Art by Niki Hilsabeck

                                                   "Cat Pose 1" 5 x 8 in Chalk pastel and watercolor on paper Click here to view Etsy listing "Cat Pose 2" 5 x 8 in Chalk and watercolor on paper Click here to view Etsy listing Another heat wave in San Diego county... at this point, I've accepted the fact that I'm going to be hot and miserable until my second child arrives.  So, in between painting sessions on a bigger acrylic piece, I took the time to play with some hot colors and loose cat figures.  We have a couple of cats who are quite, ahem, large, and when they pose I like to take pictures of their forms for later exercises.       I don't use this color scheme often, but I always like it in other artists' works.  There were originally four pieces, but two were duds so I decided to toss them.  It was just a play session, so having a couple of decent mini-paintings come out was nice.  Actually, to have anything artisti

"Almond Blossoms" 9 x 12 Chalk Pastel on Paper Click here to view large or purchase There are times when it's hard to work in the face of a mess.  When faithfully making daily paintings, I had a little monthly ritual that consisted of collecting all of the works I'd completed for the month and packing them away.  It gave me a chance to clear my mind and start fresh. These days, I have to work in small spurts on several projects at a time.  When my energy is low (which is most of the time, as I have a baby due next month), the task of cleaning everything up and putting it away each time I work becomes a little daunting.  So, I've decided that it's ok to leave the painting messes out for a while until a piece is finished.  This means having several stations to work, with materials ready and works in progress displayed where I can see them throughout the day.  The pieces I'm sharing today took longer than planned to complete, as I kept getting disco