Category: Watercolor Painting

The Wash

In the hot summer months the water in the valley dries up and the wash becomes available to walk through. The path is riddled with beautiful sandstone and limestone rocks, pebbles, and boulders. It is an amazing workout on the ankles and legs which helps with dexterity. Balance with oneself and nature is necessary while exploring topography such as this. The heat of the desert settles in and the wash appears vast, hot, and completely sparse of life. There we are, walking, trudging along into the abyss wondering what treasures we will find. I love watching our dog bound endlessly from boulder to boulder like a billy goat on the side of a cliff. He has so much energy and it is nice to watch him in his element exploring every ounce of wonder.

His exercise in the summer months is limited due to the heat so we have to take the dog out hiking in the very early hours of the day. The fall months are a much nicer experience for the three of us and the exploration we love to do. The leaves change color, the wash is dry, and the breeze is cool if not cold. The mountains are starting to get ready for snow so they can supply the wash with water in the spring. The colors in the desert are glorious during the fall. The rocks on the path we trail on are wondrous shades of blue, purple, red, orange, yellow, white, and cream. We love feeling the smoothness of the rock faces whittled down by wind and rain in the wash. Sitting down on a nice surface area and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate or tea is a nice treat for the humans on this journey.

I used the Fall colors from the desert for inspiration on this little sketch.

The boundless energy of our dog keeps us entertained and moving forward under any circumstance. Sometimes we end up butt scooting down cliff faces and carrying the dog on our laps or handing him to and fro between one another. He is not a small or light animal but we manage. Through all this, we have a backpack that one of us carries with a sketchbook, watercolors, and a pen. Oftentimes we will find a spot where my husband and dog sit, relax, explore, or do whatever their hearts want to do at that moment. I sit and sketch, paint, or draw. I like to just look, observe, and think about what I see or notice as well. Writing down my thoughts is a must because of the vast beauty and endless ideas in front of me. I enclosed a few pictures of our hike in the wash. More to come!

Thank you for reading and have a happy Monday!

-Karen Hilliard

Tags blue heeler, red rock canyon

Red Rock Canyon

Most of my inspiration for my paintings comes from hiking, climbing, and camping adventures. Red Rock Canyon is a place that holds a special spot in my heart. My husband and I go hiking in this area frequently. We love the sandstone for its rich orange, yellow, red, blue, and purple hues. Each rock face takes us on a trip into our imaginations and we have endless conversations about what we notice. The springs that run through the valley into the wash are breathtaking and when the river runs from the mountain run off it is magical. We see spadefoot toads in their tadpole state all the way to their evolution into mature toads. Beautiful Oak and Pinion trees surround us with their jovial leaves in the Springtime and send us into a colorful wonderland in the Fall.

Click Here to see Reels (Videos) on Instagram of the Painting Process!

On a recent exploration we happened upon a wondrous tree shedding its leaves into the wash. The water had since dried up and the rocks were cool from the morning air. A hint of blue color adorned the facade of these rocks in the early light. The leaves were a gorgeous combination of yellow, brown, orange, red, and many variations of these colors. I took many photographs and decided I would paint these images upon arriving at home. We were on a long hike that day and just wanted to keep moving forward to see what else we could find. I was very pleased with the angles I took and confident the photos would turn out well enough to not need to sketch as well. Out of the several photographs taken, I came up with a menagerie of images to use.

The hike through the canyon was amazing and cold. We loved wearing hats and jackets especially after surviving the hot Summer months here in the desert. We brought hot chocolates with us to enjoy and our sweet pup loved romping about. Always, always, always clean up after your pets. PLEASE! The only way to be able to have our furry friends on these hiking experiences is if we all Leave No Trace behind. That side note being mentioned, the dog had a glorious time. I got many awesome pictures of him as well which I will share in future blogs. I hope you all enjoyed walking around the canyon with me and I will be writing more about this place and sharing which hikes we love. I can mention trailheads as well if you would like. Leave me a comment about anything that interests you or a place in Red Rock Canyon you also love.

Thank you for reading! Have a safe and happy weekend friends.

-Karen Hilliard

Tags New Blog

Blotting

Always Carry a Paper Towel

One of the lines from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that my husband and I love is “Always Carry a Towel.” We discuss this at length to the point where he actually packs a towel for any of our adventures because we never know when we will need one. It actually comes in handy with the dog and any water source quite often! Speaking of water and needing a quick way to clean things up; I usually use a paper towel when blotting watercolor paint. I use a regular reusable rag when working with acrylics. The fine details and intricate lines I create with watercolor require a gentle hand with the aid of a small surface area especially with my 4″ x 6″ Originals. Paper towels are easy to fold into tiny spaces in order to collect excess water or fix runaway paint.

