Category: Watercolor Print

Labor of Love

Happy Labor Day Everyone! Here is my labor of love. I want to thank everyone for supporting my art over the years. Every purchased painting helps me continue showing, driving to trails for blogging, and buying supplies needed for my paintings so I can pursue this art dream. It is not always easy or financially stable but worth every second of hard work and dedication. When you buy a painting, you are not only supporting my small business, you are also helping out my little family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I really appreciate you all and hope you have a wonderful day!

Here is a little Fall love for this wonderful September month. The paintings I chose for this blog and social media posts today contain sunflowers, fall leaves, and the undergrowth of a redwood forest in California. If you are interested in any of the paintings or more information about the art, you can click on each individual picture. Clicking will take you to my website so you can view and purchase the paintings. Each painting is an original 4” x 6” watercolor or a watercolor and ink. After recently visiting the sunflower fields at Gilcrease Orchard, I am really fascinated by sunflowers and pollinators again. One of my favorite paintings on this blog post is the sunflower just starting to open up. I hope you all had wonderful days today and please know, your work and what you do is appreciated. People see you and keep up the great work! Have a Marvelous Monday Evening and thank you for reading!

-Karen Hilliard

Tags New Blog, red rock canyon, sunflower painting, watercolor painting

Rock Textures

Passing on the love of rock texture and stimulus to the next generation is a magical experience. Pumice, Sandstone, Limestone, Gipson…oh my! We even found some Silt out there and she got to feel it and watch it break between her fingers turning to tiny particles of sand. The wow expression of a child is something I will always marvel at and be humbled by. She was looking through my art portfolios the other day and came across the painting I did of Madeline Island in Lake Superior, Wisconsin. Yes, an entirely different climate from the desert life, yet a rock just the same. Fascination with rocks and textures of rocks must be in her genes. Our little Geologist shares this love with many children. There are so many books for kids along with textured play for brain activity and development. Nature is by far the best teacher and sparks intense imagination.

Here are various rock paintings I have created over the years. The newest one “Cohesive Contrast” with it’s deep hues and intricacies drives my mind in the direction of a lovely madness of color. I remember feeling the stones throughout the Boulder on this rock and look forward to taking her to Joe’s Valley one day. “My Mother’s Robin” is from a hike at Valley of Fire here in Nevada and is a place filled with wondrous Sandstone formations and huecos. “Rock Warrior” sits guarding a trail on the Flat Irons in Boulder, Colorado. He is very solemn and still but will wake just to attack if any nonsense comes his way. There are many more from various hiking and climbing trips on my website to peruse. If you have had a favorite trip you took, feel free to contact me and share! Especially if the spot is super special to you. Until then…have a terrific Thursday and thank you for reading!

-Karen Hilliard

Summer Heat

Red Sandstone is illuminated in the summer heat and shines forth a vibrant orange color. I love walking around the vast desert and viewing so many marvels around me. Today I went for a short hike and saw two lovely ravens perched in the shade of a beautiful sandstone rock wall. The temperature this morning was intense and started climbing above 100 degrees by the time I left the trail. This is my reminder to anyone hiking in the desert to always be prepared. Sunhats, sunglasses, WATER, WATER, and more WATER!!! Always bring water for yourself and anyone else who may need some, for example, your four legged furry friend. Also, a little extra water for your paint set if you are doing any field sketching or watercolor explorations on the trail. Personally, I focused on doing a quick sketch upon returning home so we could get out of the sun as soon as possible.

While hiking during the summer, I also like to pick trails that have some shade just so there is a bit of relief. I am always mindful of the time of day as well since 8am starts to climb to the hundreds as soon as the sun is high in the sky. Today was a late start in the day for my family and I so we were only out for a very short time. The sketch I am choosing to share was done very quickly just for this blog. I chose to add in “Portrait of a Manatee” as well so you can get an idea of the beautiful colors we saw today. Come to think of it, the hues were a bit more orange like “Woman of the Rock” so I will add that painting as well. If anyone is interested in the originals, I still have the original of “Portrait of a Manatee,” however “Woman of the Rock” has been sold. There are Limited Edition Prints of “Woman of the Rock” and open edition prints of the manatee painting. If you have any questions, please CONTACT me. Thank you for reading and have a marvelous Monday!

-Karen Hilliard

Tags New Blog, watercolor painting

“Frommer’s Whale” Blog

Just a nine minute drive from Arches National Park can get you to a desert wonderland. Many have trekked out to Moab for its amazing topographical wonders. Mountain Bikers especially love this place for the amazing desert slab sandstone trails. One could ride through beautiful canyons, challenging trails, beginner trails, and more! I personally went to this magical place on a bouldering trip many years ago. The weather was perfect and there were many rocks to explore for climbing purposes. One morning, I was fortunate enough to wake up to a gigantic boulder right outside my camp spot. I immediately saw a whale breaching out of the water. All this before my morning coffee, very surreal.

The rock and morning light created these beautiful blue hues all over the rock which made it look even more like water being splashed around. I pondered what I would have done if I was on a ship and saw a massive whale breach out of the water and jump super high in the air before ascending back into the ocean. There was no answer. I was just left in complete awe and decided to stare at the rock for a long time studying every inch of it. Later in the day I got a nice photograph of the same boulder and decided to paint it later when I was home in my studio. While out in nature I became very inspired by all the colors of the Southwest desert. It is truly a remarkable place to visit and I hope you all get the chance to do so. This Watercolor Fine Art Giclée Print is Available Now on my website. I have Four Sizes Available! Shipping is Included in the price for all USA addresses. I hope this print brings many years of wonder into your homes every time you look at it. Thank you for reading and have a splendid Saturday!

-Karen Hilliard

Tags New Blog, watercolor painting, watercolor print