Art by Niki Hilsabeck

Now that I've gotten a little better handle on gardening (or at least not killing my plants), I find myself doing "plant checks" throughout the day.  I check first to see what's been munched on by the gophers, squirrels, bunnies, hornworms, or whatever else helps itself to my plants.  I also check to see what needs to be deadheaded, what's sprouted, and what needs water.  Sometimes I just like to pull up a gardening mat to sit on and observe the plants.  This is especially fun when new things are sprouting-- if we're not in the middle of a heatwave or a cold snap (rare here in Fallbrook), I usually have new seeds going somewhere. This morning was wet and foggy, so I also got to go out early and look for unique spiderwebs.  I haven't tried painting one yet, but having grown up a fan of Charlotte's Web , I take pictures of the more intricate ones.  The kids and I also do a "wellness check" on our current crop of entertaining bugs and reptiles...

Have you ever wondered whether to call a piece of artwork created with pastels a painting, or a drawing?  Does it even matter what you call it? For starters, pastel paintings are definitely paintings!  A medium doesn't have to come out of a tube or be applied with a brush to be considered eligible to make a true painting.  Despite this common knowledge among those who appreciate pastel works, many art websites and organizations have their own differing criteria for labeling pastel works. So how do you know whether a pastel artwork is a painting, drawing, or sketch?  In this post, I'll share how I define my pastel artworks.  I don't follow any official guidelines, but I do try to stay consistent with how I label my works so that they're easy to identify across my online portfolios. Pastel Sketches: "Raggedy Bird" (Available on Daily Paintworks)  A pastel sketch is something I created in one quick go with dry pastel, using little or no blending. I...

Pastel is so versatile, I like to use it on a variety of surfaces.  One of my favorites is old parchment paper (courtesy of my late grandmother, who enjoyed calligraphy and creating her own Christmas cards).  I saved the paper partly out of a sense of nostalgia-- I still have some of Grandma's handmade cards on similar paper.  I also saved it so I could try the pastels on it, and it's become one of my favorite surfaces when I want to achieve a "scratchy" look to my pastels or focus on heavier drawn lines. If you're looking to try soft pastels on this type of paper, I have a few tips based on my experiences with pastel and parchment paper. "Spring Field" 3.25 x 5.25 inch pastel on parchment paper Click here to view more details Tip #1: Smear with caution!   Whereas pastel paper is made to hold lots of layers of pastel, parchment paper is not.  I usually stick with a lot of broken color and smear carefully with a paper towel over my finger (basicall...

We live in an age where we can spend our entire day receiving input from others, even without leaving the house or talking to anyone.  We can read messages, articles, scroll through profiles and updates, or even turn on that old dinosaur known as the t.v.  For me, there's also reading novels-- something I thoroughly enjoy but feel a little guilty indulging in when there are so many other things I should be doing.  Add to that the time I spend listening to the birds outside, or gazing at the ocean, or drinking in the afternoon light on the oak trees, and there's very little energy left for output-- which in my case is painting or writing new things.  "Ready to Pounce" on Daily Paintworks And then there are the cats.  They're very distracting, but they do provide me with a bit of creative inspiration. On a side note, I feel this way about learning a foreign language.  In the year I spent in Germany, I probably spent the first six months mostly liste...

"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...