Tag Archives: #arizonalandscape

Ranunculus On A Rainy Night

Ranunculus on a Rainy Night. Mixed media on Paper. 10 x 10. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Ranunculus on a Rainy Night. Mixed media on Paper. 10 x 10. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

Watercolor, acrylics, gouache, digital marks. I started with layers of pattern using Inktense pencil, acrylics, stencils and a texture sheet. After painting the blooms and vase, It was boring. It needed more but I didn’t know what. It sat for two days.

Ranunculus, Before. Watercolor on Paper. 10 x 10. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Ranunculus, before. Watercolor on Paper. 10 x 10. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

I pulled out my digital pen (laptop), and drew swirls over the blooms. 3 layers, one for each color. (I needed a fourth layer, where the two darker blooms overlap on the right.) I drew complete swirls over each bloom, and had to erase areas where blooms overlapped.

At the end I copied and pasted a bloom to the top right, to fill a hole. But it further emphasized a line I am not happy with it. I had fun though, and I am calling it done.

We’ve had two days of glorious spotty rain. Reports say it will continue all week.
Fingers crossed.

Where the rainbow ends.  SMD 6.24.22
Where the rainbow ends. SMD 6.24.22

Artistic creativity is a whirlpool of imagination
that swirls in the depths of the mind.
Robert Toth

Give thanks for the rain in your life
which waters the flowers of your soul.
Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Photos & Postcards

Sunset Hues, 3 29 22. SMD
Sunset Hues, 3 29 22. SMD

A gorgeous unexpected rainy day! Hooray! Takes more than a terrific camera to get a great shot. LOL. These are all slightly out of focus, my apologies. The colors were calling me. I guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention. Mingus has a cap of snow, behind the cloud cover.

Golden Light, 3 29 22. SMD
Golden Light, 3 29 22. SMD

I love how everything can be shadowed and gray, and then the sun peeks out and highlights the hills, or electrifies raindrops. Simple treasures.

Dusty Hues and Rainbow, 3 29 22. SMD
Dusty Hues and Rainbow, 3 29 22. SMD

Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.
It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.
Vivian Greene.


I am putting some of my scraps to use. The flowers were late night play. I was inspired by our moody clouds today, and had fun trying to capture the moment. I think I know why saguaros are so often painted with curved arms. This one looks like a creature from outer space, or a weird desert cheerleader. Rah, rah, sis, boom, bah.

Postcard #2, 4 x 6 watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Postcard #2, 4 x 6 watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Postcard, 4 x 6 watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Postcard, 4 x 6 watercolor on Arches cold pressed paper. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

I’ve learned that no matter what happens,
or how bad it seems today, life does go on,
and it will be better tomorrow.
I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person
by the way he/she handles these three things:
a rainy day, lost luggage,
and tangled Christmas tree lights.
Maya Angelou.


Smooth The Way

Mingus Evening. 10-24-21. SMD
Mingus Evening. 10-24-21. SMD

I’m not surprised. But I still feel guilty. This usually happens after the Gathering. And I always feel guilty. This is the first art I have created in October. After a month of daily art making.

It’s not that I was stuck or uninspired. I’ve just been busy behind the scenes. It seems the tech stuff is never ending. And since it is not always fun, well, sometimes it just seems to take forever.

For the last couple of days, I have had supplies at the ready. Colored pencils, watercolor crayons, markers, paper. On my desk. And yet, I didn’t start. Then a nudge came to my inbox. Carla Sonheim to the rescue. She spoke about “smoothing the way” for creativity. How her plans to create were replaced with to-dos. She reminded herself, to just get in the studio and make something. Anything.

Just another Sunflower. 4 x 4 watercolor on paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Just another Sunflower. 4 x 4 watercolor on paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

That’s what I did. I put aside the large sheet of paper I had planned to paint on, and replaced it with a 4 x 4 inch sheet. Just start.

Soon, I was in the zone. Relaxed. Enjoying the movement of the color so much, I started a second small painting.

Just another Mingus View. 4 x 4 watercolor on paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Just another Mingus View. 4 x 4 watercolor on paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

I’ll show you where these led me, soon.
Happy weekend everyone!

When black cats prowl
and pumpkins gleam,
may luck be yours
on Halloween.
-Unknown-