in your private sketchbook aren’t perfect enough to show others. It’s like a diary, just for you. So just keep practicing! Fill those sketchbooks up! And please please please don’t be distressed that they don’t look like this. My pro-tip: simply be sure to buy sketchbooks of quality paper like Strathmore 400 series, Canson, Hahnemühle!

Randomly RU-vid recommend this video and This is the first video which ever i saw from your RU-vid channel, first 37 seconds is enough to subscribe your channel and how talented you are. I am wishing may all your dreams come true.

Wow, thank you for sharing your journey! Truly helpful to me in this process, especially when I feel like a failure and want to quit!

So much great advice! Thank you. ❤️ I agree that art making is very healing and meditative. I'm in the early days of my watercolour journey and interested to explore my Irish ancestry through my art. Thanks for your inspiring guidance!

Thank you for sharing your journey your work is stunning I love to watch your video and Learn from you thanks again.

Thank you so much Anna!❤️ I appreciate you sharing your past struggles and successes with us! You are such an inspiration you have the most amazing colors and style! I am currently making my own sketchbook by sewing a Coptic stitch on folded Arches paper! It’s hard to find a 100% cotton watercolor paper sketchbook and when you do the price is astronomical! I saved so much money by doing it myself and I’m so excited to begin painting in it! Thank you for all your tips and tricks! Hugs!❤️

The art work you showed in your sketchbook with the flowers and fish remind me of the pictures they put on the front of the Soft Soap hand soap bottles.They are beautiful and def need to be displayed on something so more people can enjoy your work.Thank you for posting

Really loved and enjoyed watching your video and truly loved your paintings and yes I thick you should try painting that green bird with either a lotus or a hibiscus flower it would look great 👍

Wow!! Your love of art is amazing and I love all your pages! For the green bird, I say an Iris flower

Your work is amazing. You are so gifted,a natural talent,so amazing! Thank you for sharing your work with us.

Thank you for sharing your sketchbook journey. I felt so inspired, and just was oooh-ing at your pieces. Very beautiful 🤍🙏🏼

You are a great teacher and an amazing artist. Thank you for these thoughtful videos.

Thank you for sharing your artistic journey with us. I'm happy you are doing well. Each of our journeys is unique, and we all have successes amidst challenges, and I find it helpful when we share our experiences with each other because it helps to know that no one's journey goes smoothly all of the time. I admire your work so much and I appreciate your teaching style. I learn so much. Be well Anna and I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful work.

This was fun and very helpful. Seeing an accomplished artist's early works is a good reminder that we all go through a learning process and that practice is needed :). Hope all is well with you. ps...got my Chronos brush and I LOVE it. Waiting for a brush sale at Jackson to get others :)

Thank you for sharing your beautiful process, Anna! I feel such guidance, inspiration, and companionship in your celebration of experimentation and love of process and practice 🙏

Absolutely in love!!!! 🥰🥰🥰

Beautiful work!

Great to see you back on here, Anna! Hope you actually are better and don't just feel pressured to deliver content... Very nice, interesting video. Take care!

Very beautiful works!

Just amazing advice, thank you Anna! Your paintings are just magical, and inspiring...I'm going to buy a sketchbook today 😂❤

I recently found your channel and was mesmerised by your paintings and the style you have developed - it is beautiful. Your sketchbook paintings were something to behold - I have several sketchbooks as you described - I will now attempt something similar in my new sketchbook following your patreon tutorials - thank you Anna your work is awesome.

Lovely paintings…your art is amazing.

These is so beautiful...

I appreciate hearing how your thinking progressed over time. Deeply understanding art-especially- watercolor is a major challenge. I just keep learning.

Thank you ❤️ that was most enjoyable and interesting 😍

What a lovely journey so glad to know you are doing well

Such beautiful work thank you!

Very interesting! Great works!

Thank you for sharing it with us. You inspired me to work farther.♥

This is so beautiful and cute 😍

Hi, your work is beautiful. So unique. Love the fact so much colour in each piece. Have subscribed so can see more of your work 💕

very pretty artwork

You are my inspiration... I gave up drawing and painting 15 years back when I joined a high profile job. Your videos gave me the courage to buy a sketch book, paints and brushes again. I am enjoying every painting I do. I am still learning and working on my style... A long way to go... But I am happy , and life in general seems to be better now. Thank you.

Your sketchbook is beautiful.

Thanks so much for all the inspiration. I love your sketchbook, amazing! I would say a lotus flower or a water lily would go well with your fish composition. I think it will be awesome. I love the lotus flower. You are such amazing teacher master artist. Blessings and take care.❤❤❤

I love my ink creations. I filled 3 sketchbooks before I tried watercolor, which Istruggle with. I recently bought watercolor crayons but the switch to a different form still frustrates me. Kudos to your success!

I'm so happy to have stumbled across this channel. Look forward to lots more.

*art is one on my sanity therapies...as is writing and just being outside especially in the mountains and away from all sounds of technology*

0:34 Aaa that Asian green bee-eater is so pretty!! May your love for watercolor and illustration be with you for you entire life!! When I started drawing, i was also concerned about what people would think, but now I just draw birds and fill pages no matter what people think. I think art is a way to express yourself w/o words so drawing what you like to draw matters! I feel like some exotic red flowers would work well with a green bee-eater (idk i just like to dump red flowers with green birds soo yeah)

So, soo, soooo schön !!!!

