Category Archives: Painting Challenge

Day 16 of 30 in 30

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

When I think of Greek designs, I think heavy. Dark. Linear. Geometric. At the time the Greeks occupied much of southern Italy, the Etruscans were a highly civilized people of northern Italy. In many ways, the Etruscans were influenced by the Greeks. But many Etruscan designs are complete opposites to their Greek counterparts.

Etruscan designs are delicate. They are feminine and light. They are curvaceous. There is an order to them, but order is not the reason.

I don’t remember learning about these designs in school. But I can see why dots and heart-shaped leaves might be less exciting to talk about than Greek Key borders and the perfection of pure form.

I can appreciate Etruscan designs for their graphic simplicity.

Copper details on Etruscan Postcard.

It is not showing well in the scan, but the larger dots are copper, and they really catch the light.

Today marks the halfway point in Leslie Saeta’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. It really makes the month go by fast. As much as I love the painting part, I also enjoy making new friends with other artists. It is Christmas everyday, finding fabulous art in my inbox. I know… I am an art geek. Hey, If I was a Girl Scout I would get a badge for that!

Pear – Day 14 of 30 in 30

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Messy Pear. ATC watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Loose was about three minutes back from where I stopped painting. Next stop. Overworked.

Still for all that is wrong with this pear, I really like it. It is far from perfect. I love aged, chipped and peeling, left out in the rain and rusted shut.

This looks like it has lived a long life. The art, not the real pear. Although, maybe that did too now that I think about it. Looks like it was left on a desk, and someone spilled some Coke on it. They tried to wipe it up, but duh, it is watercolor. So the paint smeared into a muddy mess.

Happy Day 14 to all the artists still working away in Leslie’s Challenge! Happy Tuesday to everyone – Thanks for stopping by!

Clouds – Day 13 of 30 in 30

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Clouds. 4 x 6 watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

I am so enjoying my Arches paper. I can scrub, and rework and basically erase mistakes. Some of the smaller clouds in this I created by going back in with a damp brush, scrubbing out some of the color. In fact, I had the two large clouds ending at about the same point. I went back and extended the top cloud further into the center.

On its own, this sky-scape my not work as well as the previous two. But I think I finally got the foreground right. And when you see the three together, it makes more sense to have a lot of blue sky in this one.

I would love to hear your opinion. Did I create a sense of distance? I did not use a photo for reference, just my imagination. And memories of the view on various road trips through the desert.

I tried to scan the block with all three of these together, but it is just a tad bigger than my scanner bed. Some of the edge was cut off. I wanted to show this view, because I like how the white space between the pieces came out looking like dirt roads. Don’t ya’ think? I am tempted to go back and erase the seams and join them all together as one landscape. Or maybe just fix the foreground in the first painting.

Scan of Days 11, 12 and 13

Below is a view with spacers between each panel.

Clouds Triptych

I won’t use these for the postcard exchange. I think postcards should be more graphic. I finally had a chance tonight to catch up on viewing the art being created in Leslie’s Challenge. Oh my, really great artists are taking part. It is so much fun to me to look at art. I wish I could win the lotto and buy a piece of art from each participant!

Hope your week is off to a great start! Don’t forget to look up and take notice of the sky and all its glory!