One last pear. Well not forever, they are too much fun.
I started a series of three postcards, which I will be submitting for an art exhibition and swap. I had planned to use those abstracts, but then decided to carefully re-read the instructions. There is a theme. Don’t know how I spaced that out. I was going to use the first card as my painting for today, but I used salt, and the drying time squashed that idea.
Leslie (the host of this challenge) mentioned the other day, that she hoped we had learned a lot from this daily exercise. And at that time, I was a little unsure about what I could say I have learned. But with this one rustic little pear, I realize I have learned quite a lot. That is not to say that I have perfected any of it. But I have made progress.
This is not a pretty pear. But there are some pear varieties that are not really “pretty”. I was going to find a photo to show you. What I found is that I actually painted a perfect version of a Forelle (for-ELL-ee) pear.
Spotted Pear. 4 x 6 postcard. Watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado 2013
Serendipity doodle do! I Googled for pear facts before, but this never came up… bizarro!
(Oh and did you know that ungoogleable is a real word?)
I know there is a Chinese proverb that says something about finding what we need when we need it. Or what we need finds us when we need it. Sorry, it is 2 am and I might be a zombie right now. I will have to search for that later, but I am sure you know what I am talking about. And if you do, and you leave a comment with the proper saying, I would be eternally grateful. One of those things that will gnaw at me until I find it.
Now that I found a photo of a Forelle, I feel good about showing you my rustic little pear.
Get to the point zombie.
What I have learned:
- I learned the way to hold my brush to tap spots of color, almost exactly where I want them. ( yeah I went a little nuts with that one. I was having fun)
- I learned what size brush to use to get the spot size I need.
- I learned more about water pigment ratios.
- I learned how to correct a mistake. I had too much dark reflection on the base of the pear, it went too far up and was a solid thick band… but I went back in with just water a few times, and voilà!
- I learned that pears are easy for me. Holy revelation Batman! I chose to do a pear because I knew it would be quick, and I could get to bed. Where I should be right now.
I know I am tired because I have turned into a jabber-jaw!
I did not have time to visit my artist friends today, I will have to catch up tomorrow. I hate missing all the amazing art you have created! Thanks to all who visit my site, thank you for taking the time to comment and chat with me too.
Be well and enjoy!
I think your pear is really cute and has a lot of personality! 😀
Thanks so much Sandy! I tend to like crooked, broken, aged, weathered, crumbly, textured, worn things. But not everyone does.
Me too! (I’ll be glad when the 30 in 30 is over … I’ve been doing no cleaning, no cooking, no riding, no shopping, no relaxing. Just eating (mostly take-out), sleeping, shooting, painting and posting! I’m exhausted, aren’t you?)
I am Sandy! The painting is not too bad because I am working small. But writing everyday too, and posting. Reminds me of the Dolly Parton line in Steel Magnolias. Truvy tells Annelle, “Just look at me, Annelle. It takes an effort to look like this!” And Annelle replies, ” Oh I can see that!” hehehehe
And on top of that I want to look at all the art and post comments on my friends and fellow artists blogs too!
Thanks for sharing all you have learned with us, Sheila. The pear is lovely.
Aww, thank you so much Katie!i did learn more, about myself on a deeper level. But the technical stuff is really meaningful to me because there is so much I want to be good at, so much I want to do. Being self taught, I tend to notice the struggle more. So it was nice to realize that some growth had taken place after all. 🙂
This pear is perfect just the way it is! The shape, the colors, the freckles, everything. This is a very realistic piece which is not always easy to accomplish! One of the things that I have learned while participating in the 30 in 30 challenge is to take a deep breath, step back, and ponder about what I have just completed – truly “look” into the painting. There are SO many paintings that I felt were not ‘good enough’ and I resisted tearing them up! I am very glad I’m getting out of that habit, because when looking at my not ‘good enough’ pieces at a later time, I realize ‘yeah’, this one is okay. For me, it is not easy looking at the results of my work. There are so many times, my husband and daughter will really like a piece, and I’m thinking “really??”. Anyhow, now I’m turning into a jabber-jaw!! :o) (whoa – 2:00 a.m. …. that’s late! or way too early – depending on how you look at it !!)
Have an awesome artful day, Sheila !!!
Exactly Joan. I think we tend to not like it because it may not have turned out like the vision in our head. So it isn’t right to us. But that does not mean it is not good or complete, or valid. Or lovely. I started out wanting a pear that was more yellow, rusty and red. But then the colors looked blah so I added some green. Then I thought, Hmm. Not sure. The first splatters I added were way to big, but I liked them and left them in. Then on the leaf, I was going to have a definite vein down the middle, but when I added the highlight, it was a bit too wet. And I mentioned in the post about the reflection on the pear. So what is that four “mistakes”, but it turned out better than what I was planning. Happy accidents 🙂
Beautiful Pear, Sheila!
Thank you Samara! Can’t wait to see what you have worked on today!
This pear has a wonderful freshness to it. I love the way it is painted and the leaf is just perfect!
Julie, Thank You so much. That leaf was pure magic! A stroke of luck!It was such a nice surprise when it dried!