Art by Niki Hilsabeck

"View from the Jetty" 9 x 12 Chalk Pastel on Paper Click here to purchase I took the photo that inspired this painting last year, on a cold day at the beach.  I didn't get around to painting it until this year, on an extremely hot day at home. Looking around at the finished pieces and works in progress sitting around my kitchen, I realized that every one of them had a common element: water.  Even my landscapes have a bit of water in them.  I thought back to my high school days, when I first really tried to make paintings of my own.  I remembered that they usually had some water or waves in them too. I don't live near water, but it's not too far to drive to the beach.  I'm also happy to paint swimming pools, ponds, and lakes.  I'm not sure what it is about water, but a painting feels much more comfortable to me if it has some in it.  One thing I've learned about painting all these water scenes is the importance of shadow under the light....

"Evening" 9 x 12 Mixed media on paper Email nicolehilsabeck@yahoo.com if interested in purchasing A week ago, it was so cold at a Fourth of July event that we were shivering with sweaters on.  This week, the weather has turned... Dreaming of cool evenings, I took out the oil pastels and sketched in a tree, Then I added a little bit of sky and water.  I really just wanted to give myself a color exercise, but it turned into a full painting. After I filled the paper with a full oil pastel underpainting, I used light watercolor as a wash to fill in color over some of the whites.  Once that was dry, a layer of chalk pastel completed the piece, giving it that soft, textured look.  I stuck to a lot of blue and purple, using a bit of green to suggest the leaves of the tree and the grass.  A little red and yellow-orange in the clouds lent a bit of warmth and variety. I used Strathmore watercolor paper, which holds up pretty well for mixed media piece...

"Carlsbad Sunset North" 8 x 12 Chalk pastel on paper Click here to purchase We get a lot of awe-inspiring sunsets here in California, especially along the coast in the fall and winter for some reason.  One of our favorite sunset spots is at the beach in Carlsbad.  If you get there on a day where the ocean fog hasn't rolled in early, the last hour of sunlight makes for spectacular viewing. I used blue-toned Canson Mi-Teintes paper for these two sunset pieces, one showing the view north (including the distant lights of the Oceanside pier) and one looking straight out over the horizon.  I took the reference photos back in December, on a day where we decided to avoid the Christmas shopping rush and hide out down along the beach for a few hours. "Carlsbad Sunset West" 9 x 12 Chalk pastel on paper Click here to purchase Both sunset pieces are daily painting exercises, completed in one session each with the exception of a little finishing before posting...

"Monet's Muse" 22 x 28in Acrylic on Canvas ORIGINAL SOLD Click here to view prints It's summer again, and time for another Sojie Workshop.   This time the focus is on landscape and light, with guest demos and a variety of translations including traditional and digital media. I wasn't sure if I would participate this round, as being pregnant makes it difficult for me to predict how I'll feel each day.  Scrolling through the photo gallery, though, I spotted one that called to me:  a photo of Monet's garden in Giverny.  I was lucky enough to be able to translate this photo, and the result is above. (Click here to view original photo: http://www.redbubble.com/people/rhoufi/works/8918649-monets-garden-the-lake-and-the-lodge) The great thing about the Sojie workshops is that artists are required to post works in progress.  For me, this means thinking carefully about each stage of the painting, and taking my time as I paint.  I usually paint in a bit ...

"Along the Water" 9 x 12 Chalk Pastel on Paper Click here to purchase Haven't touched the pastels lately, but I bought a new set since I was running out of colors and have been yearning to put them to paper.  A few years ago, I took some great photos at Irvine Park.  I'd been to the park a few years in a row without even knowing there was quite a bit of water there, rife with paddle boats for the amusement of park visitors.  I snapped this scene from the train, knowing one day it would give me a great little painting exercise. Something about the park reminds me of the images from the old Impressionist works, with families enjoying picnics or lounging on the water for the afternoon.  I didn't see any ladies in nice dresses with parasols, but the atmosphere is quite similar-- a nice place to relax on a summer afternoon. The painting didn't take long, as it was more of a spontaneous play session.  I've been working with acrylics on canvas, so I...

"Morning Glow" 12 x 16 Chalk Pastel on Flat Canvas Email nicolehilsabeck@yahoo.com if interested in purchasing Been trying to get back into the daily painting routine, which for me either means a small painting a day, or a larger painting spread over two days.  It's a bit of a challenge with the growing belly and a very inquisitive firstborn, but I was lucky enough to get a little extra inspiration from an odd source: Sunday's eclipse. We have beautiful views of the canyon and hills behind us, and I watched the light change on this hill as the sunlight waned throughout the course of the eclipse.  I noted how the normally stunning lights and shadows on this hill were blunted by the general darkening (as opposed to the usual sunrise or sunset glow).  I thought I would be a little more appreciative of those lights and darks and try a painting of the trees and hills the next morning. I completed this painting in several steps, having struggled a little recent...

                                     "Ridgeline" 9 x 12 Chalk and Oil Pastel on Flat Canvas Click here to purchase original I may have mentioned before that I had a teacher who would ask if we were "simplifiers" or complicators" as painters.  I wanted to say I was a complicator, because I get caught up in noodling and making sure things look exactly the way I want before I consider a piece finished.  In my heart, though, I think I am a simplifier-- a quick look at most of my artwork would show that I like to focus on the big shapes, values, and colors. I started"Ridgeline" plein air with chalk pastel on canvas.  It came out a bit dull though, so I added water to blend it.  The water didn't do much, so I began working in some oil pastel to bring out those brighter colors.  ...