Category Archives: Pear

30 Days of Art – A look Back

I am so glad I participated again this year in Leslie Saeta’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. It is quite a learning experience. I think the hardest part for me, is writing each day about what I have created.

I know I very often tell you I am not happy with the daily painting. (Lord please tell me I did not complain every day!) Seeing the paintings here, I am really very happy with them all. I know I struggled with wanting to spend more time on each piece. I wanted to create more along the lines of “Fine Art” and less, well less like the level that I am actually at.

I can see a huge improvement in my work, and that is AWESOME! I did not explore Pastels, or work in acrylics or collage as I had hoped. But I did work on Arches paper, as well as start to get familiar with YUPO. In that respect I did stretch out of my comfort zone.

I love the act of painting daily. I love discovering artists, and seeing their work every day. The absolute best part of the challenge for me, is making new friends. There are so many super talented artists taking part in the challenge. The beauty and diversity of what you create… it is a gift! You really are amazing!

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A heartfelt thank you to everyone who visits my blog.
And thank you for taking the time to comment.
Your kind words are icing on the cake!

I will be catching up on visiting artists sites in the next few days. So bummed I am behind – what treasures I am missing!!!

Oh hey, good news here. I received my complimentary copy of Patty Digh’s new book, with my artwork inside. I will share it with you tomorrow!

Thanks again everyone, happy creating to you!

God Bless!

Leslie Saeta’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days – Day 30

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Day 30. Pear, 5 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © 2014 Sheila Delgado

Another quick pear to finish off the month-long challenge. I have to be out the door before dawn so this will have to do. I had plans during this challenge to do some canvas work. I also was hoping to work with pastels, and get some practice in with those. But I have been painting late at night, and watercolors are quiet, and need very little clean up. There is always next month!

Have a super day everyone!

Leslie Saeta’s 30 Paintings in 30 days Challenge

Day 29 of 30 in 30

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Pear Day 29. 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

Today my painting comes with a mini lesson on the wonders of Photoshop. I am not going to get all into the specs. I just want to show the difference it can make. I have a couple of friends who are new to using the program, and I wanted to share some of the features I use.

I have not taken any classes on Photoshop, I would love to. I am self-taught, and what I need to learn is still more than what I know. But learning is fun, so I have more to look forward to!

For posting my artwork here, I often use image adjustments to show it at its best. (Most often, the scan is true to life, and adjustments are not needed.)

Pear Day 29. (original) 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

My pear today was done in a very light wash. More water than pigment. I did not start with a sketch. As you can see, the original scan looks completely washed out. Faded. I think it is due to the transparency of the watercolor. The white of the paper is reflecting through the paint.

Pear Day 29. (vibrance) 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

The original scan was not true this time. I first adjusted the vibrancy. ( Image – adjustments – vibrance) This also gives you the option to change the saturation, but I rarely do that here. ( You can adjust the saturation with more control with the hue/sat tab.)

You probably can’t see much, if any difference between the original above, and the pear to the left. Honestly, to me they look reversed. My eyes must be tired. This time the change did not make a huge difference, but it did brighten the colors a bit.

Pear Day 29. (curves) 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

The other adjustment I use is the curves. There is a lot you can do, and I may not even be using it correctly. You can deepen the colors here. This is good in some cases, and I do like how the pear looks here (to the right). But It is not true to the original.

To the left is the image with both the vibrance and the curves adjustments used together. The green is deeper, and the yellow is brighter. This is true to the original painting.

One more day of the 30 in 30 challenge. If you have not had a chance to visit Leslie’s site for a look, you still have time.

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks to all of you who take the time to comment. It is always great to hear from you!