Tag Archives: pear

Day 29 of 30 in 30

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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!

Pear – Day 14 of 30 in 30

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

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!

Day 16 – Sea Dean’s Art Party

Pear. 4 x 6 watercolor, 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

Pear. 4 x 6 watercolor, 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

I got on a bit of a roll last night, and I did three pears. Just having a peary good time. I am really happy with how this one turned out. I was hoping the background on top would spread some more, but it did not. And there was some interesting texture there as well, but once it dried everything just smoothed out.

There is a long vertical mark on the right side of the pear. A BIG mistake. I guess I must have swiped a dry brush there. It was not noticeable while it was wet. I was going to try to fix it, but I think it works. It works well enough to be my entry today in Sea Dean’s party.

Here is the Love actually version of All I want for Christmas. I think I watch this movie, just so I can hear this version of the song. This girl can sing! and they actually asked her to goof it up a bit. She was so good, they didn’t think people would believe it was her, and not dubbed. OK, so if you have not seen it. The drummer worked day and night to learn the drums in hopes of winning his one true love. You guessed it, the girl with the voice. And Hugh Grant is the Prime Minister, who let the cat out of the bag.

I highly recommend the movie. I have seen it too many times to count.