Art by Niki Hilsabeck

When we're first learning to make art as children, we hear a few things that become familiar over time.  Skies are blue! Tree trunks are brown, leaves are green.  Butterflies are supposed to be perfectly symmetrical! "Mini-Butterfly 1" 4 x 4 inch found metal and acrylic on canvas Click here to view auction Well, if you take a long look around you, you'll notice that most of that well-intended advice was wrong.  Trees can have blue, purple, and green trunks-- or even red or yellow, depending on the lighting.  Leaves can be just about any color too!  Butterflies, while appearing symmetrical, aren't necessarily so if you look closely.  Most of the butterflies I paint from photos have damaged wings, which isn't noticeable to me until I take the time to examine the photos in detail. "Mini-Butterfly 2" 4 x 4 found metal and acrylic on flat canvas Click here to view auction So why do we hear the same advice being repeated to kids over th

"Mariposa" View on Daily Paintworks   It's spring, and this year that means a few more rain showers, plenty of birds, and  rattlesnakes. It also means time in the garden, along with a spring pastel workshop, which was the artistic  highlight of my month! We painted spring butterflies, and my daughter managed to turn her face green by rubbing her pastel-laden hands all over her face as she worked. Classwork from our Family Art Workshop-- Spring pastels at St. Stephen Lutheran in Fallbrook Learn more here I originally created this piece as a demo for the workshop, and finished it up a bit later at home: "Spring Butterfly" 9 x 12 pastel on paper View on Etsy Spring is a time of renewal, and every year I find myself busy in the springtime.  The days last longer, there are plenty of art events on the calendar, and the weather is much more inviting.  The birds return to familiar nesting spots.  The nights here are still pleasantly cool, and the