Category Archives: Pen

August Posts

Opted to do two extremely long posts to reinstall missing posts from July and August. I had copies of all but the two most recent articles. Thank goodness for Google Chrome cache! I had to learn how to recover some of the missing posts from that.

I have been in crises mode for a week, since the server went down. Not sure if I would have my site back, able to post for the painting challenge. And it is not lost on me,  that I was in the same mode this time last year. Remember? Just moved, and nowhere to set up the computer. Sure hope every August in Arizona won’t be so eventful!

Tally so far: 10 posts lost, Maps and Recipes gallery page lost, one draft lost, captcha lost. And I may have to reinstall all of this again. But now I have copies, and it should go more smoothly. Still need to add links to this post, but that can wait a bit.

I will post art for September first, but it may be late in the day. So excited to see the 30 in 30 gallery!! Have fun everyone!!

 

Trees Again

 

Trees, again. 6 x 6 mixed media on paper. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

Trees, again. 6 x 6 mixed media on paper. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

 

Paint to paper. Finally. See the original and the digital revision. My first reaction is that I went TOO dark. I mixed indigo and Shiraz Inktense watercolor pencil for the dark. What do  you think?

Counting this as done. Good practice for the next in the series. Must remember the darks!

 

 

He Was A One Eyed, One Eared…

 

One Ear. 6 x 6 Watercolor on gessoed paper. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

One Ear. 6 x 6 Watercolor on gessoed paper. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

 

While I was painting, I was wondering why this rabbit looked so different from those I have painted before. Easy answer. Recycled painting. I was working on gessoed watercolor paper.

I will be painting this one again. I want it to fit in with the other bunny pieces I have done. They are soft and well blended. You can see them here and here.

With the gesso, it is very easy to lift color. That will make it easy for my to go back in and lighten the background, if I choose to. But it also make it difficult to add layers. You can see on the fur, lots of hard edges and just an overall “messy” look.

I enjoyed the process, even though I am not pleased with the outcome. The next one will be better!

He sat for a long time, in front  of the drainage ditch. A neighbor came walking up towards him, and he did not move right away. Made me wonder if he really is missing an ear. I waited to see if I could catch him coming out, but I think he decided to take a nap. I will b e on the look out for a one eared bunny from now on.

 

 

Crown Of Glory

Mingus Light, 2017 SMD

Mingus Light, 2017 SMD

 

Sharing my fascination with the view again. Started out a sweet, soft pink. Moments later, intense warmth filled the sky. The entire mountain range was capped with a gorgeous golden glow, pristine peachy, pinks, and blinding whites.

 

Mingus Bright, 2017 SMD

Mingus Bright, 2017 SMD

 

Flashback

Watercolor and pen on paper. SMD

Watercolor and pen on paper. SMD

More work from art school here. Late 80’s vintage. This piece was about 12 x 16 inches. The watercolor was on horribly inexpensive watercolor paper. I remember I painted this at least six times before I was half way happy with the result. I vaguely recall starting with more of a rainbow in the background. There was some yellow in there. The instructor suggested a more monochromatic approach. The letters were printed on a sheet of acetate.

SMD, late 80’s

SMD, late 80’s

The next few paintings were influenced by 80’s pop artist Patrick Nagel. Though I did not know his name at the time. This style was everywhere. On MTV, on album covers, posters and T-shirts.

It is clear that the paper was not easy to work with. Uneven colors, stains, and bloom edges. Lack of control, and certainly lack of knowledge on my part. All of the women had a skin tone. But the scanner was just not picking it up. The redhead has a vivid green eye shadow. The pencil marks were much stronger as well, and in multiple colors.

 

 

SMD, late 80's

SMD, late 80’s

Teacher’s comment: The models are wonderfully painted, the background falls short however – should have been a strong solid color like the heads. (Looks like she crossed out a “B” grade.)

Don’t know why this next one wasn’t turned in. It is unfinished, the eyelashes. I bet it had to do with the drippy, uneven background. Thanks for taking a look – happy day to you!

Models-Grade

 

SMD, late 80's

SMD, late 80’s

 

 

Food And Travel

 

Sunset over Mingus. SMD

Sunset over Mingus. SMD

 

A couple of nights ago, we had the view above in front.

And the view below, out back.

Great night!

 

Sunset before the storm. KRD

Sunset before the storm. KRD

 

 

NEW AT SOCIETY6 – BACKPACKS

Backpack-Peoples-Soc6

 

Our Backpacks are crafted with spun poly fabric for durability and high print quality.
Thoughtful details include double zipper enclosures, padded nylon back and bottom,
interior laptop pocket (″), adjustable shoulder straps and front pocket for accessories.
Dry clean or spot clean only. 17.75″(H) x 12.25″(W) x 5.75″(D).

 

 

MAPS AND RECIPES

Roasted Peppers, © 2012 Sheila Delgado

Roasted Peppers, © 2012  Sheila Delgado

Twenty twelve seems to have been my year of recipes and maps. I hadn’t started blogging yet. In addition to that, I wrote over 30 articles on wellness for Examiner.com. I had hoped it would generate extra income. The site no longer exists, so you can tell how that went. I think I received a small check, once. For each article, I created artwork as well.

I am sure that the experience of writing and posting for Examiner, gave me the courage to create my site. To start writing about my art. Stepping stones.

