Category Archives: Submissions

UPPERCASE and Artistic Whispers

Sunflowers Postcard. Watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Here I go again!

Sonya Versluys invited me to take part in her annual Artistic Whispers postcard exchange. We have exchanged cards in the L.Y.A. swap for a few years now. Sonya is a wonderfully talented Photographer and writer.

Sonya mentioned that the exchange has mostly photographers. This made me want to do something extra special. So I tried a new for me technique. And I really enjoyed the process. Working wet on wet. Really wet. I soaked the paper front and back. Then patted the front surface to remove excess water.

The really cool part is that as this was a small piece, 4 x 6, the water acted like glue. The paper stuck to the small OLFA cutting mat I sometimes use to paint on. Worked as well as taping! Which I rarely do by the way. The paper stayed wet throughout.

I was happy with this painting. But as it was the “first”, I thought I would try again. The colors faded a bit, and I did not think to go back in with more layers before the paper had dried.

Sunflowers 2. Watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Well, I succeeded on getting stronger colors. But turns out, I like the first one better. Feels less contrived. I do like parts of this second piece, so as a learning experience it gets an A.

Signed and sealed.

This time I was smart. I printed my greeting on the cards instead of hand writing it.

My cards are printed and trimmed, and the envelope is ready to go. Two weeks before the deadline, don’t know how I managed that!

UPPERCASE Newsletter

All About YOU: the Super Bowl of Surface Pattern.

Thrilled to announce that I am included in this weekend’s UPPERCASE newsletter All About YOU on Pattern Designers and Surtex. The Surtex convention starts tomorrow in New York City. My design, A midsummer’s night, is on the left. You can take a look at all the terrific designers in the newsletter.

Thank you Janine!

Congratulations and best wishes to all the artists attending Surtex!

Happy weekend everyone!

Shades Of Blue, And Yellow

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Golden Light. 2.5 x 3.5 ATC. Watercolor on paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

I really love how this turned out. It was done on inexpensive paper, with a “canvas” texture.

Last of L.Y.A.

Two more L.Y.A. side swaps arrived while I was out-of-town. The first is a fun photo from Deanie Houghtaling. I love the look of these stained and well used brushes. Old friends. Deanie lives in Phoenix, and we may get the chance to meet after our move. On the back:

I dream of painting and then I paint my dreams.
Vincent Van Gogh

Last-but-not-least

The colorful, lacy card is from Patsy Lawrence, all the way from Tennessee. I admired this card all through the swap, as it was posted over and over on the Facebook page. The colors, and the stained glass effect. So pretty. Come to find out, Patsy did several different versions of this, all of them lovely! Her message includes this quote:

“I will be an ARTIST or nothing!”
Eugene O’Neill

Patsy continues with this. “I am probably a distant relative of his, considering the stencil was found among the possessions of my grandmother O’Neill!” Fun thought!

Thank you both for sharing your art with me! Brightened my day! My album is officially full. 28 postcards. But I know I have one more card coming.

Have a super week ya’ll!

My entry, Pattern design - Kaede Ha (Maple Leaf). Watercolor leaves in shades of orange, red and Merlot on pale yellow green. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

P.S. Still time to vote in the Spoonflower design challenge. You can only vote once, but you can share the link with friends and family. Voting is open to everyone until 4/27/2016. Thanks so much for taking the time. There are over 700 entries, but it only takes a minute or two.

Thanks so much for voting!

Spoonflower and Sprout Patterns Design Challenge

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Spoonflower and Sprouts Patterns are presenting a joint design challenge this month. Designers were asked to submit a Japanese Garden-themed design they thought would look great on Sprout Patterns’ Asaka Kimono by Named Clothing. The winner’s design will be featured in the launch of this new pattern and all top-ten designers will receive great prizes! Click on the image above for a closer look.

I love Japanese maple trees, and that was the first idea that came to mind. My design is very simple, a basic toss pattern. I took leaf shapes, and filled them with watercolor mixes I had painted on paper. For added interest there are leaf outlines mixed in. I think it would be great for many applications. Quilting, children’s clothing, gift wrap, a blouse. Spoonflower allows the purchaser to modify the scale for their project needs.

Sprout Patterns is a new service that allows you to combine indie sewing patterns with Spoonflower designs to create customized cut and sew projects. Sprout takes away the work of tracing a sewing pattern onto fabric and lets you truly enjoy the process of making your own garments and accessories.

The winner receives $100 in Spoonflower credit and $100 in Sprout credit, has their design shared on Spoonflower, Sprout, and Named Clothing’s social channels. They will also be featured in a Spoonflower press release
The rest of the top ten receive $50 in Spoonflower credit and $50 in Sprout credit

Here is a peek at my design on the Sprouts Kimono Pattern.

Kimono Mock-up. Kaede Ha (Maple Leaf). Watercolor leaves in shades of orange, red and Merlot on pale yellow green. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

The winner and the rest of the top ten designs will be selected by community voting. Voting is now open to everyone and I would love to have your vote! Click on the link below to cast your vote. Scroll down to find my design, click on the white box with a circle to select, then scroll to the bottom to submit.

I appreciate your vote!

You can only vote once, but you can share the link with friends and family. Voting is open until 4/27/2016. Thanks so much for taking the time. There are over 700 entries, but it only takes a minute or two. I have already received many “favorite’s” by fellow designers, so I am hopeful.