Tag Archives: fruit

Day 29 of 30 in 30

Pear Day 29. 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

Today my painting comes with a mini lesson on the wonders of Photoshop. I am not going to get all into the specs. I just want to show the difference it can make. I have a couple of friends who are new to using the program, and I wanted to share some of the features I use.

I have not taken any classes on Photoshop, I would love to. I am self-taught, and what I need to learn is still more than what I know. But learning is fun, so I have more to look forward to!

For posting my artwork here, I often use image adjustments to show it at its best. (Most often, the scan is true to life, and adjustments are not needed.)

Pear Day 29. (original) 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

My pear today was done in a very light wash. More water than pigment. I did not start with a sketch. As you can see, the original scan looks completely washed out. Faded. I think it is due to the transparency of the watercolor. The white of the paper is reflecting through the paint.

Pear Day 29. (vibrance) 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

The original scan was not true this time. I first adjusted the vibrancy. ( Image – adjustments – vibrance) This also gives you the option to change the saturation, but I rarely do that here. ( You can adjust the saturation with more control with the hue/sat tab.)

You probably can’t see much, if any difference between the original above, and the pear to the left. Honestly, to me they look reversed. My eyes must be tired. This time the change did not make a huge difference, but it did brighten the colors a bit.

Pear Day 29. (curves) 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

The other adjustment I use is the curves. There is a lot you can do, and I may not even be using it correctly. You can deepen the colors here. This is good in some cases, and I do like how the pear looks here (to the right). But It is not true to the original.

Pear Day 29. 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

To the left is the image with both the vibrance and the curves adjustments used together. The green is deeper, and the yellow is brighter. This is true to the original painting.

One more day of the 30 in 30 challenge. If you have not had a chance to visit Leslie’s site for a look, you still have time.

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks to all of you who take the time to comment. It is always great to hear from you!

30 In 30, Day 25

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One last pear. Well not forever, they are too much fun.

I started a series of three postcards, which I will be submitting for an art exhibition and swap. I had planned to use those abstracts, but then decided to carefully re-read the instructions. There is a theme. Don’t know how I spaced that out. I was going to use the first card as my painting for today, but I used salt, and the drying time squashed that idea.

Leslie (the host of this challenge) mentioned the other day, that she hoped we had learned a lot from this daily exercise. And at that time, I was a little unsure about what I could say I have learned. But with this one rustic little pear, I realize I have learned quite a lot. That is not to say that I have perfected any of it. But I have made progress.

This is not a pretty pear. But there are some pear varieties that are not really “pretty”. I was going to find a photo to show you. What I found is that I actually painted a perfect version of a Forelle (for-ELL-ee) pear.

Spotted Pear. 4 x 6 postcard. Watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado 2013

Serendipity doodle do! I Googled for pear facts before, but this never came up… bizarro!

(Oh and did you know that ungoogleable is a real word?)

I know there is a Chinese proverb that says something about finding what we need when we need it. Or what we need finds us when we need it. Sorry, it is 2 am and I might be a zombie right now. I will have to search for that later, but I am sure you know what I am talking about. And if you do, and you leave a comment with the proper saying, I would be eternally grateful. One of those things that will gnaw at me until I find it.

Now that I found a photo of a Forelle, I feel good about showing you my rustic little pear.

Get to the point zombie.

What I have learned:

I learned the way to hold my brush to tap spots of color, almost exactly where I want them. ( yeah I went a little nuts with that one. I was having fun)
I learned what size brush to use to get the spot size I need.
I learned more about water pigment ratios.
I learned how to correct a mistake. I had too much dark reflection on the base of the pear, it went too far up and was a solid thick band… but I went back in with just water a few times, and voilà!
I learned that pears are easy for me. Holy revelation Batman! I chose to do a pear because I knew it would be quick, and I could get to bed. Where I should be right now.

I know I am tired because I have turned into a jabber-jaw!

I did not have time to visit my artist friends today, I will have to catch up tomorrow. I hate missing all the amazing art you have created! Thanks to all who visit my site, thank you for taking the time to comment and chat with me too.

Be well and enjoy!

Leslie Saeta’s September 30 Paintings In 30 Days Challenge, Day Ten

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patient virtue stare
wait becomes much to bear
plump auspicious pear
~ SMD

Watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. 5 x 5 © Sheila Delgado 2013

I thought I had ruined this. I was almost done too. I had planned to have the stem much longer, and the leaf (or two) were going to be larger and bend down closer to the fruit. I botched the shape of the stem connecting to the leaf, and I had to scrub it all out. The paper was stained, and the only thing I could do was create the leaf to cover it up. Don’t you think that little lone leaf is just about perfect? Such an amazing surprise!

I bought some pears today. I read that you do not want to put them in the fridge until they have ripened. It stops the process. I always leave mine out, I think they taste better at room temperature. I have some Laughing Cow cheese, and I am going to make a Grilled cheese and pear sandwich with that. I also found an almost ready mango. Heaven is waiting on the counter!

If you want to see more submissions from other artists for the 30 day challenge, click here.

Good luck to all the artists on day ten!

Have a terrific Tuesday!