I’ve spent the last few days cleaning my computer seems to be a theme starting. I realized that I have never posted the maps and recipes here, naturally. And if this blog is a record of my journey, it would be incomplete without them. Adding a new gallery page takes care of that. Take a peek, and visit the site links on the page to see a HUGE view. Thanks for looking!

 

 

Koinobori

 

“Fish Kites”. Watercolor and pen on paper. 2010 Sheila Delgado

“Fish Kites”. Watercolor and pen on paper. 2010 Sheila Delgado

Out of sight, out of mind. I opened my art portfolios, and what a surprise. I time warped back to college. Only a few pieces survived from then. Most of what I found was from 2010 forward. Still wonderful to see again. I would call these “early works”, ha ha. Early, from the time I decided to focus on art.

I thought I had given these away. I remember taking a stab at making a repeat design out of them. Pretty sure those files were on the laptop that died. Koinobori have a long tradition. Don’t ask me how I feel about the fact that they were originally meant to celebrate boys only. Times have changed, and now they are part of Children’s Day celebrations in Japan.

Also found some not-so-successful watercolor abstract attempts. Gorgeous colors though, and I am thinking I can use them for collage. A la Dotty, and Laly, and Bob.

Just a few weeks until the 30 in 30, hands up if you are planning to take the challenge! I am looking forward to it. I know, nuts!

Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

Better

 

Trees. 6 x 6 mixed media on paper. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

Trees. 6 x 6 mixed media on paper. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

It’s all about the light. I reclaimed light by dabbing a damp paper towel into the treetops. Also found a bit in the first, large trunk. I dipped my rubber comb into clean water, and scraped the paint in the foreground. I love that those marks remained subtle after drying.

To the treetops I added more yellow, some orange and Shiraz in selective areas. Seeing it here, I feel like I need to add some shadow at the base of the trees. What do you think? Not going for realism, just think a little more contrast would be good.

We had rain for about 20 minutes today. Full sun, windy, light rain. Clear blue sky to the south. I kept hoping the sun would catch and really make this pop. Very dreamlike as it was though.

 

Rainbow

Rainbow

Was inspired by Sandrine Pelissier’s newsletter, as I always am. Dug out my travel Spirograph. Had a bit of a worry when I didn’t find it in the first two looks. The 4 x 6 paper did not fit, so most of my drawings ended up more centered, less random.  I filled the edges with doodles. I am going to try again. But maybe this lends itself to trees better.

Just FYI. If you ever buy a travel Spirograph, post-it notes fit perfectly!

Hot Mess. 4 x 6 mixed media on paper postcard. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

Hot Mess. 4 x 6 mixed media on paper postcard. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

 

 

 

 

From Chaos

 

 

Soul Art 2017. 12 x 12 mixed media on paper. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

Soul Art 2017. 12 x 12 mixed media on paper. © 2017 Sheila Delgado

 

Hours filled with blessed creation. International Soul Art Day 2017 proved to be meaningful, mindful,  and mending. This was my fifth year participating. I always find it so hard to put into words.

I was in the moment. No plan. Feels like I have said that before about Laura Hollick’s Soul Art Day. Layer after layer, I continued to paint without a preconceived idea of where I wanted the work to go.

 

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.
Deepak Chopra

 

Not sure why the word chaos came to me when thinking of a title for this post. The only chaos was the unrestrained creative activity. The free-flowing mark making.

 

We live in a rainbow of chaos.
Paul Cezanne

 

 

First layers.

First layers.

 

Watercolor dripping and staining the paper. Wine, yellow, orange, fuchsia, rust. Acrylic stamping with wood and rubber. Stenciling gone wrong, paint too wet. Do more “wrong” stenciling in different areas. Use a dropper to add more yellow acrylic. Mist water on top and watch the paint spread in jagged blooming fingers. More yellow marks with a twig.

 

It seems like the chaos of this world is accelerating,
but so is the beauty
in the consciousness of more and more people.
Anthony Kiedis

 

 

Detail 1.

Detail 1.

White acrylic scribbles and swirls. Some of the watercolor mixes in and softens the bright here and there. White repeating texture. Some strong, some fading. Some becomes soft yellow when paint accidentally mixes.

Wine dipped dry brush tapped on the paper. Marks become like feathers. Thinking flight. Freedom. Spirit.  Jagged marks with watercolor pencil. Swirling scribble line to cover the page.

 

 

Detail 2.

Detail 2.

Dark splatters in watercolor and acrylic. Cover almost all with watery white acrylic. Layering in patches. Use the same square brush that made the feather marks.

Outline Seussical shapes with black marker until it runs dry. Continue with thick wine watercolor. Cover black marker with the same. Soft diluted splatters finish it off like sprinkles on frosting.

 

Art is the triumph over chaos.
John Cheever

 

A few tools.

A few tools.

 

When we submit our work to the Soul Art Gallery, Laura asks about our process, what the day means to us, and what insight we gained from taking part. The insight was slow in coming. Maybe I just was not focused on that.

That inner nagging voice told me that this wasn’t about creating a pretty picture. Maybe I took a wrong turn and missed the path to enlightenment. Maybe I was stupid for worrying and being too serious.

Maybe it did not HAVE to be deep, to be meaningful.

It wasn’t until the last layer of whitewash that it came to me. A single, simple thought. I know. Not very original or deep. But a message just the same.

 

Bloom where you are planted.