Coming Soon: an online Shop!

October 11, 2017

Guess what!? In the next few weeks, I'll be launching a shop, right here on my website, where you can find goodies featuring my watercolor work! To begin, I'll have stationery, art prints, and a couple other fun items.

Speaking of fun items, here's a sneak peek at some zipper pouches that will be available. I had some of my patterns printed on linen cotton canvas and am so excited about how they came out. I think you'll love them too! I'm only making about a dozen of these and don't plan on stocking more so if you'd like one, be sure to follow me on Instagram for updates or join my email list (and get free downloads while you're at it!) to find out when they'll be available.

Stay tuned...

Zipper Pouches designed by Amanda Gomes • amandagomes.com

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Painting to Pattern: My Process

August 23, 2017

I'm a curious type who asks lots of questions in hopes of finding out how things work, why they're done the way they are, and how little things fit into a bigger picture. And since I have a fairly standard process when it comes to how I create a surface pattern from my watercolor art, I thought I'd share for you other curious types. So here it is...

Paint-to-pattern-design-process-amanda-gomes-delightedco.jpg

When I'm creating patterns, I usually have a color palette in mind and paint in those particular colors. There are ways to change the colors in Illustrator or Photoshop but when possible, I prefer to keep my designs pretty true to the colors I use when I originally create them.

I'll usually find floral images in a book, on Pinterest or from photos I've taken around town and use them for inspiration. When I paint fruit, however, I typically do a google image search because I can see multiple colors and variations of a piece of fruit in one place which is super helpful.

Last week I worked on this pattern:

©Amanda Gomes • Watercolor Floral Pattern

Which started as these individual motifs:

My process for turning my painted (watercolor) elements into patterns. ©Amanda Gomes • delightedco.com

I then scanned at 600 dpi using the software that came with my scanner (not an amazing scanner by the way, but it works: HP Officejet Pro 6830). I selected separate motifs and made new layers from each so I could edit them one by one. I edit the levels, remove the paper background and any dust spots, smooth edges if necessary, brighten or adjust color, and sometimes remove or add part of the painted motifs if their shape needs a little help.

Each motif is then transferred as a separate element into Illustrator. For this particular pattern, I made mini bouquets from the elements and then laid out those bouquets to create my final design. I tried out a few background colors and then saved the few I liked best. And that's it!

June Tech Wallpaper Download

June 2, 2017

The June wallpaper download is here!

Watercolor Floral Tech Wallpaper Download from Delighted Creative Co. | Amanda Gomes

This spring-into-summer watercolor floral pattern is my choice for June's tech wallpaper. I painted each of these elements individually and laid them out in Illustrator to make this pattern which is always lots of fun and rewarding. It never ceases to amaze me how much you can do with Photoshop and Illustrator. This pattern is an example of that and it makes me happy. I hope it brings a smile to you this month! Download below.

My Work: 10-Day Project Review

April 5, 2017

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed I do a new 10-day project about every 10-days. I started these last December to help me focus on one type of art or theme and hopefully not only improve my skills, but also figure out what the type of art I truly enjoy. I'm ultimately working towards developing a "signature style" but have found I like so many things, it may take years to actually figure out!

Delighted Creative Co. 10-Day-Project Review • delightedco.com

But maybe that's okay...and it's probably normal. Since I have no deadline for learning to draw and paint, I'm enjoying the process. One thing these 10-day projects have made me realize is that I truly enjoy working with watercolor and I especially love creating patterns with what I paint.

So now that I've completed 10 of these 10-day projects, I thought I'd share some of my favorite from the first five weeks for now. Side note: I'm taking a break from these 10-day projects to join the #100dayproject challenge (yikes!). It started yesterday, April 4 and lasts until July. I will do a hundred days of watercolor (#100daysofwatercolor and #100delighteddays) which means I have some flexibility with the subject, but am limited by the medium...although I think I'll sneak in some gouache as well. It's water-based so I think that's okay :)

So here they are : the highlights of my first five 10-day projects. Thank you for following along over the past few months and for all of the encouragement. I truly appreciate it!

Week 1: Patterns created from gouache and watercolor sketches