Canopies of California Number 1 | Karen Hilliard Art | Tiny Paintings — Click here for Tiny Paintings

Canopies of California Number 2 | Karen Hilliard Art | Tiny Paintings — Click here for Tiny Paintings

The joy of watercolor is to let the paint flow and interact with each color differently. In my large pieces I do need some control to keep my fine lines from trickling into nothingness. So I suggest always carrying a paper towel and yes, I reuse them. One paper towel will last me about 2 to 3 months if my dog does not get a hold of it and chew it up. I have to hide these beauties as if they were buried treasure he cannot sniff out. Keeping these paper towels safe for multiple months can be a challenge but I love reusing them so it is necessary. Blotting is super important in my technique so the paper does not buckle. I work in a wet on dry technique and control the minute wet on wet interactions specifically. Some of my recent work was wet on wet with a wet on dry technique to complete it and it was very enjoyable. The Daisy Way series was fascinating and fun to create. I used a paper towel with both styles and prefer the wet on dry for my larger works.

Daisy Way Spring | Karen Hilliard Art | Watercolor — Click Here For: Original Daisy Paintings Link or Dolphin Smiles Print Link

Dolphin Smiles | Original | Karen Hilliard Art | Watercolor — Click Here For: Original Daisy Paintings Link or Dolphin Smiles Print Link

The wet on dry allows me to work for several hours, days, months on a piece. I can let it sit, focus on the lines, and challenge myself with determination to finish these. Each large painting takes many layers and many hours of work. Dolphin Smiles was painted using a wet on dry technique. My gallery focuses on the natural world and includes portraits interacting with nature. Recently I have been working in my sketchbook and posting videos on social media platforms. Each video, if you focus, you can see me use a paper towel to blot a section of the painting. These timelapse videos move quicker than I could ever paint in real life so you have to watch very closely to see a paper towel on one of these “reels.” Please drop a comment on what you use to blot your surface area, excess water problems, etc. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I will respond in 24-48 hours Monday-Friday. You can also send me a private message at khilliardart.com/contact

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful Wednesday!

-Karen Hilliard

Tags California Redwoods, daisies painting, Daisy

Sketchbook

Sometimes just throwing ideas down on paper is so liberating. When thoughts are circling around in my head I have to get them down or they may leave my mind forever. I have journals for writing, sketchbooks for drawing, and tiny pieces of paper all over the house for whatever pops into my head at the time. These recent sketches I have been posting on social media are from photographs I have taken on several hikes over the years. The current one is from the fall season in Red Rock Canyon State Park, Nevada.

My husband, dog, and I stumbled upon these beautiful rocks and trees in the wash one day. The morning sun lit up the canyon with beautiful hues of cool to warm pigments. Each leaf seemed to have multiple colors running throughout their surface area. It was like looking at time itself in such a small subject. I tried to portray this by using multiple colors in my palette for the atmosphere I was attempting to create. The reference photo is breathtaking and also overwhelming with the amount of color on a 4” x 6” sheet of paper which is such a small space to work from. The sketchbook chosen to execute this painting idea is an 11” x 14” so taking a micro subject and enlarging it into something else entirely.

Here is my Instagram Link for the Timelapse Videos!

The painting ended up becoming macro compared to the reference photo. I honed in on the rock face structure and a few of the leaves surrounding it. I wanted to show the texture of the rock, the lichen present, and the leaves laid upon the rock in a whimsical way. I love this piece for the details it allowed me to create and the intricate lines that were formed. Watching the watercolor flow and the ink mold was truly magical. These two mediums used together are becoming favorites of mine. I used the size S from my ink pen set again. I described the pens I use in the blog titled “Reference Photos” when I painted the cactus flowers. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at khilliardart.com/contact and I will respond within 24 hours Monday through Friday. Thank you for reading and have a lovely holiday tomorrow if you are in the USA. If you are anywhere else on this beautiful rock, enjoy the day floating in space!

-Karen Hilliard

Finish Line

The finishing of a sketch always creates different emotions for me. I love drawing and painting preliminary ideas for composition, however, it is rare for the sketch to represent the final painting completely. This sketch of the cactus flowers sparked an interest in me for several paintings, a combined painting, and new possibilities for color schemes altogether. As a painter I try to show my emotions and feelings at the time of execution on a piece or when the photograph was taken. Feelings and emotions change day to day or at various times of the day. My paintings, especially the larger ones, take days or months to finish. Colors change during these days and times so having a color swatch to the left or right of an idea in my sketchbook really helps me looking back. I need to remember to mix the colors and write both colors used for the swatch.

