#23. 4 x 6 in. watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2018 Sheila Delgado.
#22. 4 x 6 in. watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2018 Sheila Delgado.
Storm Clouds, 8-3-18. SMD.
From early this month, a storm on the way. Thought I had posted it. Thought I had posted period. It’s been turbulent indoors as well. Computer issues. Photoshop. Ughh!
“Could not transform because the scratch disks are full.”
“Low Disk Space. You are running on very low disk space…”
Turns out, I had almost NO disk space. Took a full week to figure things out. Save files, and regain the use of Photoshop. That sent me down the rabbit hole, cleaning files and deleting. I still need to buy a portable hard drive and I am researching those. Suggestions are welcome! I am planning to replace my system in October. Fingers crossed. Now if I can just get through September. Fingers and toes crossed, and prayers said!
Mingus Tower, 8-3-18.
Still enjoying the monsoon season. Which I think is nearing the end. Rain is forecast the next five days. That could mean a downpour, or a few minutes of sprinkles.
Goodbye Zazzle?
I am thinking of closing my Zazzle shop. I am very disappointed in the quality of their fabric printing. I have seen different products, purchased by friends and family. And the quality on those items is great. So maybe, I just won’t offer fabrics for sale on that site.
A few months ago I ordered fabric samples from Zazzle. I compared those with swatches from Spoonflower. There is no contest. Both sets are on the basic fabric offered. For Spoonflower that is “Basic Cotton Ultra” and for Zazzle, “Custom Combed Cotton”.
Swatches on Spoonflower are 8 x 8 inches for $5.00. Zazzle 9 x 9 inches for $5.60. It might be hard to see on-screen, but there is a huge difference in the quality and feel of the fabrics.
Comparing Spoonflower and Zazzle custom printed fabric. Designs by Sheila Delgado.
It’s been a few months, but I am certain that I ironed the samples. They have sat on my desk, folded. You can see the wrinkled Zazzle swatches. That fabric is stiff, and makes a crinkly sound when you move it. I wouldn’t want to wear it. Makes me think of the crinoline skirts my Mom remembers.
The Spoonflower swatches are soft and pliable. You can also see the difference in printed details. On the sailboats, a large-scale print, the quality is nearly the same. But on the feathers, you can see that the fine detail is lost. The Zazzle feathers is even printed in a larger scale, and still, the fine detail is blurred.
Unfinished Projects
I have missed painting. And the shadows on Mingus make me want to paint even more. Hard to believe we are already at the end of the month, and I have yet to put brush to paper. There are a few more projects that need attention, so that in September I can be free to paint daily.
I have dealt with a Lupus flare this month as well. Just bone tired. I had an Esophageal manometry on the first, and it seems I have been in recovery mode ever since. It was a very quick and simple procedure. It required fasting, and it was an afternoon appointment in Phoenix. So I think the mix of not eating, not taking my meds and a long drive (3 hours there and back) just zapped my energy.
Luckily, I was able to do the test quickly. My cough did not interfere. It seemed I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. I even arrived early, and within five minutes I was taken back to start the test. WOW!
Pushing through. Napping when I can. Crossing tasks off my list. Just at a slower pace than I would like. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!
Couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you for your encouragement and support! I am grateful for your suggestions and critiques. Your friendship is a blessing!
I went through the paintings, and found my favorites for each month. A full third of the total made the list. I condensed that list even more, for my top favorites.
I am also sharing the paintings that had the most views. Not a complete list, and I am not sure it is a true representation of viewer favorites. The majority of my Mingus posts, included more than one painting. That makes a true count difficult. I would love to hear your favorites, if there are any that stand out to you. Sea Dean has posted her six favorites on her 100 Days Of Mingus Pinterest board.
I have procrastinated, putting off writing this post. I keep starting projects that have waited while I was painting Mingus. I am not sure what to write, or, if I have anything interesting to say about the project.
Dave asked if I have noticed any changes in my practice as a result of painting daily. My reply was that I am less precious about each piece. I told him that I would talk about it more in this post. But I really don’t have much more to say. This project was a success in that I finished. I kept up. Didn’t give up. But my habit of setting high standards for myself, has me… feeling like I missed the mark. I was looking forward to more experimentation. Creating pieces with more depth and complexity.
I feel like I should have more to say. Maybe it is my “style”. Maybe there is “a style”. But I feel like I just did the same thing over and over (laughing). I wasn’t able to work in different mediums or try as many new techniques as I would have liked. And this is just me, grading myself. My progress. I know it was due to circumstances out of my control. So I am cutting myself some slack. And I did enjoy the process. I am still painting daily.
When I looked at the paintings again, there were a few that jumped out at me as incomplete. Less than half of the 100. And I know I mentioned that a few times as I went along. I am planning on adding to some of them. But that will have to wait until next month.
Some of you have also asked if they are for sale. If you are interested, you can let me know in a comment or through a private message on Facebook. The large, 5.5 x 11.5, are $120. Smaller pieces start at $17 for ATC’s and range from $38 for 3.5 x 5.5 to $70 for 5 x 7. For U.S. buyers, shipping is free until the end of July.
100 Mingus paintings, SMD 2018
100 Mingus paintings stacked, SMD 2018
There was only one painting that I walked away from. Only one lying around. If I mentioned in a post about trashing a ruined painting, you can catch me in a fib. This is from the first week. I honestly can’t remember what I was thinking. Go for it, have a good laugh! Ha ha ha! The sky is watercolor, and I like how it turned out. The hills are acrylic, and there is pen as well. I used a rubber comb while the red paint was wet. I was going to layer more on this. Add texture.
Mingus goof. 11.5 x 5.5 in. Mixed media on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2018 Sheila Delgado.
The sky is Windsor Newton, not Inktense. So I would have to seal it to continue. Inktense is permanent once dry. (I don’t have a good sky blue in Inktense.) The sky is what stopped me in my tracks. I won’t take this any further, like I said, the original idea is gone.
I still need to flatten the paintings. I will share that process with you soon.