Tag Archives: #desertart

February 30-Day Creative Gathering, Days 29 And 30

6 Replies
Day 30, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches cold-pressed 140 lb. paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
Day 30, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches cold-pressed 140 lb. paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

For day 30, a Red Barrel Cactus. I don’t often paint with red. This barrel is orange, purple, mauve and magenta. And green. And what do you need for a night at the ball? A glass slipper of course. Haha. Watercolor, and for the spines, gouache that was left on my palette.

Day 29, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
Day 29, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

I painted this Aloe early in the month. I love the clean, curved lines. I started by scribbling some white Caran d’Ache Neocolor on the leaves. Next a mix of Juane Yellow and Winsor & Newton Turquoise. I mixed in some of the color left on my palette, and the result is far too turquoise. I love it, but I may go back in and make alterations.

I was trying for more of a greyish, blueish, whites green. As seen on Day 7. This is what I remember from the Iceplant succulent ground cover so popular in Southern California. There are many plants with this coloring that I love. Blue Fescue, Blue Chalksticks, and Dusty Miller to name a few. Aloes come in fresh green, dark green, and dusty sage green.

Sunrise 2-29-20
Sunrise 2-29-20

The night before last I could not sleep. Not sure why. Maybe it was the adrenaline from the challenge. I got a lot of work done. And I was still awake when the sun came up. I have had neck pain all week, Somehow I tweak my neck at night. An old auto injury. I was hit from the side, and it tore my shoulder and neck. I ordered an ergonomic pillow, relief is in sight.

30 Pieces

Well Val, all that “blue” was for you my friend. Haha. And Sea, here is one of my Ikea studio solutions. It is the Ostbit plate holder, I use it to hold paper. There’s a month’s worth of, paper (paintings)! Haha. Plenty of room for more.

Later this afternoon, I will post my 30 Day collage. It is always fun to see all the paintings together. I am looking forward to seeing the group’s collections!

The Choice
The intellect of man is forced to choose
perfection of the life, or of the work,
And if it take the second must refuse
A heavenly mansion, raging in the dark.
When all that story’s finished, what’s the news?
In luck or out the toil has left its mark:
That old perplexity an empty purse,
Or the day’s vanity, the night’s remorse.
W.B. Yeats

The February 2020 30-Day Creative Gathering, Day 27

2 Replies
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

6 Replies
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.