Also, I think writing where the colors were used on the actual sketch is a great idea. I did not do this in the painting you see in this blog but I think I will in future sketchbooks. What are some things you do to remember the colors you used during your processing time? I would love to read about it in the comments below. Having a community of artists to talk to is also nice if you feed off others ideas, like to critique, get critiqued, or just share with others in order to gain new perspectives. I really like to get my ideas together and share with very few trusted artists I call friends. I have come to find that art is a very personal experience for the person creating the work. In my experience, I am an artist that is very in my own head and live with my creations. This being said, it is normal to have a difficult time communicating thoughts to others. Writing these blogs have been a challenge for me yet I am learning and growing.

Thank you all for reading and your continued support. Please follow me on Instagram, TikTok, or my Etsy Shop at khilliardart which is the same name as my website khilliardart.com

My Facebook is at Karen Hilliard Art if you would like to follow me there as well. On these platforms I create reels which show me painting these sketches in a timelapse form. I speed up all the videos because I paint really slow and concentrated and am sure that would not render to most people’s attention span or desires. I hope this blog is found helpful and I hope to read awesome comments about how you remember the colors you want to use in a painting or a style you want to recreate.

-Karen Hilliard

Reference Photos

The thing I have to remember about reference photos is that they are a guide. Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to make things look exact with teeny tiny details and forget the fun of flow. Watercolor loves to do its own thing, such as create its own movement because it is water after all. I love how rivers and oceans flow so freely and it is important to let art have this opportunity as well. I have started working in my sketchbook again hoping to create by letting the water move without strict direction. Using ink pens to sketch prior and after the water has been quite enjoyable. I chose to draw first and get an idea of placement with the pen. Then, I chose to just put the paint down, see where it went, and sketch with the pen over the dried paint.

Both had an interesting technique and were extremely enjoyable. My usual style is very tight, detailed, pointed, and precise with little room for the paint to move. I find that I am more free in sketchbooks and composition practice. My sketchbook is very large, hardbound, and enticing. It calls to me. I love not having to be cohesive, trained, or exact in my execution. I find practice to be extremely important in any aspect of life. Using the reference photos to inspire my movement, image, etc. leads to some interesting developments that I may not have seen otherwise. This is the beauty of art. Freedom to express oneself in multiple ways and various levels.

I used to use a BIC pen all through highschool and I think I am going to go buy a box next week. For now, I have been using archival ink pens for watercolors so the ink will not run. The BIC pens will be just for regular ink sketches maybe with colored pencil but not water media so the ink should not run. I will stick with my little package of Faber Castell 4 PITT artist pens. The size S is my personal favorite at the moment. Oh India ink, how dark and rich you are! So any advice I have is draw, draw, and draw, as often as you can. You never know what magic is going to come out of your fingertips!

-Karen Hilliard

Tags Sketchbook

A Gift for Yourself

Taking a watercolor sketchbook everywhere I go and a camera is the best gift I could ever give myself. Sometimes moments happen so quickly we do not have time to stop to paint so a quick snapshot picture helps me remember where we were and the emotions felt. I love coming home and searching through photographs to decide what to paint. Also, storing photographs to paint later is an added bonus. Being able to paint these memories and recreate moments in a different form is marvelous. Recently, I have been looking back at a trip my husband and I took to Great Basin National Park in Nevada.

National Parks are beautiful year round but we especially love traveling in the fall. We happened to explore this park in October with the leaves falling all around us. The colors of the park were breathtaking and we had an amazing time walking through the wooded areas. I decided to create an ink and watercolor sketch of the fall leaves and then the idea expanded into adding more memories of the whole trip. I chose a photograph of my husband walking across logs to get to the other side of a stream. He was telling the best story and I remember laughing while truly enjoying the moment. This sketch has brought on a life all of its own. I hope to add the Lehman Caves somewhere on this journal page or make a page solely for the beauty of the caves.

The Caves in the park are home to many bats which we did not see while we were there. The people at the front desk made sure we had not been in any caves prior so we did not transfer any harmful substances from our shoes to the Lehman Caves. The tour guide was amazing and we were able to get some wonderful photographs. I am very excited to paint and draw this amazing wonder. Luckily, we have more pictures of the caves but I have to find them. We also always manage to find some beautiful flowers at each National Park so I will probably be adding some of those to the composition for a pop of color. The ideas that flow while working in a sketchbook are endless. I highly recommend doodling, drawing, writing down, or sketching down any thoughts. They are really fun to look back on or read. Thank you all for reading my blog and have a great day!