I love this journal flip-through! I think some hollyhocks would be precious with the little green bird 😊

Dear Anna: What a beautiful and inspiring "journey" to have taken in watching this video. Artists have always learned and received inspiration from other artists. The greats had learned from the greats. As an artist, I need and crave, seeing other artists' work. If seeing your work can be compared to a meal, I can honestly say that I feel artistically inspired and so well-fed. Thank you for your artistic contributions!

Without words

Thank you for sharing your amazing illustrations and advice about creative block. As I was listening from 1:23 & 1:44, I realized I have the same problem until now and I think it is also the reason why I still use one reference when creating artwork and not trying to challenge myself by using multiple reference, thus thank you for the advice. It is amazing and inspiring to see the progress of your artworks.

I admire your humility❤

Commenting after 123 comments.💓🎃 - today I was sitting at my supplies and sketchbooks, feeling bad , frustrated even, for wanting to explore more of the mediums I have at home through buying more sketchbooks( I’ve run out of space & have some as specific personal progress projects). The message I received from this is that it’s ok to let yourself follow some of those awkward feelings - both lessons and new beginnings for creative flow are waiting on the other side. It’s ok to express yourself in the way you are guided to. Thank you on the tip to create different versions of an art piece, it was very comforting to hear the encouragement. ✨💐🪴

Wisteria with the little green bird! :)

Your work is absolutely beautiful. I love the combination of animal and flowers and the colors, wow they are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

You are a Winner- you kept on going- experimenting- you didn't give up- WELL DONE your success

Your work is breathtaking! How do u make your pieces so detailed? I love detailed images but for some reason cannot seem to bring it over into my work. I cannot wait to see what else you create ✨️

Thanks Anna. Super inspiring.

flowers to go with the green bird: belles of ireland, dill, black tulips, purple hyssop, purple crocus, or black hollyhocks...love your style! good idea to try a concept in different styles...thank you for sharing in detail

What an amazing journey. I hope I can find my style one day.

Just gorgeous =) I wish i had a 10th of yer talent wow... just wow.

The Magical Sketchbook 😍

Hiya Anna, Thanks very much for another lovely video and fascinating history of your art. I hope that you are feeling better. Take care, David. XX

Amaaaazing!💓

Flower with the green bee eater… since you like blue and red ( primaries) together, how about another secondary like orange or violet with it? Maybe a smooth petal flower to contrast with feathers? Orchid or Passion flower??? Nasturtiums? Happy painting, and thanks for all of your super clear wonderful tutorials.

Amazing!

Thank you so much. It's like walking through a candy store ❤ (Have you posted on Etsy yet?) ❤❤

OK, I'm going to make myself a sketchbook of my best watercolor paper (I have one of the hole punches that uses the spiral binding). I buy watercolor paper in the large sheets and cut them. However, I've had some pretty good results from a non-cotton paper, the Strathmore 400 series. I LOVE your videos; you were the one who inspired me to join Skillshare. I pray for your health; my sister was just diagnosed with melanoma, so it's scary for our whole family. Thank you for your excellent teaching. Oh, I'm still subscribed to your Patreon and am looking forward to when you pick it up again.

Me again Anna, firstly even though you didn't have the confidence I think you have succeeded 1...because you are an amazing artist and 2...because your work is different. I have always gone through my later adult life with the belief "I don't care what other people think!!". I tell my grand daughters the same thing. Don't compare your work to others. I am finding the artists who take the plunge and teach themselves are the most successful. I know many people rave about going to uni' and doing art courses, 'following in the footsteps of the masters etc' but personally I do not tolerate people telling me what I should be doing or how I should be doing it as is the case in art school etc. Of course I'm happy to listen to artists like yourself who have worked out the best way that works for them and I pick up little hints here and there. Mostly I lose myself in watching you or them paint. You told me recently that you have never done fantasy but what is folk art if not that? Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your personal work in your sketchbook. Never be afraid to ask another artist if you can use their work. I have done this several times and twice I have received permission and sometimes people don't even bother to respond.. Another favourite watercolour artist is Australian check out 'Louise De Masi Watercolour' sometime she gives many self learnt hints like you do and also does amazing watercolours.... I think you are both rather similar in that you are hard on yourselves when all we do is sit in awe. Cant wait to see another one of these 'look back type videos. BTW I think fish and flowers go so well together I mean fish in ponds, lilly pads in ponds, frogs peeking out of pitcher plants etc...as i said before "its different" and thankyou for being different Anna, have a great day cheers from West Aust.

that sketch book is like a tatoo design. they are not bad even those fish designs, perfect for tatoos.

Nice artbook. Do you have a sketchbook that you practice in?

Your videos showing your beautiful flowers have encouraged me to learn realistic watercolor flower painting Thank you I like your little red topped white bottom pressure wet brush holder Where can I purchase one I tried Googling pseudo Staples Safety button since that is what it looks like but cannot find it I have been using a clear plastic sugar pack holder and just got some chopstick holders but your red button looks very useful;

Ha! I knew you were from the bigger region. I saw it in your face, your hands and your art. I'm Bulgarian and Ukraine and Bulgaria have a good portion of traditional art that is, distinct of course, but similar.