Art by Niki Hilsabeck

"Pretties for Kat" 8 x 11 Watercolor and Pastel on Paper We started with the usual materials... taped down paper, watercolors, a tiny bit of water and a couple of brushes. I've been thinking lately about why I don't use the paints and brushes as often anymore, and it's most likely that for me, the brushes get between the direct connection between medium and paper. My toddler made this discovery last night. I began to swirl the paint around the paper, blocking in some floral shapes. My daughter made a couple of her own swipes with the brush, but lost interest quickly. She began to dip her fingers in the paint itself, and spent the rest of the time happily dipping and dotting, trying out each color for herself. Normally, clings to my side, but this time she was so absorbed in her painting that I was able to walk away and let her finish up on her own. So, I finished the work by myself, letting the watercolors dry and blocking in some bright chalk pastels later. I wa...

Painting again with my little mini-me, we stuck to the bright colors in the initial watercolor. She even stomped on it with her little feet, which led to some worrisome scrubbing later during the clean-up time-- I was afraid the red paint was something else. She scrawled in some shapes with the watercolor pencil, which I began to fill in with paint. She also added her own paint and water, and as the forms emerged, it began to look a little dragon-like. I decided to call it "Breath of Fire." I wanted to keep it abstract, though, so I didn't fill in lines to identify an actual dragon. My favorite part of the picture is the part with the two little red dots at the bottom-- they were from my daughter's brush, not mine. "Breath of Fire" 9 x 12 Pastel and watercolor on paper Click here to buy print: http://www.redbubble.com/people/nikihilsabeck/art/6018887-1-breath-of-fire-pastel-and-watercolor