Category: Karen Hilliard Art Blog

One of the most colorful places in Nevada is Valley of Fire State Park. My husband, dog, and I frequent this magical place filled with sandstone creations. Each hike has a different pigment of the stone and variations in the sand. A trail we particularly love to run on is the Fire wave trail. We first came across this path while hiking. My husband sat to relax and I painted. Later, we both grew to love it for our run. It has a nice balance of flat terrain and hills to push ourselves. I am glad we always take time to stop and appreciate such a beautiful place!

The trail is quiet and peaceful in the early hours when the sun is just starting to rise. The flowers bloom alongside the sandy path. Our dog loves to stop and smell the flowers when they are first starting to wake up. We are all intrigued by cactus flowers. My husband likes to see if the desert tortoises have eaten any of the paddles and I like to photograph them for future paintings. 

The trail comes to a downhill slide into a wash. The wash is filled with sand and stone where we could spend hours exploring. The erosion and lines in the rock are captivating. The run is very tranquil and afterwards we hike for a while so we can take photos of what we really enjoy. I am thankful that I can come home and paint our memories and share them with everyone. I have really been excited about painting the many different species of flowers in the desert. The Fire Wave trail is filled with so much beauty it is hard to see it all in one trip. The desert is ever changing with wind, sands of time, and glorious rain storms. We see something new each time we visit the park. We are grateful that we live so close to this wonderful place.

The hike can get really hot in the summertime so be careful and always remember to bring a water bottle! I hope you enjoy this post and are able to find an amazing hike where you live that you truly love.

-Karen Hilliard

Also, if you would like another way to show support, I have a few options. “Buy me a coffee” which is a way for anyone to contribute to the creative process behind the paintings. Fuel the artist so to speak. Here is the link if you are interested. The funds go to supplies and gas to get out to the trails. I truly appreciate the support and the fact that you are liking these blogs, as well as my art posts. I am working hard to bring you all fresh content! Here is the link to my Instagram where I try to post daily. You can also find me on Facebook at my art page Karen Hilliard Art.

Please leave your Social Media handle on the “Buy me a Coffee” page so I can thank you in my Instagram/Facebook Stories! If you would like to 🙂

Thank you again for all of your support!

Armstrong Woods, California

Every December I visit my family in California. My brother’s family and mine travel to Armstrong Woods in Guerneville. The trees tower over us with their majestic height. My husband’s favorite thing to do is look up at the canopy above him. I love to watch how fascinated he is by the tall trees. I also enjoy the bark of the trees and marvel at the intricate placement of the moss. 

On our last trip, I was captivated by the mushrooms and the undergrowth of the forest floor. My eye is drawn to details and my mind wanders with lines and connections I see throughout the forest. I take many photographs and enjoy my time in this place. I do not bring a sketchbook so I use pictures for my reference materials.

When I return home, I look for photos that catch my eye and remind me of my experience among the redwoods. I try to recreate the emotions I felt walking beneath the trees as well as walking in the wonderland the forest created. I recently did a series called California Redwoods 1 and 2 where I focused on different aspects of Armstrong Woods. I chose to paint the base of the trees, mushrooms, and images I saw in the trunks in series 1. In series 2, I focused on looking up at the canopy along with the base of the forest floor. Painting Number 7 from series 2 is very special to me. I remembered hearing many noises from the forest as I painted this Tiny Painting.

This is one of my favorite places to visit because I get to watch everyone enjoy the hike. My brother’s children play and we talk about faces we see in the trees. They truly enjoy every moment in this park. Their parents take them here often and when we visit they get very excited. I am grateful for this State Park in California.

This hike inspired two series of paintings, which total 20 pieces of art, each measuring 4 x 6 inches. I love painting a variety of sizes for everyone’s enjoyment. Creating the tiny painting series has been quite enjoyable. I love that I can take these small paintings with me wherever I travel.

-Karen Hilliard

Also, if you would like another way to show support, I have a few options. “Buy me a coffee” which is a way for anyone to contribute to the creative process behind the paintings. Fuel the artist so to speak. Here is the link if you are interested. The funds go to supplies and gas to get out to the trails. I truly appreciate the support and the fact that you are liking these blogs, as well as my art posts. I am working hard to bring you all fresh content! Here is the link to my Instagram where I try to post daily. You can also find me on Facebook at my art page Karen Hilliard Art.

Please leave your Social Media handle on the “Buy me a Coffee” page so I can thank you in my Instagram/Facebook Stories! If you would like to 🙂

Thank you again for all of your support!

Have you ever looked up at the sky and made shapes with the clouds? When I go out into nature, I look at the bark and shapes of trees and form images with my mind. I am fascinated by the lines and intricate details in trees. I look at the tree as a whole image and then take photographs so I can paint from them at a later time. I carry a small sketchbook with me on every hike in case I am inspired and want to remember a particular section. As I take the photograph, I make sure to get at least 10 close up photos of certain areas to remember the texture and color of the bark. When the hike is over, I head home, relax, and then start a painting later in the day or following day.