-Karen Hilliard

Getting Ideas Together

Daily sketching for the series “The Wonder of Trees” has brought my mind to new places. So many ideas are floating around inside my head for where I want to take this series and what I want my viewers to get out of the experience. Trees are wonderful in so many ways. I find myself focusing on the intricacies of the bark. The lines or striations that grow, adapt, and develop overtime are fascinating to me. Nature has so many rich and subtle colors and everyone sees these differently. I love using a brown and blue mixture of paint to get the dark shadows and let these hues dry for days or weeks. They are so rich and deep all on their own and stand out with such presence. These colors remind me of how I feel when out walking on a hike and staring up at these tall wonders.

There will be a variety of trees in this series. Not all will be tall wonders with their roots planted firmly in the ground outstretching for miles. Some trees will be wood curled upon itself, fallen from their mighty mountain tops, or simply bushes that have rolled their way into a new life. Finding random cactus, weeds, and bushes that have turned into a hard wood appearance is a great joy of mine. I also love how Joshua trees form a hard seed pod that could be used as a baby’s rattle with all the dried seeds inside. The outer appearance is wrinkled, lined, speckled, and amazing. I did a whole series on these pods under my Acrylic Paintings Tab if anyone would like to see what I am writing about.

What are some amazing hikes you have been on? Did you find anything fascinating while you were walking? I always love walking in the Redwood Forests of California. The coastal air or salt and sea is wonderful. The trees always make me feel cool and shaded from the sun in a form of protection. I love the ferns on the ground and the forest floor filled with debris from the trees above. Almost as if I am walking in a whole different world filled with possibilities. I would love to hear about your experiences, hiking or otherwise. Especially, how the journey made you feel or what it made you wonder about. Thank you for reading! Until next time…

-Karen Hilliard

Sketches and Studies

I have numerous photographs of nature waiting to become paintings. Over the years I have been on many hikes, camping trips, climbing trips, and visited many states in North America. Traveling is one of my greatest passions. I get inspired everywhere I go. While trying to decide what to paint next, I look through these various photographs and remember the feelings I want to express to my viewers. Sketches and studies get created and I work on design or composition.

Sometimes a painting forms from a section of the photograph or sketch. Other times I use the entire image as a whole and focus on the main subject in the photo. Truthfully, even with sketching prior to painting, I never know how the painting will turn out. The colors take control and lead me where they want to go. They run into one another and create a beautiful image or detail I could not even foresee. This is when watercolor becomes joyous and unplanned. There is little to no control with watercolor and yet, I fall in love with all the tiny details that can be created.

The Sketch is of a totally different tree.

In this blog I am adding some photographs of field sketches, painted field studies, and a new tree root I am fascinated by. Yes, it may very well be my next painting. I look for color variations, such as warms, and cools. I focus on details and lines in the wood. I need to remember to write down ideas in my notebooks of what I am seeing at the time. So many photographs have been saved over the years and I would love to know what thought process I was feeling while out in nature. Do you ever have these moments when you try to flash back to a memory? Usually, I can remember the exact moment, but sometimes, a little help would be nice!

Thank you for reading.

-Karen Hilliard

The Wonder of Trees

One of my greatest passions is hiking among trees. I love the way they look, feel, smell, and sway in the wind. Standing under their massive beauty in a rain storm is also quite enjoyable. Their leaves and needles glisten with rain drops. The series I am focusing on now is the bark of trees. I am using macro and micro details to show images I find in their trunks. Oh the stories these creatures could tell if only they could talk to us. They have an amazing way of communicating with each other and the forest around them. I wish we could hear their language. In this series, I am trying to portray faces and creatures that I see in the lines or details of these giant wonders.

Each painting will be sketched out in my book beforehand to finalize the image I wish to show. I love how viewers see different impressions in my art than I intended. I love hearing and reading comments on these pieces because you all inspire me by showing me different perspectives of my own intentions. This has always fascinated me about painting, drawing, poetry, music, etc. The arts have a way of opening our mind and creativity to such amazing beauty. So please, send me messages, emails, or texts of what you see in the wood pieces that I will be creating throughout the journey of this series.

In this fallen tree from Mt. Charleston I see a pointed nose of maybe a witch or wizard. I wondered what this person was thinking and feeling. The colors of orange and dark brown/blue reminded me of Halloween and my mind drifted to watching the person doing spells. The painting also reminds me of wood nymphs, or dryads. I love how intrigued I get by being out in nature. I hope all of you have a place you can go that brings you immense joy and creativity. Even turning the home into a creative space is quite enjoyable. Let me know what you see in this painting if you get a moment in your day, or any of my paintings. I would love to know what you see! Thank you for reading.

-Karen Hilliard