Category Archives: Pen

September 2022, 30-Day Creative Gathering Collage

9.22, 30 Day Creative Gathering Collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

Over 700 artworks were created in the group this month! 713, approximately. What a spectacular beginning for our fourth year of the The Gathering! Four years! I am so thrilled that the artists are still enjoying 30 days of creatively challenging themselves. We are still going strong! And the group has grown, with over a dozen new members this month. Welcome!

Personally, I think this was my best challenge ever. I am very happy with my results. There are only two that I wish had turned out better. Not a bad average! I shared two surface design starts. Funny, I did not use either of them in my final patterns. It’s very likely they will make an appearance somewhere down the road. 😉

I am always interested to know which, if any were your favorites. Some of you have already shared them with me in the group. 😄 You know me so well!

Here are my favorites. And I am grateful to say, it was hard for me to choose. I could have added most of the landscapes as well. I had the most fun those. With watercolor. I have missed painting with watercolor. And I really had fun with the abstracts in the last week.

9.22, 30 Day Creative Gathering Favorites Collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

I started experimenting with digital collage on day 3. But I remember that one being more of a struggle. From day 20 on, I was really having fun playing with pattern. I think the pinks, the final week, were so fun because I started loose and fast, and without intention. I painted eight pieces, but only four were interesting at first.

Funny to think that only 3 of my favorites are actual, in real life paintings.

I was blessed this month. Blessed to have the energy to participate, to create. Blessed with restored health. Blessed to have so many friends & family follow along here, and in the group. And so very blessed to be in such fine company, in The Gathering. I learn so much from everyone. Something new each day. And I am consistently inspired and amazed.

In the next couple of days, I will share the group gallery with you.
It will be awe-inspiring. Every one really had a superb month!

Next week I will post a health update. I still am catching up on getting my annual postcards out. And I want to send a special “thank you” to all of you who kept me in your prayers, and sent well wishes while I was ill. Will you please leave a comment with your mailing address. I have to approve each comment, so they will not be posted for others to see. You can also email, or message me.

I have many already, but I’d like to be sure I include everyone. I am eternally grateful. My brain was so muddled, I’m fearful that I might forget. And I believe in my heart, the power of your prayers are what healed me. 🙏🙏🙏

Wishing you JOY!

When you arise in the morning,
think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive,
to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.
Marcus Aurelius

Reflect upon your present blessings,
of which every man has many.
Not on your past misfortunes,
of which all men have some.
Charles Dickens

You have to participate relentlessly
in the manifestation of your own blessings.
Elizabeth Gilbert

Days 15 Through 20 Of the September 30-Day Gathering

Day 20, CG 9 22. 8 x 8 inch. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Day 20, CG 9 22. 8 x 8 inch. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

I’m having fun with these. The first four were painted in acrylic or watercolor. And the patterns were added digitally in Photoshop. Not as easy as it might sound. On the vase above it took three times longer to add the collage and effects, than it did to paint it.

Day 19, CG 9 22. 8 x 8 inch. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Day 19, CG 9 22. 4 x 6 inch. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Day 18, CG 9 22. 8 x 8 inch. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Day 18, CG 9 22. 4 x 6 inch. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Day 17, CG 9 22. 8 x 8 inch. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Day 17, CG 9 22. 4 x 6 inch. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

For day 16, I shared a work in progress. I will be sharing the final pattern soon. Here I created a plaid, which will act as the background for the rest of the design. The theme is Fika, Swedish coffee break. But it is so much more than that. Fika is all about bonding with friends and family. It can take place several times a day.

I knew that many would use the colors of the Swedish flag, And I wanted to do something different. I tried adding a weave texture, but as you can see, it darkens the colors too much.

Day 16, CG 9 22. Surface pattern © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Day 16, CG 9 22. Surface pattern © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

This landscape is watercolor, acrylics and collage. And splatter of course. 😆

Day 15, CG 9 22. 8 x 8 inch. Mixed media, collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Day 15, CG 9 22. 4 x 6 inch. Mixed media, collage. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

Here in the valley we are enjoying a rainy, dark day. It’s been raining off and on since about 11 pm. It is cool, and the rain is not evaporating. This is a good long soak.

Creativity is
inventing,
experimenting,
growing,
taking risks,
breaking rules,
making mistakes,
and having fun.
Mary Lou Cook

Woo Whoo! Super 70’s Score!

Detail, Dark Plaid Uniform, Spoonflower. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Detail, Dark Plaid Uniform, Spoonflower. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

I placed at 369 of 1425 entries in last weeks 70’s Pillow Challenge. WOW! I received 64 votes! Thanks everybody! I’m stoked. LOL. 😊

This weeks design is already receiving lots of “favorites”, and I am excited. I thought I might have gone too plain with this one. The theme was dark academia. Think Harry Potter. Not my interest at all. But I did the research, and gathered ideas. I just couldn’t get excited about candlesticks and creepy owls. Haha. So I made the call and turned in my unembellished plaid. There are only about ten other plaid entries.

You can see the detail, a twill weave, in the image above. I tried several different variations. And there are a couple more I am going to make available in my shop. In one, the yellow stands out more. The other has less burgundy, and is darker. I used Indigo, Juan yellow and deep burgundy. It’s so fun to see how the pattern process yields different tones.

Dark Plaid Variations, Spoonflower. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Dark Plaid Variations, Spoonflower. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

This turned out to be an awesome challenge. I learned how to make a plaid easily. I can make a regular, a twill and a flannel from one design. How awesome it that? Gotta love learning!

Dark Plaid Uniform, Spoonflower. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.
Dark Plaid Uniform, Spoonflower. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

This is how it looks in the voting panel. Thanks so much to all of you who take the time. I know it is a chore. Spoonflower is working to make it easier.

World Watercolor Month

It’s hard to believe that WWM is wrapping up. I have posted some of these before, But here they are as a series. I had so much fun, and I can’t wait to do more collage. They are doing another round next month if you are interested. I will be prepping for the 30-Day Creative Gathering in September. Can you believe it is already here?

The first series was inspired by Cat Rains and her 5 Day Collage Kickstart. Cat is so enthusiastic and has so many super ideas. Be sure to check out her Tune In Tuesdays on Instagram! So much fun!

I also participated in Laly Mille’s Soulful Abstracts Retreat. A teaser for her full length course. Laly has such a calming, peaceful presence.

I love both of these fabulously talented, generous women!

I wasn’t happy with how the first two collages turned out. The sky is an off color. I am more happy with it in the second set. I made a lot of mistakes in both series. Learned from them though. And I learned that making papers is so much fun. 😉

25% Off Society6 SMDelgado

Last day to save.

The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
Dr. Seuss

I am always doing that which I cannot do,
in order that I may learn how to do it.
Pablo Picasso

Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mahatma Gandhi

Subscribe, share and like.
Thanks so much. 😊