Doodlewash by Annie Parsons
Featured Artists

GUEST ARTIST: “Annie Draws Things” by Annie Parsons

Written by Charlie O'Shields

Hello there! My name is Annie Parsons, and I’m from Virginia. You can follow me over at Annie Draws Things on WordPress!

Doodlewash by Annie ParsonsI once read somewhere that artists are just children who never stopped drawing. That’s definitely true of me. Like most kids, I scribbled all over everything I could get my hands on, including our walls, books, and furniture (sorry, mom). Being the awesome people that they are, my parents encouraged my love of drawing in every way possible. We travelled a lot when I was growing up, and we found a museum of some description in virtually every place we visited. Every so often I would take a sketchbook along and doodle away while my family waited patiently for me.

Though I’ve taken one or two classes in the past, I’m mainly self-taught thanks to amazing books and internet resources. Clothes and characters are some of my favorite things to draw, and I’ve dabbled a little in costume design. I love creating characters and putting a person that had only existed in my brain out on paper. Movies, TV, and books are always providing new ideas (especially period dramas, I’m a huge history nerd). Doodlewash by Annie Parsons

I tend to get distracted by clothes whenever I’m watching TV or out shopping. Costumes tell so much about a character’s mind while being beautiful and fun at the same time (or sometimes you just see Shirley MacLaine in a floor-length pink fur coat and you know that you have to draw that insanity RIGHT NOW).

Doodlewash by Annie ParsonsWatercolors came into my life a little over a year ago when I got some watercolor supplies for Christmas, and I fell head over heels for it. I can be impatient about a lot of things, so using watercolors has given me that little bit of instant gratification while also teaching me to slow down, relax, and enjoy the process. As I have experimented with watercolor I’ve also been painting landscapes and other subjects more regularly.

The bright, unpredictable nature of watercolor enables me to let loose, accept mistakes, and capture a moment or detail that caught my eye. Pinterest is a huge source of inspiration for me in this area. Sometimes I see a photo while scrolling along and I know I have to paint it. I’m blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, so one of my big goals this year is to get outside and draw on location more often.

Doodlewash by Annie ParsonsMy supply kit is pretty simple. For ink sketching, I usually use Sakura’s Pigma Micron pens. My paints are Sakura’s Koi Water Color Pocket Field Sketch Box (so vibrant and easy to use, they’re easily my favorite part of my art supply arsenal). I also love Prismacolor’s Watercolor Pencils. I have a few brushes, but the ones I keep coming back to are Pentel’s Medium Fine Point Water Brush and the water brush that came with my paints, because they’re just so darn convenient. As I get more comfortable with ink and watercolor, I’m using pencil less and less, but when I have something complicated that I want to sketch out first I use the uni-ball KuruToga Mechanical Pencil.

Up until this point, art has been my private hobby, something I rarely shared with people outside my close family and friends. My New Year’s resolution for 2016 is to be more courageous about sharing my art. Considering the fact that you’re reading this, I guess it’s going pretty well so far. I definitely have a lot still to learn, so I’m really excited to connect with other artists, share my adventures, and find new ways to keep doing what I love.

Thank you so much for reading! Get out there and have a fantastic day.

Annie Parsons
Annie Draws Things

Charlie O'Shields

Creator of Doodlewash, founder of World Watercolor Month (July), World Watercolor Group, and host of the Sketching Stuff Podcast. Sharing watercolor illustrations and stories while proudly featuring talented artists from all over the world!

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29 thoughts on “GUEST ARTIST: “Annie Draws Things” by Annie Parsons”

  9. I like your style, Annie! 🙂 I love your bright colors and characters – I’m now following your blog! I love your stacked cups. I did something similar recently with collage. Thanks Charlie for sharing Annie’s talents with us! 🙂

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  14. Annie, your work is wonderful! Please keep sharing – it’s really a delight to see what you’ve been doing. I’m also really encouraged by your post – I received the same Koi watercolor set for Solstice this year, and have been starting to dabble with it some. I’m excited to see what amazing things you’ve been able to do with it. Gives me a little hope…I’ve been using mostly brushpens and actual paint is a little intimidating to me so far. But this is very inspiring! I really love how much personality your people have – that’s something I really strive for, and you’ve got it nailed!

    Charlie, thanks again for a wonderful post. It’s so great that you’ve created such a great forum of different artists here!

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