Category Archives: Photos

30-Day Creative Gathering, Day 9

Day 9, Watercolor on 8 x 8 140 lb. Strathmore Cold Pressed Paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Day 9, Watercolor on 8 x 8 140 lb. Strathmore Cold Pressed Paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

Botched, befuddled, and blighted. Haha. I was doing well, and then I wasn’t. I completely overworked this. Bad timing. And timing is essential in watercolor.

I was distracted by the light and Mingus. First, the front range was white, and Mingus was dark. Then Mingus was white, and the front range was dark. Then the sky began to change. And well…. distraction. I started painting this before the light caught my eye. And I was thinking I had not seen the hills white, as I was trying to paint them. And then boom. They were. Haha.

My sky was decent. The field was ok. Then I added clouds. and they started out ok, but too light. I went back in with more color, but too much water. Ugh. They bloomed, and I had hard, jagged edges everywhere. I tried to soften them with a damp brush. And then I tried again with a digital brush. The small PPI blurs things a bit more.

Knowing I had already messed the sky up, I played a bit more with the field. Trying to get, you know, a feeling of distance. Bleah!!

OK, enough of that. Now for the real star of the show!

Sunset 2-8-21. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Sunset 2-8-21. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

On our neighborhood website, everyone has been sharing their gorgeous sunset photos this week. And why not? Last night I was oo-ing and ah-ing over the sunset out front, looking to the east (below). While at the same time, my folks were hyper about the sun setting in the back, to the west (above). WOWzers!

Oh beautiful, for spacious sky!

Mingus Sunset 2-8-21. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Mingus Sunset 2-8-21. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Winter Sunset 2-2-21. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Winter Sunset 2-2-21. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

This sunset sky is from a week ago. It is subtle, but those colors! I wish I could post it larger. To the left, the pinks in the distance, the soft purples. The undulating cloud shapes. It was delightful. 🙂

When the sun is setting, leave
whatever you are doing and watch it.
Mehmet Murat Ildan

When I admire the wonders of a sunset
or the beauty of the moon,
my soul expands in the
worship of the creator.
Mahatma Gandhi

So Glad To Be Spending Day Two With You!

Day 2, Mixed Media on 8 x 8 Paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Day 2, Mixed Media on 8 x 8 Paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

My original idea with these was more in the direction of Bob Burridge abstracts. I have painted in that style before. Still, I am enjoying the process. I continue to be puzzled with seeing values. I get it, what they are, how to make them. In watercolor at least. But I still somehow think that lighter colors are lighter values. And that is not always true.

Take a look at this painting with the colors taken out, below. Now I would think that the bright turquoise is a light value, the same perhaps as the container. But it isn’t. It is a mid-tone.

Right?

Now going back to the painting, I can see that the turquoise section of the leaf is clearly darker than the container. But my eyes fool me. Or is it my warped color logic? Haha.

Day 2 Desaturated
Day 2 Desaturated

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
William Blake

Coming Around Again

Sunset Pink. 1.27.21, SMD
Sunset Pink. 1.27.21, SMD

I am laughing at myself. I got all excited about the snow. Little did I know a blizzard was on the way. The beautiful scene above is from two days after the storm. It may not have been a blizzard officially, but we were asked to stay off the roads for about 24 hours. We had a good solid day of heavy, blowing snow. It was AWESOME!

Blustery, blowing and snowing. 1.25.21.

My window was covered in a layer of ice.

Veil of White. 1.25.21, SMD.
Veil of White. 1.25.21, SMD.
Powder Coated. 1.25.21, SMD.
Powder Coated. 1.25.21, SMD.

I’m sure this is the most snow we have had in the 5 years we have lived here. Scottsdale and Phoenix even had a dusting! Wowzers! By the second day, roads were dry and clear in our area.

Drift Away. 1.26.21, SMD.
Drift Away. 1.26.21, SMD.
Two of a Kind. 1.26.21, SMD.
Two of a Kind. 1.26.21, SMD.
Clouds lifting, 1/26/21, SMD.
Clouds lifting, 1/26/21, SMD.
Clouds rolling in 1.29.21, SMD
Clouds rolling in 1.29.21, SMD

We had more snow today, briefly. Then the sun came out and the cleared a bit. There was a roll of clouds hovering over Mingus. Then it spread out and moved forward, closer to us. I looked again, and it had collapsed, and was in the original hovering position.

Orange light, 1. 29. 21, SMD.
Orange light, 1. 29. 21, SMD.

I increased the vibrancy on this photo, but the clouds really were blindingly orange. It has been a BeAuTiFuL week in Arizona! Amen!

Silently, like thoughts that come and go,
the snowflakes fall, each one a gem.
William Hamilton Gibson