Do you love to watch the sunset over the ocean? I love watching the sunset through the trees, and then, add the ocean for pure happiness!! Number 5 in the series was painted from a photo taken looking through the trees on a sea cliff. Mandy Hilliard has an excellent eye for beautiful photos. I am lucky she loves sunsets as much as I do! The colors in this Tiny painting were especially fun. I love the tiny details of the plants overlooking the ocean and the rocks in the distance. This was a great difference in perspective from painting Number 4 with the same rock formations in the ocean. The tree coming in on the left started out completely green in the watercolor and then I added some blues to make it darker. The photograph showed the tree as black and shadowed, but I wanted to add a bit of color to show how it may have looked in person.
Number 6 in the series is a macro version of Number 1 because I love the colors of this succulent growing at the top of the cliff. Reds, greens, yellows, and a hint of orange brings so much delight to my senses. I wanted to show the thickness of the plant and the texture. The rocks underneath it had many variations of color as well. In Number 1, I did not show the multitude of colors in the rocks so I wanted to emphasize their colors in this painting. This piece is vertical in contrast to its partner piece which is horizontal. The painting is vertical to show the height of the plant and how it grows up towards the light.
Number 7 in the series was probably my favorite. I truly loved creating the wave and the shape of the rock in the distance. The sea breeze on the rock in the middle of the painting was created by leaving the space white and painting the negative space around the midst. These are both very subtle images and easy to see in the original more than on the photograph of the painting. Painting the movement of the water between each rock was also amazing to me on how many layers of paint it took to create such softness in the water. The painting took many hours and I am happy to write that this piece has found a home in London, England. I hope it brings happy memories of the California Coastline to the family along with much enjoyment.
-Karen Hilliard