Category Archives: Watercolor

Paper Roses

Oodles of Doodles. Watercolor on paper.

Giving away my age here. I apologize in advance for the song headache this post might cause. Here is the link to the cure, a video of Marie Osmond singing Paper Roses. The minute I saw this pile of doodles, the song came to mind. Didn’t leave until I watched the video.

These are not roses though. I suppose they could be. My take on a Ranunculus.

I have been working on a fabric design. Many designs in fact. The project is for upholstering a chair. I have gone through at least a dozen possibilities. But none of them felt right. I think it has been so difficult, because I am designing this for me. And I have come to realize, it is all about the feeling.

The other night, just as I was falling asleep. I remembered something that helped to explain my color choice. I am set on a navy base, with white accents.

One of my first jobs, was cleaning for a physician and family friend. Perfect for after school and weekends. I cleaned her office, and home. At home, there was a navy corduroy chair next to the fire-place. It had soft looking cushions, perhaps down filled, and a matching ottoman. Seemed warm and cozy. At the same time, I hated cleaning it. They had a big white dog.

Birth of a Pattern

Step one: draw. With a brush.

Taking inspiration from fabrics I love, I worked to distill the elements that mattered most. Simplicity. Clean lines. A repeat that does not call attention to itself.

Step two: choose elements and prep for placement.

For this design, I want line work. not details. So I delete the white of the paper, and clean up the rough edges. I am working on a grey background (Photoshop) to highlight the areas of paper (white) I have missed.

Pattern WIP.

The green, white and dark blue on the bottom have a color overlay. As you can see, the original color unevenness isn’t a factor. I thought to use only one element, one bloom. Alternating the size and direction would create variation. As it turns out, I have about fifteen that are good options. I will narrow it down to no more than five, and as few as three.

Continuing with the clean up, and then on to placement.

Have a great one!

Changing Vistas

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Gull at Sea. Watercolor sketch. 2016 Sheila Delgado

Didn’t plan on disappearing for two weeks. Had a post half ready. Important projects half done. Then, time to pack and leave for a week on the water.

My good friends celebrating their daughter. A wedding cruise to Catalina and Ensenada. There were about 34 guests that joined the trip.

Carnival is known as the “Fun Ships”. My fun was more relax than Rock and Roll. I ordered room service, read two books and chilled on the balcony. The ship had a cozy little Library. Sprinkle in meals with friends. Perfect. The first book was poetry. She Walks in Beauty by Caroline Kennedy. A longtime favorite poem of mine.

She Walks In Beauty, by Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place,

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

The Longevity Book by Cameron Diaz was very interesting. Kept me up late one night. Well, honestly, I am usually up late at night. But this time it was with a good book as my companion. Made me think that I should make reading at night a new habit!

The photos are self-explanatory. Sunsets and destinations. Looking down in the atrium. The neon green line is where our cabins were. At the front of the ship. Our home port was Long Beach, The Queen Mary our neighbor.

Wedding Cruise, May 2016. sheiladelgado.com

UPPERCASE and Artistic Whispers

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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

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.

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

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!