Category Archives: Fruit

Days 1 – 5 of The Creative Gathering, February 2026

My 30 day gouache adventure is underway!

Shown in reverse order.
Day 1, Ball Cactus.
Gouache on Arches paper. 4 x 4 in. S.M. Delgado.

There is no doubt this is going to be a month of learning for me. Gouache can be used like watercolor, but it is very different. It is opaque. You can layer light over dark. You can blend. And if you goof, you can paint over it. I apologize for the blur.

Day 2, Prickly Pear Cactus.
Gouache on Meeden 140 Lb. hot press paper. 5 x 7 in. S.M. Delgado.

The reference photo showed the tuna’s as very pale pink. I didn’t quite capture the light in them. And my blending there is very uneven. I’m trying to convince myself it gives them a rough & rustic look. 😄 The spines were very few and mostly around the edges. I can see why this medium is favored for illustration work. I added the outlining and the spines digitally.

Day 3, Saguaro Cactus. Gouache on Meeden 140 Lb. hot press paper.
3.5 x 5 in. S.M. Delgado
I had several busy days in a row, so I went small and simple.

Day 4, Cloud. Gouache on Meeden 140 Lb. hot press paper.
3.5 x 5 in. S.M.Delgado.

I had a bottom layer of “light” in the foreground. And I added texture as well. But it didn’t work, and as I tried to rework it, I lost most of that. I really was focused on the cloud process. I kept working that to blend and soften. I’m not sure it is effective. To me it looks hard instead of soft. But the learning counts.

Day 5, Same Cloud. Gouache on Meeden 140 Lb. hot press paper.
3.5 x 5 in. S.M.Delgado.

You’re right. You are seeing double. LOL. I added a tree line, and some light on the mountains. It was a long day, that’s about all I had time for. I did get some ideas for my next piece. I’m looking ahead to tomorrow. After a long winter’s nap.

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the first five days!

Happy Weekend to you!

The Creative Gathering Group Gallery, September 2023

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Our September creative gathering marks the close of our fifth year. Five years of friendly, fruitful, fun. Along with creating 571 pieces of art, over 5000 conversations took place (comments). That’s a whole lot of chit-chat and cheering each other on!

Our daily average number of posts was down this round. Many of our long time members were unable to participate. Fingers crossed they will join us in February. 🥰

I’m so excited, to be able to share a glimpse at the fabulous works created by our group. Below is a video highlighting two pieces from each artist. You will also see a collage of all the work they created during the month. I usually do not include myself in the group gallery, but as it is only a video that will be posted to our group Pinterest board, I added myself at the end.

I struggled to make this, hate to admit. 😆 Photoshop changed things, and I had to learn it all over again. I apologize that there is no music track. I have set a fairly long delay rate, to give you enough time to look through the collages. It runs about 4 minutes, and will repeat. These are low resolution images, so there may be some slight pixelation or blur. But that serves to protect the works from being copied.

Grab a cuppa’ and enjoy!

The Creative Gathering Group Gallery 9 23

Congratulations to each of you!
You set aside time for yourself,
& your dedication has tangible results.
You had a fabulous month of creating!

I’m so grateful to be able to share this time with you!

Wishing you JOY
& bountiful creating!

Share, Subscribe, & Say Hello!

Petite Pears for Spoonflower

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Petite Plaid Pears. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

Spoonflower is shrinking this week. We ‘re going ditzy! A ditzy pattern design is one that is small scale and random. A tossed pattern that is non-directional. They do not need to be matched up, and that saves on wasted fabric. They are great for clothing and quilting. The pears in my design are about 1 inch squared. Many ditzy patterns are even smaller.

Ditzy patterns have never lost popularity. In the early 1900’s, feed sacks were made from a light cotton material. Resourceful women were using them for towels and to make clothing for the family. Companies soon took notice, and started using ditsy prints on their flour sacks. Flour sack dresses were a staple during the depression in the 30’s.

Plaid Pears Collection. © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

Voting is now open. There are over 1200 entries again, so grab a cuppa. 🙂 There are quite a few pear designs, I voted for several of them. Thank you for taking the time. One of these days I will make the top 60. Fingers crossed. Haha. Hey, gotta have goals, right? Making the top for me, would mean that my skills have improved. So I will keep working at it. ;o)

Deco Diamond Indigo & Gold, © 2022 Sheila Delgado.

Deco Diamond placed at 777 of 1276 entries with 26 votes. That’s about at the 60% range. I thought it would be lower. I went against the grain, hoping it might pay off. I knew there would be lots of scallop entries. You can see in the top 69, almost all of them were some form of a scallop.

So grateful for your votes! Thank you for taking the time. 1276 is a lot of entries to go through.