Art by Niki Hilsabeck

I've gotten pretty fond of my Strathmore plum-toned pastel paper. When I first began using chalk pastels, I was afraid of the darker-toned papers. I knew that I would have to keep a cool head while using them, because the whole point of dark paper is to add striking lights to create your painting while leaving the tone of the paper as one of the values. This means using restraint, which is not something that comes naturally to me. Since I've had trouble concentrating lately, forcing myself to stick to a simple subject with limited use of color gives me a good set of guidelines as I work. This is why I turn again and again to Ancient Egyptian pottery-- I can focus on shapes, lights, and darks, without getting too emotionally attached to what I'm painting. Art should be emotional, right? For me, not always. Painting with my head rather than my heart is good discipline, and usually produces a nice result. I called this piece "Majestic," because this particular pot ha...

"Pair of Pots" 15 x 20 Mixed Media on Paper Click here to buy print: http://www.redbubble.com/people/nikihilsabeck/art/6345135-1-pair-of-pots These two little Egyptian pots looked so cozy together, I had to create a piece just for them. I've been trying to stick with working big as often as possible, as it's more enjoyable than agonizing over small details. I started with an acrylic painting in pink, purple, and white to show the values. Once the paint dried, I added some chalk pastel to show a little more color and neutralize the background. I've used this combination in the past and enjoyed it, although the acrylic does tend to eat up the chalk pastel (useful if you want to get a nice flat side on any of your chalk, I suppose). The finished product was awfully dusty, though, and lacked any areas that "popped." A little blending with one of those craft sponges lifted off some of the dustiness, but didn't entirely solve the problem for me. I decided...