Category Archives: Pen

Day 20 – Crop And Save

 

Golden Hill. 3 x 6 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Golden Hill. 3 x 6 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

This is too pretty to end up in the round file. I really like the tiny flowers, and the washes on the hill are interesting, if subtle. Could be cute bookmarks, if I slice it down the middle.

Golden Hill, whole. 6 x 6 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Golden Hill, whole. 6 x 6 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

I started out with a 6 x 6 piece of paper, but I could not get the hill in back to look like it was behind. No matter what I tried it just did not work. Softer. Faded. More grey. Just got worse. Finally I just cropped it digitally. That did the trick. I had fun in the process!

Treat yourself to the Day 19 art on Leslie Seata’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!
My Pinterest board for the event is over 1000 works of art!

 

 

 

 

Day 19 – Noble Nopales

 

 

Noble Nopales. 4 x 6 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Noble Nopales. 4 x 6 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Every time I see cactus flowers or prickly pears, I think “crown of thorns”. And sometimes I even hear Sandra Bullock saying it, like she did in Hope Floats. (Oh my gosh, that movie was made in 1998, I can’t believe it is that old!)

The luscious purple/magenta bulbs look like jewels to me. I am sure they do to the rabbits and birds too! Juicy fruit filled jewels.

I don’t know why, and I was unhappy with the fact that these came out dusty looking. Like there is a layer of white gouache. I only used watercolor, so it is a mystery. After a while, the next day, I decided it was not a bad thing. They do in fact look dusty or washed out, in life.

I spent the better part of the weekend cleaning and organizing. I felt like I was working in the middle of a pig pen. I was only using a small part of my desk, and the rest was covered in a mess of supplies. And you know how it goes, the mess always gets worse before it gets better! I am still at the “worse” stage.  But there is always tomorrow!

Happy Monday everyone!

 

Treat yourself to the Day 19 art on Leslie Seata’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!
My Pinterest board for the event is over 1000 works of art!

 

 

 

Day 15 – Wanna Be

 

 

Bell Rock. 4 x 6 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Bell Rock. 4 x 6 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

 

I wanna be better.

Worked on three pieces today.  Finished two, but both felt flat. This is one of them. Started this at about 10:30 pm, finished by 11 including the editing. Looks so, juvenile to me. I like the soft clouds, and the greenery. But the rock is lacking oomph.

I know what I did wrong. Just wondering, if I know, why didn’t I just do it right? I wanted more of a sketchy feel. My pen marks are stiff and too dark. My shadows are stiff as well. There I am trying to “copy” the details from the photo instead of just feeling my way through the shapes.

Laughing at myself, because I have better paintings I could have posted. But here it is, day 15. Let’s see how much my Sedona scenes improve by next September’s challenge! I hope, I hope.

Here is a cloud shot I love. Maybe it will help to erase the memory of this mediocre little piece. Ha!

Sun setting in Prescott Valley

Sun setting in Prescott Valley

 

Take a look at day 15 on Leslie Seata’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!
My Pinterest board for the event is bursting with over 700 works of art!

.

.