Tag Archives: Leslie Saeta’s January 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

Day 22 of 30 in 30

Yellow. 6 x 6 watercolor on YUPO. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Well here it is just before midnight. I am still trying to get a decent painting to post. I will have to post this for now. It’s a hot mess. Or as my friend Pauline in the U.K. might say, it is a bloody mess.

I thought trying something I am familiar with might help with the learning curve for this new surface. Not so much huh?

For months I had the vague idea lodged in the back of my mind that I could be a better artist, if I only had YUPO to work on. You know. Like when you were in school, and you just felt sure that if you just had the right pair of jeans, everything would fall in line and the cosmos would crown you with glory.

Well, at the very least you would be popular and that cute guy in 3rd period would finally notice you were alive. OK, I didn’t really think I would all of a sudden become outstanding. But I did think maybe, it would be easier to control the paint. My whole problem in a nutshell.

I know DUH, right. The watercolor artists are laughing at me and yelling, “Stop trying to control the paint!” Yeah, I need a V-8 thump on the forehead.

The nifty-neato thing is, I can just add water and start over. Wash, rinse and repeat.

Tomorrow is another day Scarlett.

Arabian Ornament – Day 21 of 30 in 30

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Arabian Postcard. 4 x 6 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. ©2014 Sheila Delgado

Many Arabian motifs include ornate leaves, vines and scroll work. Compared with Greek or Moresque ornaments, it is easy to see they have been simplified. Details have been trimmed to the barest essentials. This makes them no less intoxicating.

There are two images in the plates on Arabian Ornament in The Grammar of Ornament that have sea green in them. They caught my eye right off the bat. They were taken from pavements and walls in private houses and Mosques in Cairo. These designs were created with marble in white and black, and red tiles. There is no mention of the green material, so maybe it is just an interpretation.

The majority of these decorative designs are created from basic shapes. Circle, square, triangle, star. Familiar shapes make these designs, more accessible.

Arabian No. 5, The Grammar of Ornament

Does anyone remember those puzzle games with wood pieces in different colors and shapes? You could mix and match, the options were endless. A circle with a triangle on top could be a man in a hat. A square with a triangle became a house. I think infinite possibilities also intrigued early Arabian culture.

Pear. Watercolor on YUPO.

What is intriguing me today, are the artistic possibilities in a pad of YUPO watercolor paper. I only had a few minutes to “play” this evening. Not nearly enough time for fun. Here is a silly little pear I did. It is only about an inch tall.

Hope your week is off to a great start. Remember to start the day with thanks for the good things in your life. Gratitude is gracious!

Savage Tribes – Day 20 of 30 In 30

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Primitive postcard. 4 x 6 watercolor and pen on 140 lb. cold press paper. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

“Man’s earliest ambition is to create. Man appears everywhere impressed with the beauties of nature which surround him, and seeks to imitate to the extent of his power the works of the creator.” These two statements start off Chapter 1, Ornament of Savage Tribes in The Grammar Of Ornament by Owen Jones.

Hands in the air if you agree.

OK, you can put them down now.

Owen Jones might not have fully appreciated the ornamentation he found in each culture, but he did understand the shared need for expression.

I may not agree with all of his suppositions, but I am so thankful that he felt the need to produce this collection of design elements. What a fun (and work!) it must have been, to visit each locale, collect the specimens, and then produce each sample. I mean really, I would have volunteered in a heartbeat!

The Grammar of Ornament, Owen Jones

Each postcard I have created feels so incomplete to me. There is just no way to capture the essence of a culture in a 4 x 6 inch area. I want to include them all. I had some fun with this design in Photoshop. Just by changing the Hue/Saturation setting, I came up with several different versions.

What do you think?