Painting from a device like my phone is sometimes nice because I can zoom in on aspects of the trees that I admire. However, I prefer painting from a photograph that I can hold in my hand or prop upright to stare at for hours. The larger tree paintings take 80+ hours to complete so I can be staring at these photos for months. The lines in the tree change as I paint them. During my process, I use macro details and also micro details. I love combining the two techniques. The painting usually turns out somewhat like the photograph and sometimes a section of the photograph enlarged. The colors vary from the photograph, what I saw in nature, and what I have envisioned in my mind. The colors vary depending on my mood of the day or in the moment of creation. Being an artist, I truly find it fascinating that my mood can affect my work of art so dramatically.

I try to keep the painting as close as possible to the original image, photograph, or sketch but sometimes, it does take on a life of its own. The moment where the control goes from myself to the paintbrush is remarkable. I use a size zero paintbrush from Windsor and Newton along with their professional watercolor paints. I find that a size zero or 2/0 are the best to use for fine details in the tree bark as well as color variations and a pointillism technique. I find fallen trees the most fascinating because I can see part of their root system and weathering from the elements.

My favorite places to find these trees in Las Vegas are at Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Charleston, Valley of Fire, and Lake Mead Recreation area. My husband and I have been frequently hiking around Lake Mead Recreation Area every morning. The rock formations on these hikes are beautiful and the trees on the hikes are smaller than other places in the desert, yet still amazing to see. Most people look upon my tree paintings and see images that I did not intentionally place in the painting. I love hearing about what everyone sees in my work. Please send me an email, or write a review under one of the paintings with what you see. Thank you for reading and appreciating my work with trees.

– Karen Hilliard

Also, if you would like another way to show support, I have a few options. “Buy me a coffee” which is a way for anyone to contribute to the creative process behind the paintings. Fuel the artist so to speak. Here is the link if you are interested. The funds go to supplies and gas to get out to the trails. I truly appreciate the support and the fact that you are liking these blogs, as well as my art posts. I am working hard to bring you all fresh content! Here is the link to my Instagram where I try to post daily. You can also find me on Facebook at my art page Karen Hilliard Art.

Please leave your Social Media handle on the “Buy me a Coffee” page so I can thank you in my Instagram/Facebook Stories! If you would like to 🙂

Thank you again for all of your support!

Welcome to my little spot online. This is where I’ll be sharing my artwork and making it available to the world. I thought I would introduce myself by sharing my path to becoming an artist and continuing my passion.

I have been painting and drawing since I was 16 along with being a three sport athlete. Through basketball, cross country, and track I learned dedication along with perseverance. My world evolved my Sophomore year when I picked up a paintbrush and my art teacher Mrs. Capps changed my life. She added me into her AP art class and I felt whole. 

I continued this journey into college at San Francisco State and received my Bachelor’s in Art with an emphasis painting and drawing. This is when I started working in the produce department at grocery stores and traveling the world getting inspired. I always wanted a job where I could paint and feel free, but working while painting full time was challenging. 

I decided to get my Master’s in teaching and loved being a 5th grade teacher. Working on my art while being an educator was even more challenging. Trying to finish an 18″x24″ painting takes 80+ hours. Teaching had me working 14-20 hour days with so many demands on my time. I truly appreciated both professions but something was missing. I was not painting or drawing and I felt incomplete. I needed to take time off.

My little family and I live in Las Vegas, NV where we are blessed to go on many hikes and adventures. Our dog Spector enjoys them as well! Hiking around the desert among the beautiful flowers during the spring gave me a new sense of calm. I decided to create a Tiny Paintings series of these flowers to bring beauty to others. I love the way the colors of the desert work together to create beautiful images by themselves. The natural purple and yellow complementary colors make the desert come alive. I try to express my emotions and what I envision while out on these hikes in my work. Each 4″x6″ painting takes 4-5 hours to complete. 

The next series was the Redwoods from my home in California. These tall trees hold many secrets throughout time and always soothe my soul. I tried to portray their majestic presence in my paintings and how I feel when I walk beneath them. I continued my daily creations with several series of Tiny Paintings. 

I am fascinated by the intricate patterns in rocks and trees. I also see these same patterns in the faces of others. In portraits I focus on the story in the person’s face along with the details and subtleness of the lines in hair and their features. My paintings have many layers as do trees, rocks, people, and animals. I will be sharing older blog posts with you referencing artwork and our dog, as well as newer posts where I hike with our daughter. My goal as an artist is to spread love, happiness, and bring about new perspectives through nature.

I hope my work brings you joy. Thank you for being a part of my journey and for your support!

– Karen Hilliard

Also, if you would like another way to show support, I have a few options. “Buy me a coffee” which is a way for anyone to contribute to the creative process behind the paintings. Fuel the artist so to speak. Here is the link if you are interested. The funds go to supplies and gas to get out to the trails. I truly appreciate the support and the fact that you are liking these blogs, as well as my art posts. I am working hard to bring you all fresh content! Here is the link to my Instagram where I try to post daily. You can also find me on Facebook at my art page Karen Hilliard Art.

If you would like to, please leave your Social Media handle on the “Buy me a Coffee” page so I can thank you in my Instagram/Facebook Stories! 🙂

Thank you again for all of your support!