Tag Archives: #ballcactus

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!

Saguaro Sanctuary For Spoonflower

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Saguaro Sanctuary Duvet. © 2023 Sheila Delgado.

Saguaro Sanctuary Throw. © 2023 Sheila Delgado.

Saguaro Sanctuary Placemats. © 2023 Sheila Delgado. — Saguaro Sanctuary Throw. © 2023 Sheila Delgado.

Click an image to see slideshow.

Saguaro Sanctuary Sample. © 2023 Sheila Delgado.

Saguaro sanctuary was finished with an hour to spare. Unfortunately, there was a glitch, and I was not able to enter it in the garden bedding weekly contest. UGGHH! I tried six or seven times, in each of the formats accepted. Nothing worked. I contacted Spoonflower, and they said they are looking into it. I didn’t think that anything could be done, but I thought I should let them know. It was just the gremlins in the machine.

At least I can feel good about having met the deadline, and having a new design. On to the next. If you would like to take a look at this weeks entries, follow the link. There are over 2000 entries.

We had a wonderful long rain yesterday. Light, steady, gloomy and grey. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the shower.

Wishing you JOY!

Mingus Has A Ball

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Gotta love the desert light. I’ll try to remember that as we soar over 100 degrees. Today we hit 105. But the “real feel” was 112. Yikes! Phoenix’s high was 111. We are usually 10 to fifteen degrees cooler than the city. The warm light on the hills forced me to jump up, and grab my camera to catch the scene.

Another postcard exchange. Yay! I still miss the annual LYA exchange and was so excited to get an invite from Nelvia McGrath. I painted my postcard offering, naturally.

Ball Cactus, 4 x 6, watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

After I scanned the image, I noticed I completely forgot to add distant hills. So, I added them digitally with Photoshop. That “straight” line was buggin’ me.