Author Archives: Sheila

Project Complete

 

4 x 4 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. 2016 Sheila Delgado.

4 x 4 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. 2016 Sheila Delgado.

 

Wedding gifts. Late. A larger canvas yet to finish. Tempted to add, something. A line. Some texture. But the couple is into modern and minimalist. So leaving them as is. Pulled the palette from their registry.

I put off painting these. Lettering still scares me. That voice that tells me I can’t do it, or that I will ruin it. I know I can paint over any mistakes, but the doubt still wins out.

There were mistakes. And I DID erase them with paint. Still a little crooked here and there. Proof of being hand-made.

 

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

Changing Vistas

 

Gull at Sea. Watercolor sketch. 2016 Sheila Delgado

Gull at Sea. Watercolor sketch. 2016 Sheila Delgado

Didn’t plan on disappearing for two weeks. Had a post half ready. Important projects half done. Then, time to pack and leave for a week on the water.

My good friends celebrating their daughter. A wedding cruise to Catalina and Ensenada. There were about 34 guests that joined the trip.

Carnival is known as the “Fun Ships”. My fun was more relax than Rock and Roll. I ordered room service, read two books and chilled on the balcony. The ship had a cozy little Library. Sprinkle in meals with friends. Perfect. The first book was poetry. She Walks in Beauty by Caroline Kennedy.  A longtime favorite poem of mine.

 

She Walks In Beauty, by Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place,

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent! 

 

The Longevity Book by Cameron Diaz was very interesting. Kept me up late one night. Well, honestly, I am usually up late at night. But this time it was with a good book as my companion. Made me think that I should make reading at night a new habit!

The photos are self-explanatory. Sunsets and destinations. Looking down in the atrium. The neon green line is where our cabins were. At the front of the ship. Our home port was Long Beach, The Queen Mary our neighbor.

 

Wedding Cruise, May 2016. sheiladelgado.com

 

 

 

UPPERCASE and Artistic Whispers

 

 

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

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

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. Artistic Whispers, Sheila Delgado, sheiladelgado.com

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

sheiladelgado.com

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!