Category Archives: Portraits

Day 11 – 30 In 30

I may have totally flubbed this. Her face… not sure it works. I think I am not comfortable with it, because I tried to create it from thin air. Only the mouth was there, barely. I was thinking of leaving her featureless. Let me know what you think.

This started with leftover acrylic paint. Then a layer of watercolor, covered with plastic wrap. I used more watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and pen.

Here is a short slide show for you. I darkened the lips. Figure, with a hat like that you need bold lips too.

Vale, Mixed media on Yupo. 8 x 11. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

The hat, and her shoulders stood out. It took a long time to figure out if she was facing me, or to the left.

Bette Davis as Charlotte Vale in Now Voyager.

I named her Vale. She looks as if she is using the hat as one. And she reminds me of Bette Davis in Now Voyager. Her character name was Charlotte Vale. She goes from being a wallflower, to a fashion plate. There is more to the story, but one of the key scenes is when she is revealed. It is all about the hat, and the shoes.

I also revised Ardent Daydream. Added an outline to the top of the hat. I had it sitting on my desk, and it was bothering me. So I fixed it.

Ardent Daydream. Watercolor, acrylic, pen on Yupo. 2.5 x 3.5 © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Ardent-revised. Watercolor, acrylic, pen on Yupo. 2.5 x 3.5 © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Happy painting, and a safe 9-11 to all. Check out Leslie’s blog for today’s creations.

Day 10 – 30 In 30

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I forgot to mention yesterday, that the Yupo I was using was part of a gift pack from Sandy Sandy. Her work on Yupo is amazing. I am sure you have seen it, she is participating in Leslie’s challenge.

Thank you Sandy!

Today’s piece is on more of that Yupo. Again I started with paint and Saran wrap. At first, I did not see anything, and I thought I would have to trash it. I used acrylics that were left over. I tried scratching off some of the acrylic, and it’s on there baby!

I set the painting aside, when I came back to it, I saw the shape of the head, beard, and shirt. I left the face color untouched. I did add white to the eyes, but the shapes were there. The wrinkles, mouth and nose. I completed this in about 30 minutes.

Maybe he is just thoughtful, contemplative. At first I thought I saw his arms in front, as if he was resting his chin on his hands. Not quite sure now, if a little color would bring them out, or look like a mistake.

Loneliness. Mixed media on Yupo, 7 x 8. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

While I worked, I thought of this song…

For some reason, Mr. Lonely reminded me of Joe Cocker, so I will leave you with this. A little more upbeat, or hopeful at least.

Have a great Wednesday, take a look at all the great art created today!

Heartbreak – Day 8 of 30 in 30

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This was an experiment. I was using techniques I learned from Pauline Agnew in her Open Studio last year. She is having another one this weekend, so I thought I would get warmed up.

I created what I feel is my best painting, during her Open Studio last year. You can see it, and read more here. I didn’t name the painting then, but I have always thought of her as my African Queen.

Today’s piece is on paper. Just a dollar store children’s drawing pad. I wanted the freedom to make a mess, and I know I would treat watercolor paper too carefully. Precious commodity.

I started with a brush and watercolor, layering. Then I switched to acrylics, moving paint with twigs, Q-tips and more brushes. I sponged and splattered paint as well. These were the same tools I had used for the 4 x 4’s (yesterday).

This was first very linear, leaning towards a landscape. But it never quite formed. For about an hour, I was ready to call this trash, but then the left eye jumped out at me. While painting I saw her hair all around her, wild as if she had pulled at it while crying. On screen, it looks a bit more masculine, sharp edges, square jaw. I added a digital mat, to see if I would like it more.