Tag Archives: Leslie Saeta September 30 in 30 challenge

30 In 30, Day 26

In Memoriam, Watercolor Peace Lily. © 2013 Sheila Delgado

Peace Lily. 4 x 6 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado 2013

This is one of the postcards I will be submitting to the RAG, Memory: International Mail Art Exhibition and Swap. Hopefully they will be in the mail by the end of the day.

The theme is memory, and in the interest of time, I have chosen to do flowers given in memoriam. I want bold, graphic pieces so they will stand out when they are up on the wall. (And when I look at the online photos I will be able to find them easily.) Silly, but there you go.

I love this plant. The Calla Lily is my favorite flower, and this of course is it’s kissing cousin. I can draw a simplified Calla in one stroke, but I have yet to attempt to paint one. White flowers are difficult I think, but I would very much like to master them.

I had the veins on this much softer, and while they looked great on paper, they did not scan well at all, so I had to darken them. This was a fun one to do. I am also going to do a version with softer washes, maybe I will show you with tomorrow’s piece of art. Speaking of art – there is a ton of it at Leslie’s site. I have two days of viewing to catch up on, and my tail is wagging in excitement! Like the dog cravin’ bacon – Art, ART, ART!

Angel. Watercolor on 4 x 6, 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado 2013

This sort of fits the theme of memorial. Just a fun little accident. I was planning to add to this and make something of it. But I noticed right away, the fun little lady and her great big heart. I gave this to my Father and his wife Teresita, along with two of my pears.

Enjoy your day everyone! Fall arrived in Riverside county today! WOOOO WHOOO! Of course this might be the only day of it for a while, we will be in the 90’s this weekend. But it is a crisp, dark morning, and it is a welcome bit of heaven!

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 23

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I am working on some 4 x 6 postcards for an exhibition. Showing this one today because it was unexpected. I painted it with the red at the bottom. Too much water and not enough pigment left me with pink.

I turned this upside down and saw a man in a hat. He reminds me of the messenger boy in The Sound of Music. Do you think it looks a bit like Rolf?

When we first moved to San Diego. My folks took my brother and I to see The Sound of Music in Balboa Park. We sat on the grass, and I think we even had a picnic dinner. We were so amazed, because every time the planes went by, all the actors stopped. Everything just stopped. And when the plane had passed, they started back exactly where they had left off. It was really very cool. If you don’t know San Diego, Balboa Park is close to downtown, and right under the landing path of the planes.

Have a happy day everyone! Thanks so much for visiting me. Links to more art here.

Oh I had a bit of good news today. “GOLF SAYINGS: wit & wisdom of a good walk spoiled” is now available at Bookcollaborative.com, and on Amazon. I will make an announcement when you can peek inside the book. This is the second book my work has been published in, I will post more news about it soon.