Category Archives: Gouache

30-Day Creative Gathering, The Collage

The September 30-Day Creative Gathering was a hit! Participation was down, but many artists who could not take part daily still contributed to the conversations and camaraderie.

Fourteen to Twenty pieces were posted each day in the daily albums. And roughly 586 pieces of art were created in the group this month. WOW!

Congratulations to all of you! You persevered through Hurricane Laura, California wildfires, health issues, COVID and all of the demands of life in this unusual year. Whether you created on a few days, or all 30, congratulations!

For a tough month, I think I did OK. It was a struggle for me. I created 16 really, really bad pieces of art. Haha. Many days I worked on two or three at a time. To increase the odds of having something decent to share. Haha. And yet, almost half of the art I posted is on my favorites list. How ’bout that?! Some of these will be posted for sale in my Society6 shop soon.

Thanks so much for following along! Your encouragement keeps me going!
You are a blessing!

  • Day 1, 9-2020. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 2 Revision, 8x8 watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 3, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 4, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 5, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 6, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 7, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 8, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 9, 7 x 5 watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 10, 2.5 x 3.5 Mixed media on Stonehenge paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Aloe, Day 11, 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 12, 4 x 6, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 13, 5 x 7, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 14, 5 x 7, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 15, Arroyo. 5 x 7, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 16, 5 x 7, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 17, 5 x 7, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 18, 5 x 7, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 19, Acrylic, 4 x 4 on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 20, Acrylic, 4 x 4 on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 21, Acrylic, 5 x 5 on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 22, 5 x 5 Acrylic on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Mingus, Day 23, 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 24, 6 x 6 watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 25, 2.5 x 3.75 ATC, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 26 #3, 2.5 x 3.75 ATC, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 27, 8 x 8 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 28 #2, 2.5 x 3.75 ATC, watercolor on Legion 140 lb. Cold pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 29 #2, 2.5 x 3.75 ATC, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 30, 8 x 8 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

I will be sharing art from the AMAZING artists in the group this weekend.
See you then!

Cactus True, Or Cactus Cool?

Saguaro, 5.5 x 8.5, watercolor on paper, © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
Saguaro, 5.5 x 8.5, watercolor on paper, © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

I sat down to clean my palette, but instead, I started to paint. I used long strokes on the Saguaro, instead of blending patches of color. I used a blue Le Pen to define. Looking at the scan, I noticed that the cactus and the foreground were too much the same.

I left it overnight and then added blue Posca. Now it’s a bit too much like the sky. Haha. That is what learning looks like. Sometimes.

Had fun in the process, more fun making the animation. FUN!

Saguaro, revised, 5.5 x 8.5, watercolor on paper, © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
Saguaro, revised, 5.5 x 8.5, watercolor on paper, © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

Loved this true cerulean blue sky with a swish of puffy white clouds.

Mingus 3.27.20
Mingus 3.27.20

One clean palette, empties refilled.

Mijello Palette, 18-Well.
Mijello Palette, 18-Well.

New palette filled and ready to go. I bought this palette months ago, 40 or 50% off. Room for six more colors. I sorted my colors before I started filling the wells. I still goofed somehow and ended up with two empty slots. But that gives me room for new colors. My list of wanna try hues is long. Naturally.

I probably shouldn’t have included the two orange colors. I rarely use them. I’ll have to think of something fun to use them for. “Think. Think. Think.” As Pooh would say.

It’s still a wonky collection. But I do have warm and cool hues of the primaries. I’m working on the color chart next. If anyone is interested, I can share that in the next post.

Martin Palette, 24 well.
Martin Palette, 24 well.

I’ve only wanted paper and beautiful colors.
It was my dream, and it still is my dream.
And books.
They’re all I need, and the rest I can do without.
Karl Lagerfeld

Be well. Stay Safe.

Cool Cactus Hues

Cactus, 5.5 x 8.5, watercolor on paper, © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
Cactus, 5.5 x 8.5, watercolor on paper, © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

I received a SuPeR AwEsOmE surprise in the mail yesterday. Christine Brooks sent me an Arteza watercolor sketchpad. WOW! Thank you, Christine!

There is a wonderful texture to the paper. Different from the Artist’s Touch I mentioned last month. Different, but similar. I like it. I lifted the cloud on the left. With a damp brush. Good to know that is possible on this paper.

Close-Up
Sunset 3-25-20
Sunset 3-25-20

The light on the clouds was so brilliant, it lit up the room. The clouds were actually “dripping down” like thick, wet paint. I am going to try and paint it. Not sure I know how. It will be fun trying though.

I did manage something like it years ago, but don’t ask me what I did. LOL.

Drippy Clouds
Drippy Clouds

“Piglet noticed that even though he had
a Very Small Heart,
it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
A.A. Milne

Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos into order,
confusion into clarity.
It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Melody Beattie

“‘Enough’ is a feast.”
Buddhist Proverb