Tag Archives: #arizonaartist

Day One of The September 2020 30-Day Creative Gathering. Let’s Kick It!

Day 1, 9-2020. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

Heeeyyyy everyone! Welcome to the 30-Day Creative Gathering. 🙂 Hope you’re ready to get in the groove, and have some fun. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure I had enough mojo to participate. But I chatted with some of you, and we sort of talked each other into it. Ha-ha. That’s what friends are for ‘ey?!

It may have hit me late, but a few days ago, I started to get really excited. And here I am.
One more time.

This will be my 13th 30-day challenge. Ten of them were with Leslie Saeta in her 30 Paintings In 30 Days events. Leslie changed her focus a couple of years ago, and a few of us wanted to continue the challenge. Yay! Christiane Drieling and I co-founded the 30-Day Creative Gathering on Facebook. Follow the links to see samples from the events.

Let’s kick it ya’ll!

My piece for day one is a do-over. And I most likely will be trying this again. It is a huge canvas that has been hanging on my wall unfinished, ever since we moved to Arizona. Four years!! Truth be told, it was unfinished for even longer than that. I had once painted a scene on it. Then I moved, and I prepped it for the new space. Haha, that is as far as I got. Honestly, I just never could decide what I wanted to see on the wall. And what I had the courage to attempt. LOL. 🙂

But it’s only paint, and I can start all over if I want to. This canvas may make an appearance again later this month.

I don’t have room to paint on a canvas this size. I painted it on my bed. Haha. I painted the sky first, stopped for dinner, and then worked on the rest. Here is my first try. I apologize for the terrible photo. The dark area is my shadow.

Day 1, First Draft, 9-2020. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

I am going to critique this, but know that I am happy with it to an extent. I am sharing my thoughts on the process to help clarify what I learned.
Happy as always for the learning!

I did not have the right colors on hand, and I do not have the right tools for a large piece. I used a 2-inch brush for the sky and land. Dotted (poured) the colors on, and then blended. Adding spritzes of water as needed.

For the ocean area, I used the same technique to get a base layer of color. Next, I used palette knives, a gift card, a one-inch brush, and my fingers. I used both craft paints and artist paints. Also matte gel for extra body.

When I finished the first time, I noticed a GLARING mistake. I had three bands of color. Three straight lines. Haha. B-o-r-i-n-g.

So I went back in and softened where the land and sky meet. I think I could have done better, but I am OK with this. Here is the final version again…

The dark band at the top of the sky actually looks perfect in daylight. It is softer and blends well. I still have “lines’ of color, but it’s no longer like nails on a chalkboard. Haha. 🙂

You can click on any image below if you want a closer look.

I was trying to mimic the feel of a painting by Hiroshi Matsumoto. I love his work. I had narrowed down my favorites to: May 2019, and June 2019. I love the feel of these two.

I decided on his June piece. The light, the shades of blue, the misty horizon. The abstract, chunky colors. The southern California-ness.

It bombed. Haha, haha. I just don’t have the right tools. I think I needed larger knives. Heavier body paint. I changed course midstream.

After looking at my piece on the wall, I have decided I want something calm in that space. Color, with hints of detail. Haha. Make up your mind Sheila!

Lastly, I think the main problem with this piece, is that it feels like separate paintings, chopped and put together. It isn’t integrated. Unified.

I promise I won’t write a novel for each piece this month. Thanks for visiting, suggestions are welcome! Happy creating everyone! 🙂

Grey Skies Are Gonna Clear Up!

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Painter's Sky over Mingus. SMD 2020 — Painter’s Sky over Mingus. SMD 2020

I’ve been so busy finishing up small projects. A few large ones too. I finally cleared off my desk! Whew! Just in time for the September 30-DAY CREATIVE GATHERING!

Holy Moly! September already!!?

And I am sorry to say, that again this year, I have done very little painting since the February challenge. Where has the time gone??? Haha.

Today I am sharing a photo of the frame I started months ago. It is done, but I think I might try it again with a DecoArt Metallic Lustre. What do you think?

Before, the frame was a worn black, with a red underpainting. It was battered and dinged. I sanded it in spots and painted it a light silver. I then added black brush strokes (fan brush) and small spattering. I finished with an “aging”, a thinned layer of brown, and a sealer. I don’t like gold frames, weird I know. But the silver alone was too cold. I had to warm it up a bit.

I apologize for the poor photo. I am so happy to finally have a frame on this gift from Sea Dean! (It may have been a contest win.) This was an “Oops” frame from Hobby Lobby. 8 x 10. Marked at $24, then red-tagged at just over $6. But it would be well over $50 if it was custom ordered. SCORE!

The frame was the first project I started, and it was the last I finished. Haha. It was soon buried under piles of to-dos. After I had the silver on, I was afraid to ruin it. So silly. DUH! It’s only paint, and I can always start over. Right?

This next paint project was a quickie. I found a tray online, the description said, “beach wood”, worn and weathered. Well, mine arrived and it was dark and dingy grey. Depressing and sad. Haha.

What I really wanted was a woven basket type tray. But those are outrageously expensive. Naturally. My budget-friendly solution was to add a warm and “sunny” finish. I had to sand a few spots, but otherwise, the surface was flat and even. I used an old gift card to apply the paint. I poured the paint directly on the tray.

Awesome happy accident! The wood grain remained visible under the multiple layers of paint. I think five layers. I wanted it to look like it had been painted many times over the years.

We are in our Monsoon season. It runs from the middle of June until the end of September. So far, it is a figment. Fragment. We have only had very short spurts, of … sprinkles. Haha. For the last few days it has been dark and dreary. And dry.

Still, the sky puts on a good show.

I have started my first painting for the September Gathering. The last project on my to-do list. It is a 36-inch square canvas. The one that has been on my wall for four years unfinished. Haha. Tune in next week…

Paint is only wasted when it stays in the tube.

Hope you are all staying safe, and well.
Safe from fires and floods… and upheaval.

For Dad

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Sunflower Bouquet, watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2015 Sheila Delgado.

It is with deep sorrow that I write today. My father passed away unexpectedly, early Tuesday morning. July 14. He had been ill for about a month. Pneumonia, and then, COVID.

He was in the hospital for only ten days.

He retired to Mexico, and his wife Tere speaks almost no English. My Spanish is limited as well. So details are slow coming. They recently relocated to Los Mochis, from Guadalajara. We were all looking forward to being able to see them more often.

I was prepared. To lose my father someday, relatively soon. He spoke to my brother and me about this when we saw him in January. He shared his thoughts with us.

But hardest of all, and something none of us could have anticipated, is this forced separation we are all living with. I always thought we would spend his last days together.

I will share more soon. There is so much more to say.

2016, Eric & Iza's Wedding, Arizona — 2016, Eric & Iza’s Wedding, Arizona

The American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion, Presidential Address, 1999. Frank Delgado, President.

The morning after, I was led to my blog. I received a comment on an old post, and I always reply to comments. I read the quotes on the post, and they held new meaning for me.
I listened to the song I had shared, one I am sure my father would have enjoyed.

Funny how things come to you. A sign from above…

“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

Watercolor 4 x 5 — 4 x 5 Watercolor on 140 lb. cold press. © 2013 Sheila Delgado

The paintings, were two of my Dad’s favorites.

Please know that I am so very grateful for your messages.
I hope you can forgive me if I am unable to respond right away.
(If you subscribe, you will be notified via email when I do.)

God Bless and keep you in his loving embrace.
Please, please be safe.

Sheila Marie