Category Archives: Medium

Like The Deserts Miss The Rain

10 minutes of Glorious rain.
10 minutes of Glorious rain.

A few blessed minutes. Rain. Needed to help fight the fire that is north of us. We are not in any danger, but the plume of smoke is ominous just the same. The areas around us received more rain, as usual. I read that there were 99 fires in Arizona. Such a high number, and we are not the only state with active fires.

Messy Desk, SMD.
Messy Desk, SMD.

I am finally finished with this trio I started in the Creative Gathering. I switched the colors, wasn’t quite happy with my first choice. As luck would have it, I painted the blooms and sky about three times. Haha.

After my first color layer on the blooms, I used a non permanent pen to add the details back to the purple and pink. I had already painted the sky, having noticed how pale the color was. And that some of the white gesso was showing through in small areas. For some reason, I did not notice the ink had smeared, until I had finished the last panel. ??? Maybe the shine was distracting? Haha. I really have no idea how I did not notice it. The black ink over the sky areas was very light, it just looked slightly dirty.

I began again. Another layer of blue here and there. Two more layers to cover the inky blooms. More sealer. I painted the centers with liquitex acrylic paint pen, two layers of semi-transparent yellow. For a closer look, click the image below.

Oops, I did it again. Thought it would be a quick fix. Ha! I painted these for three little under-age-five sisters. Recycled cradled board equals lots of texture. Here is a look at the original palette. Better, yes?

Day 12, Mixed Media on 6 x 6 Cradled Board. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Day 12, Mixed Media on 6 x 6 Cradled Board. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

Happy week to you!

Mingus Has A Ball

June Sunset, Mingus. SMD 2021
June Sunset, Mingus. SMD 2021

Gotta love the desert light. I’ll try to remember that as we soar over 100 degrees. Today we hit 105. But the “real feel” was 112. Yikes! Phoenix’s high was 111. We are usually 10 to fifteen degrees cooler than the city. The warm light on the hills forced me to jump up, and grab my camera to catch the scene.

Another postcard exchange. Yay! I still miss the annual LYA exchange and was so excited to get an invite from Nelvia McGrath. I painted my postcard offering, naturally.

Ball Cactus, 4 x 6, watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Ball Cactus, 4 x 6, watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

After I scanned the image, I noticed I completely forgot to add distant hills. So, I added them digitally with Photoshop. That “straight” line was buggin’ me.

Ball Cactus, 4 x 6, mixed media on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Ball Cactus, 4 x 6, mixed media on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

Next time I will remember to sketch them in.

Have a super week everyone!

Magic of the shadows can best be seen in the deserts.
Mehmet Murat Ildan

A flower blooming in the desert
proves to the world that adversity,
no matter how great,
can be overcome.
Matshona Dhliwayo

Work In Progress

Eucalyptus. Watercolor and gouache on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Eucalyptus. 12 x 12, Watercolor and gouache on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

Experimental. Exhausting. Lacking.

I can’t help but feel this is still in need of… something. First layers in Inktense. Splotches, daubs and puddles. Days of contemplation. Watercolor glazing that became layer after layer. More splotches. More consideration. Days became a week. A week and a half.

I reminded myself it is only paint, and sat down to finish. Gouache thinned to reveal previous layers, for the vase. Thick layers of gouache for the greens. Blues. Blue-greens.

Painting propped up across the room. More thinking.

Happy June y’all!