Tag Archives: #landscape

Looking Back On 30 Days Of Painting

Day 29, 30-Day Creative Gathering 2-2024. 8 x 8 Watercolor, digital collage. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Day 29, 30-Day Creative Gathering 2-2024. 8 x 8 Watercolor, digital collage. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.

My usual M.O. is to make a plan, and have a few themes in mind at the beginning of the gathering. The journey usually presents a different path, and I follow where it leads.

Not the abstracts I had in mind. But still a good month. Filled with learning, some mild frustration (part of learning), and meditative moments.

I made use of scrap paper. A couple of extra wide bookmarks. Some smaller, simple florals. I worked in several sizes. 4 x 4, 8 x 8, a couple 10×10’s. I worked with watercolor, acrylics, mixed media & digital collage.

Below I share each piece, including larger views of a few of my favorites. You will see my 30 day collage, and my favorites collage.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy!

Days 1 - 10,  30-Day C.G.  2-2024. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Days 1 – 10, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Days 11 - 20, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Days 11 – 20, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Days 21 - 30, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Days 21 – 30, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Day 3, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. 8 x 8. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Day 3, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. 8 x 8. Watercolor, digital collage. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Day 13, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. 10 x 10 Watercolor, digital collage. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Day 13, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. 10 x 10 Watercolor, digital collage. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.

Do you remember the overhead projectors in school? And how the teacher would sometimes layer the acetate sheets to show a change of angles or size. Well that is a simple way to think about digital collage. It’s all about layers.

For the landscape above, I started with a painting. Plain colors & shapes.

  • In the foreground I added a bit of digital painting for texture and an extra layer of color for the darker areas.
  • On the front range, I added a layer of an old letter. I tilted it, and changed the color.
  • On Mingus, I added a layer of pattern. A mixture of dots, lines and triangles.
  • The moon is piece of copyright free clip art. I softened the color, and added a glow effect. I exaggerated that so that it would reflect on the mountain.
  • To the sky I digitally painted some texture, but most of that is from the original painting. I added digital splatter, and deepened the color to more of a twilight feel.

Of course for each layer, there is experimentation. Different patterns, different colors. Different effects. Some pieces can have up to 30 layers of bits and bobs.

Day 20, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. 8 x 8 Watercolor, acrylic, digital collage. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.
Day 20, 30-Day C.G. 2-2024. 8 x 8 Watercolor, acrylic, digital collage. © 2024 Sheila Delgado.

To see these in more detail, visit @sheilazart.

Thanks so much for taking a look. I always love hearing which ones you like best, and why. I am actually happy with all of them. There are only two I would make changes on. That is amazing to me, considering it took me two weeks to feel in the groove. I did make changes to a few pieces, following suggestions by friends in the group. Thanks so much for your help!

Happy creating to you!

Welcome World Watercolor Month

Day 3, WWM, 2 x 2 inch watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Day 3, WWM, 2 x 2 inch watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

July is World Watercolor Month, founded by Doodlewash. I participated a few years ago, and thought it would be fun to join in again. Prompts are provided. This round, instead of objects, the prompts are moods, and descriptive suggestions.

The painting above was inspired by a gorgeous, gloomy twilight. The photo below does not do it justice. The colors and light were incredible.

Stormy Sky, 7-2-21. SMDelgado
Stormy Sky, 7-2-21. SMDelgado

My belated beginning is due to a day in Phoenix. An appointment, and then some window shopping. And shopping shopping. A trip to the city is never complete without visiting favorite shops or restaurants that we do not have here in town. As usual, a day filled with activity (and driving to boot) meant a day, or more of “recovery”. Rest, and low energy.

On my way down, I saw smoke over the Bradshaw Mountains. Just southwest of the Sunset Point Rest Stop on I-17.

Fire on Bradshaw, mid morning.7-1-21, SMDelgado.
Fire on Bradshaw, mid morning.7-1-21, SMDelgado.

Leaving Phoenix at days end, there was smoke over the city, from several fires.

Smoke Over Phoenix, 7-1-21. SMDelgado
Smoke Over Phoenix, 7-1-21. SMDelgado

Thirty minutes later I reached the Bradshaw area.The fire was still going, and I could easily see flames against the dark of the hills. It did not seem to have grown much. Thank goodness. Fire travels more quickly uphill.

Fire over Bradshaw, dusk. 7-1-21, SMDelgado.
Fire over Bradshaw, dusk. 7-1-21, SMDelgado.
Fire over Bradshaw, dusk. Close up. 7-1-21, SMDelgado.
Fire over Bradshaw, dusk. Close up. 7-1-21, SMDelgado.

This video shows how much has burned since Thursday. WOW!

Later today I will paint days 5 and 6. I will not post on the blog each day, but you can follow me on Instagram for daily updates. Here are days 1, 2, & 4.

Day 1, WWM, 2 x 2 inch watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Day 1, WWM, 2 x 2 inch watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Day 2, WWM, 2 x 2 inch watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Day 2, WWM, 2 x 2 inch watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Day 4, WWM, Sunny Delights, 2 x 2 inch watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.
Day 4, WWM, Sunny Delights, 2 x 2 inch watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper. © 2021 Sheila Delgado.

Happy week to you!

30-Day Creative Gathering, The Collage

The September 30-Day Creative Gathering was a hit! Participation was down, but many artists who could not take part daily still contributed to the conversations and camaraderie.

Fourteen to Twenty pieces were posted each day in the daily albums. And roughly 586 pieces of art were created in the group this month. WOW!

Congratulations to all of you! You persevered through Hurricane Laura, California wildfires, health issues, COVID and all of the demands of life in this unusual year. Whether you created on a few days, or all 30, congratulations!

For a tough month, I think I did OK. It was a struggle for me. I created 16 really, really bad pieces of art. Haha. Many days I worked on two or three at a time. To increase the odds of having something decent to share. Haha. And yet, almost half of the art I posted is on my favorites list. How ’bout that?! Some of these will be posted for sale in my Society6 shop soon.

Thanks so much for following along! Your encouragement keeps me going!
You are a blessing!

  • Day 1, 9-2020. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 2 Revision, 8x8 watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 3, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 4, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 5, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 6, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 7, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 8, Acrylic on 4 x 4 canvas. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 9, 7 x 5 watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 10, 2.5 x 3.5 Mixed media on Stonehenge paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Aloe, Day 11, 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 12, 4 x 6, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 13, 5 x 7, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 14, 5 x 7, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 15, Arroyo. 5 x 7, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 16, 5 x 7, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 17, 5 x 7, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 18, 5 x 7, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 19, Acrylic, 4 x 4 on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 20, Acrylic, 4 x 4 on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 21, Acrylic, 5 x 5 on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 22, 5 x 5 Acrylic on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Mingus, Day 23, 8 x 8, watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 24, 6 x 6 watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 25, 2.5 x 3.75 ATC, watercolor on paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 26 #3, 2.5 x 3.75 ATC, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 27, 8 x 8 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 28 #2, 2.5 x 3.75 ATC, watercolor on Legion 140 lb. Cold pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 29 #2, 2.5 x 3.75 ATC, watercolor on Yupo. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.
  • Day 30, 8 x 8 watercolor on Arches 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. © 2020 Sheila Delgado.

I will be sharing art from the AMAZING artists in the group this weekend.
See you then!