Tag Archives: southwest

Cool Cactus Hues

Cactus, 5.5 x 8.5, watercolor on paper, © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

I received a SuPeR AwEsOmE surprise in the mail yesterday. Christine Brooks sent me an Arteza watercolor sketchpad. WOW! Thank you, Christine!

There is a wonderful texture to the paper. Different from the Artist’s Touch I mentioned last month. Different, but similar. I like it. I lifted the cloud on the left. With a damp brush. Good to know that is possible on this paper.

The light on the clouds was so brilliant, it lit up the room. The clouds were actually “dripping down” like thick, wet paint. I am going to try and paint it. Not sure I know how. It will be fun trying though.

I did manage something like it years ago, but don’t ask me what I did. LOL.

“Piglet noticed that even though he had
a Very Small Heart,
it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
A.A. Milne

Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos into order,
confusion into clarity.
It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Melody Beattie

“‘Enough’ is a feast.”
Buddhist Proverb

Day 26 Of The 30-Day Creative Gathering

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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.

Day 20 Of The 30-Day Creative Gathering

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Day 20, FEB C.G., 8 x 8, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

I have to admit, I have had a hard time getting started each day. Seems I think about what to paint, longer than it takes for me to actually paint. Haha. Indecision. Not procrastination. I have a folder full of images, cacti, that I would like to paint. I just have a hard time deciding.

I guess that’s not a bad problem to have. I would like to start earlier. And finish before midnight. Tonight I set a goal for myself. To complete the piece in 2 hours. I wasn’t sure I could. I haven’t been timing myself. I stop for breaks and get distracted. Sometimes. But I sat down to work and didn’t stop until I was done. I had 2 minutes to spare.

Did you know cactus spines are actually highly modified leaves? This helps to prevent water loss from the surface of a leaf. The spines can also provide shade for the cactus and reduce airflow around the plant.