Category Archives: Mixed Media

The February 2020 30-Day Creative Gathering, Day 27

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Day 27, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
Day 27, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

I had fun with this piece. I’ll be honest and tell you, the cliff was a complete accident. After the first drip, I just went with it. I used Yellow ochre at the top, and it is very sedimentary. I went over it with some Burnt sienna, that is why it appears more orange than ochre.

The cacti I painted with gouache. I did enjoy the fact that I did not need to plan their location first. It gave me the opportunity to place them, so they did not hide the best parts of the rough stone.

The slideshow below shows some of the Saguaro cacti that can be seen while driving south on the 17. The images are borrowed from Google Maps. Thank you, Google! They really are more noticeable as you are driving. It’s hard to miss them, there are so many! Zoom in to see them better.

The barrel cactus is a friend for lost travelers in the desert. It grows tilted to the southwest. One type of barrel is in fact named Compass Barrel Cactus! Here are some photos I took at the Mayo’s Cacti garden while Pete was having his treatments.

Red Barrel
Red Barrel
Barrel Cactus
Barrel Cactus
Barrel-Assortment
Barrel-Assortment

In the desert a fountain is springing,
In the wide waste there still is a tree,
And a bird in the solitude singing,
Which speaks to my spirit of thee.
LORD BYRON

Day 26 Of The 30-Day Creative Gathering

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Day 26, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches 140lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
Day 26, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches 140lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

For the flowers I used gouache. I haven’t worked with gouache much. I need to play with it more. Gouache is an opaque watercolor paint. Transparent watercolor allows you to see the “white” of the paper through the paint. Gouache paint can be applied in solid colors. This allows artists to paint in layers from dark to light.

The flowers of the Prickly Pear look waxy and are translucent. So gouache was not the right medium for them. Lesson learned. I was hoping to capture the vivid colors. I will try again. Won’t that be fun! Here is a terrific video showing different cacti flowers. If you watch to the end, it gives the names of each.

Day 24 Of 30

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Day 24, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches 140lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
Day 24, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches 140lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

This strange plant looks like it was brought here from the forbidden plant. It is a type of agave. Some are called century plants because it takes them nearly 40 years to bloom. Once they do, the plant begins to die. The leaves at the base often form a perfectly round “ball” shape. As the flower stalk grows, the leaves start to wither and fade, laying down like stacked papers. The stalk uses nutrition from the leaves.

The plants often develope little “pups”, offshoots around the base as well. The bloom stalk can grow as tall as 30 feet. Some agave have clumps of yellow flowers. A tasty treat for hummingbirds and bees. I can’t help finding them fascinating.

Standing Tall.