Category: Watercolor Painting

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

Alaska!

Happy New Year Everyone!! I hope your 2022 ended with excitement. I am looking forward to a wonderful new year with 2023 being filled with possibilities! Thank you for your continued support of my work as I move forward into new creations.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL -> https://khilliardart.com/product/soulful-wanderer-original/

“Soulful Wanderer” was created to capture an amazing vacation in Alaska. This original watercolor encompasses all the light and joy of the experiences shared. I was fortunate enough to have the exposure on my camera set in a slower action mode and it had an amazing effect on the movement. The original photo shows light illuminating behind the person and rays of colored lights pulling outward from his face. The photograph was taken at the Ice Show in Fairbanks, Alaska. When night fell, the ice sculptures were illuminated by different colored lights. My friend was walking among the sculptures taking pictures and I caught him in a moment of pure delight. He travels all over the world and brings joy everywhere he goes. My hope is that one day, this painting will bring wonder to whomever chooses it for their home.

CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL -> https://khilliardart.com/product/sled-dog/

“Sled Dog” was painted from a photograph taken of a dog in Alaska. I met this wonderful dog while I was learning to mush in an open space outside Denali National Park. While painting, I decided to focus on the beautiful blue eyes filled with wonder and excitement. The most interesting observation I had about these dogs is how eager they all were to run and pull their person all over the frozen tundra. These dogs were just as excited as the mushers if not more. The negative space was fun to experiment with as I painted this watercolor. I loved pulling the blues of the eyes into the fur and combining darker shades of blue as well. The dog’s fur intrigued me with the dark shadows of the ears and eyes combined with subtle colors in the face. Mushing was an amazing opportunity and experience. I hope everyone who wants to try it can enjoy this activity someday.

The Fairbanks, Alaska Ice Show and Dog Mushing through the forest near Denali National Park are a must! I highly recommend both of these wonderful vacation destination experiences. Thank you for reading my blog and have a great January!

-Karen Hilliard

Working in the Details

Detailing a painting takes many hours of preparation as well as time working on the actual piece. First, I go out hiking and find a subject I am drawn to, fascinated by, or something inspirational. Various photos are taken from several angles and then a field sketch may be created on site. Trying to capture the colors with a limited palette out in nature is quite challenging and also exciting at the same time. As I hike, I get many ideas and my mind wanders to different scenarios of composition for the painting. By the time I get home some ideas may have been forgotten, remembered, or something totally different happens to be created.

I choose to paint from home on my projects because each one takes several hours to complete. Whether the painting is small or large, I take great care to add as many details to a piece as possible. I enjoy pointillism and cross hatching techniques and apply these to individual works of art. I love the control that comes from taking my time and exuding a lot of patience. The paintings that are the most enjoyable have a combination of controlled techniques as well as watercolor play. I love the unexpected that comes in life and with watercolor. Using wet on wet techniques and allowing the water and paint to move together at its own pace is a true joy to watch. Each painting has something entirely different if one looks closely!

The newest painting in the Lake Mead Series has many different techniques used on such a small surface area. I am looking forward to hearing or reading feedback on what people notice in this painting. The subject was part of a bush that had curled around on itself. It then got whisked away into the wash and rock bed in the desert. I chose to use a macro technique and show one section of the wood completely zoomed in. I see many different images in this painting especially when I look at if from different angles. I wonder, what do you see?

Thank you for reading!

-Karen Hilliard

Hiking Around the Desert

Inspiration is all around us whether it comes from personal experiences with loved ones or beautiful images we see everyday. Most of my ideas are sparked, inspired, and illuminated when I am out in nature. Currently, I have the luxury of living in a desert and beauty is literally all around me. Some may say the desert is nothing as far as you can see, but I see shadows, creatures, plants, and so much possibility everywhere I look. Fascination intertwined with delicate and intricate lines. Striations in rock faces and features as well as the bark of trees whittled by wind and rain. The desert forever changes.

I currently have been working on a small works series about the Lake Mead Recreation area. This is a great place to wander and explore. I like the early mornings so my husband and I can watch the sunrise over the mountains. The dog also likes the cool air as opposed to the heat of the summer. Our favorite time to go is after a rainstorm. We love seeing how the desert changed topography overnight. The sandstone and limestone stand strong and sticks from trees appear in the sand. The gravel and sediments on the ground create new shapes, new hills, and new valleys. I love photographing these amazing sights and then painting them later when I have more time.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PAINTING -> https://khilliardart.com/product/lake-mead-wash-series-1-1/

When I am on site, I carry a small sketchbook and watercolor set. I backpack everything in and out and my husband plays with the dog while I paint. Or, he sits with me and just enjoys the scenery. The desert is a wonderful place to call home! Wandering around and finding beautiful rocks with many colors is always a great joy. Here is the first painting in the start of this series. I hope you enjoy the new works and thank you for reading.

-Karen Hilliard