Tag Archives: sheiladelgado

Bee Paper Bouquet

Bouquet In Blue. 6 x 9 in. watercolor & pen on Bee Paper. 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2018 Sheila Delgado.

I learned first hand, one of the qualities of this paper. Then found a YouTube video that demonstrated the same trait. Bee paper grabs the paint.

I’m not sure if I have used this paper before. I have a pack that I could swear was marked clearance. I thought because they were going to stop carrying it. But I found it is still for sale on the Michaels website. This paper is an odd size, 6 x 9 inches. It is:

140lb/300gsm
25 sheets
100% cotton
Acid free and archival
Cold press surface
Internally and externally sized

So it grabs the paint. What does that mean? Once you lay the color down, you can’t move it. On a high quality paper, you can go back into an area with water to soften edges, or move the pigment. I did this intentionally, but for example, the bottom right and top left of the table have hard edges. As opposed to smooth blends.

Having said that, I found this paper allowed me to blend smoothly. More so than I would usually want. You can see this throughout the piece. The background is two colors, and it is very hard to see where one begins and the other ends. I was working very quickly, and I am sure that helped.

The area where I discovered the difficulty was in the flowers. The front facing blooms. I added Burnt Sienna over the Cad. Yellow to mimic a two-toned petal. I wanted the second color to soften and spread along the entire length of the petal. Instead I ended up with a petal that was half yellow and half sienna. Chunky Monkey.

I was so intent on smoothing the petals, I forgot to scan the “before”. It took several attempts. And though I did manage to get a few smooth transitions, it is clearly visible that those blooms are darker. The side view buds are clean Cad. Yellow.

There is a texture to this paper. This video shows you better than I can explain. The grain did not show up in my painting or the scan. Very surprising that the paint did not settle and highlight it. I opened the scan up at 300 ppi in Photoshop, and still could not see it.

I was in a hurry to paint and I did not tape down the paper. I worked very wet and the paper only curled a bit on the top and bottom edges. Not bad at all. Terrific actually!

I found that I really enjoyed this size. It’s not too big, and not too small. It’s juuusst right. Ha ha. I was very comfortable with it. Blah, blah,blah. That is my long-winded way of saying I am surprising pleased with this paper! I am very happy with this piece.

Bee Paper sells a variety of products including journals. mixed media and pastel paper. I’d really like to try one of their journals.

Enjoy!

Day four Of Thirty

18 Replies

#4. 5 x 8 in. watercolor on Strathmore 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2018 Sheila Delgado.

This is my 11th painting challenge with Leslie Saeta. I think I missed the first one. I didn’t have time to paint art until well after midnight. Simple will have to suffice.

Not sure if it shows, the difference between wet and dry. The petal on the left (below) is wet and the color is so juicy. It dried more muted. I need to go back in and build layers of color but I do like the variations, the light areas. I filled the wet petal with color, spread it around. Then while it was still wet, I loaded my brush again (lightly) and dropped in more color at the base and along the sides. I also added it to some areas in the middle of the petal.

Wet vs dry.

Three frames, and 1 corkboard. That is what I painted today. One of the projects on my list is to get art on the walls. I started a week ago. OK, maybe two weeks. And I have a feeling it will be the end of the week before I finish.

I’ve collected frames from antique shops, Goodwill and clearance racks. Most of them are in great condition but a few needed a touch-up. One frame was damaged, so I added more “damage” using the backend of a hammer and a flat-head screwdriver. A few coats of paint and it is good as new. The frame is black so you really can’t see the nicks until you are up close. And it was impossible to get a photo to show you.

Happy painting to Leslie’s crew! And happy day to everyone!

Day 7 Of 30 And A Giveaway

24 Replies

One, Day 7. 4 x 4 Mixed Media on panel. © 2018 Sheila Delgado

I did it. Wrong! So laughing at myself, because I just now caught it. I was so into the creating, I was not reading. I meant it to read, One love. As in the U2 song. Aye-yi-yi. Oh well, no one will know if I don’t say anything. Shhhh. Still works.

This went back and forth. Scanned it five times, to see what it needed. I don’t usually do that. But for some reason, viewing it on the screen helped me see what was missing. I almost named it Chaos. Maybe I got to busy? But it certainly reflects the day I have had. And I find that interesting.

The end of week one. And I mentioned a giveaway didn’t I. Pretty simple. I am going to choose a day, and then a name from that days comments. Papers in a cup. 1-7, and then all the names from the chosen day. Make sense? It’s late so I might be typing gibberish. The chosen person, can choose from one of the three paintings shown in this post. I will be doing a giveaway each week this month.