Category Archives: Art Groups & Activities

A Simple Start

14 Replies

 

 

Hills 1. 4 x 5 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. 2016 Sheila Delgado

Hills 1. 4 x 5 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper.

I am so happy that Leslie’s challenge is starting, I have missed you all so much!

I will fill you in on the move soon. Friends from out-of-town are visiting this week, so these first couple of posts will be short. I have not had time to prep, but I have considered themes for about a month. Still undecided. Hoping that will make each day of the painting challenge a surprising adventure!

The hills outside my window are proving to be an ever-changing inspiration. The front range often glows electric golden green. The colors mesmerize.

This is the first I have painted since July 26th. Worthy of the round file perhaps, but boy did it feel good to have a brush in my hand again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPPERCASE and Artistic Whispers

10 Replies

 

 

Sunflowers Postcard. Watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Sunflowers Postcard. Watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

 

Here I go again!

Sonya Versluys invited me to take part in her annual Artistic Whispers postcard exchange. We have exchanged cards in the L.Y.A. swap for a few years now. Sonya is a wonderfully talented Photographer and writer.

Sonya mentioned that the exchange has mostly photographers. This made me want to do something extra special. So I tried a new for me technique. And I really enjoyed the process. Working wet on wet. Really wet. I soaked the paper front and back. Then patted the front surface to remove excess water.

The really cool part is that as this was a small piece, 4 x 6, the water acted like glue. The paper stuck to the small OLFA cutting mat I sometimes use to paint on.  Worked as well as taping! Which I rarely do by the way. The paper stayed wet throughout.

I was happy with this painting. But as it was the “first”, I thought I would try again. The colors faded a bit, and I did not think to go back in with more layers before the paper had dried.

Sunflowers 2. Watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Sunflowers 2. Watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Well, I succeeded on getting stronger colors. But turns out, I like the first one better. Feels less contrived. I do like parts of this second piece, so as a learning experience it gets an A.

Signed and sealed. Artistic Whispers, Sheila Delgado, sheiladelgado.com

Signed and sealed.

This time I was smart. I printed my greeting on the cards instead of hand writing it.

My cards are printed and trimmed, and the envelope is ready to go. Two weeks before the deadline, don’t know how I managed that!

 

UPPERCASE Newsletter

sheiladelgado.com

All About YOU: the Super Bowl of Surface Pattern.

Thrilled to announce that I am included in this weekend’s UPPERCASE newsletter All About YOU on Pattern Designers and Surtex. The Surtex convention starts tomorrow in New York City. My design, A midsummer’s night, is on the left. You can take a look at all the terrific designers in the newsletter.

Thank you Janine!

 

Congratulations and best wishes to all the artists attending Surtex!

Happy weekend everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soul Art 2016

10 Replies

 

Soul Art 2016, watercolor, oil pastel on Yupo.

Soul Art 2016, watercolor, oil pastel on Yupo.

This year, my soul art came in pieces. My day was sliced in half. I did the guided journey work in the morning, and returned to paint in the evening. I had a slightly stressful afternoon, and sitting down to paint was such a treat.

I turned on Laura‘s closing hang out, and listened as I worked. These are 6 x 6 inches squares, and the small one is an ATC, 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

The first two are pieces I had abandoned months ago. While reaching for a clean sheet of paper, I saw their colorful corners sticking out. Were they calling to me?

I pulled them out of my paper stash, and looked at them for a long time. The top one only had the base colors on it, and some yellow crayon marks. The second, had just the blue.

Soul art, five topic images.

Soul art, five topic images.

My five topics, the things that came to mind first:
Color, ocean, faces, flowers, pattern.
I did not have magazines handy, so I pulled images from Pinterest. The images that called to me are here.

The five descriptions are cheerful, thoughtful, bold, flowing, sensual.

I did not consciously think of these while painting, but you can see that some of them are present in the work.

The two bottom pieces were really all about play. The ATC started as an abstract.

None of these are finished works. I think I may take a cue  from Dotty Seiter, and they may show up as part of a collage!

 

You can read more about my Soul Art experience in Laura Hollick’s Soul Art Gallery. I am still catching up on the Facebook posts and reading about the other artists in the gallery. Several of you mentioned signing up. If you were able to take part, please comment with a link so I can visit!