Category Archives: Pen

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 20 Of The 30-Day Creative Gathering

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Day 20, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
Day 20, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

 I have to admit, I have had a hard time getting started each day. Seems I think about what to paint, longer than it takes for me to actually paint. Haha. Indecision. Not procrastination. I have a folder full of images, cacti, that I would like to paint. I just have a hard time deciding.

I guess that’s not a bad problem to have. I would like to start earlier. And finish before midnight. Tonight I set a goal for myself. To complete the piece in 2 hours. I wasn’t sure I could. I haven’t been timing myself. I stop for breaks and get distracted. Sometimes. But I sat down to work and didn’t stop until I was done. I had 2 minutes to spare.

Did you know cactus spines are actually highly modified leaves? This helps to prevent water loss from the surface of a leaf. The spines can also provide shade for the cactus and reduce airflow around the plant.

I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent; curiosity, obsession, and dogged endurance,
combined with self-criticism have brought me to my ideas.
Albert Einstein

Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing,
but to turn it into glory.
William Barclay