Karen Gillmore Art

Comics & Illustration

Main Menu

Skip to content
  • Home
  • Bio and Pics
    • Interview with Hillside-Quadra News
  • Comics and Webcomics
    • Quadra Cats Webcomic
    • Mermaid Music Webcomic
    • Quadra Cats
    • Hourly Comic Day 2018
    • A Midsummer Night
    • Jurassic Lark
    • Root Redwing
    • Spam and the Sasquatch
    • Iris the Art Muse
    • Telling Tales
  • Illustration
    • Book Covers
    • Pen and Ink
    • Nature and Sea Life
  • Time Travellers
  • Drop me a line!

Snow Day

December 23, 2022by karencomics 6 Comments

We’ve been snowed in on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, for most of the week. It’s been colder than I can remember it being in 30 years of […]

Read Article →
Cats, Colouring Pages, Quadra Cats, Short Stories, Storytelling, writing

Little Bitty Paintings

May 13, 2022by karencomics 1 Comment

Miniature paintings are something I never thought I’d do. I’ve always had a yen to paint big — really BIG — and a couple of decades ago I was doing […]

Read Article →
animal art, Ink, Miniature Paintings, Watercolour

Witches and Mermaids and Bears, Oh my!

February 18, 2022by karencomics Leave a comment

I’m almost caught up with my musings about last year’s art — just this one more post about my brief foray into doing Witchtober and then it’s on to more […]

Read Article →
art challenge, It's an artist's life, Pen and Ink, writing

The Hot Summer Zoo

January 30, 2022by karencomics 1 Comment

In trying to make sense of the last year in terms of my creative activities, I’ve realized how much the work I did became compartmentalized in terms of what was […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, Inspiration, It's an artist's life, zooly

Limbo in the Studio

January 28, 2022by karencomics 3 Comments

No, I’m not doing that crazy dance where you try to defy gravity while wriggling under a low bar! I don’t have the limber for the limbo, and besides, I […]

Read Article →
art challenge, Inspiration, It's an artist's life, Procreate, sketchbook

The Rest of the 12 Days

January 14, 2021by karencomics 2 Comments

Just before New Year’s, I posted about the 12-day challenge I was doing in the Zooly Weekly Art Challenge group, where we normally have one animal prompt a week. This […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, coloured pencils, Drawing-a-Day, sketchbook, Watercolour, zooly

Art in the Quarantine Age

January 1, 2021by karencomics 3 Comments

What a year it’s been! Like everyone else, I’ve seen a lot more of my house this past year than usual. Although I’m usually home quite a lot, since that’s […]

Read Article →
animal art, Cats, children's books, comics conventions, Digital colouring, Digital Drawing, Illustration, Inspiration, It's an artist's life, Procreate, Quadra Cats, Studio, Watercolour, zooly

The 12 Days of… Zooly?

December 29, 2020by karencomics 2 Comments

There is something to be said for the old-fashioned observance of the 12 Days of Christmas, or Twelvetide. It has a fascinating history, which I won’t go into here, because […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, Drawing-a-Day, sketchbook, Song, Watercolour

Creating a Colouring Page from a Photo

December 24, 2020by karencomics Leave a comment

It’s Christmas Eve! One of the delightful array of holidays this time of year. Whether you celebrate Solstice, or Christmas, or Kwanza, Hanukkah, Galaxy Day, or one I don’t know […]

Read Article →
Colouring Pages, Digital colouring, Digital Drawing, Photography, Procreate, Technique, Technique of the Week, tutorials

Exploring the Eelgrass Meadow

December 23, 2020by karencomics 7 Comments

Look what arrived yesterday! A whole box of the latest book I illustrated in partnership with author Gloria Snively, published by Heritage House! I’m so excited — the printing is […]

Read Article →
animal art, Book Covers, children's books, Illustration

Galaxy Day

December 21, 2020by karencomics 2 Comments

Happy Winter Solstice, to those of you in the Northern Hemisphere! Soon the all-too-short days will be getting longer, and before you know it, green things will be popping up […]

Read Article →
Cats, Colouring Pages, Quadra Cats, Uncategorized

The Kittens of Doom!

May 4, 2020by karencomics 3 Comments

I’ve been doing a webcomic for several years now called “The Quadra Cats“, about some Earth Cats that meet up with an Alien Cat and accidentally find themselves as impromptu […]

Read Article →
Cats, Comics, Digital colouring, Digital Drawing, Quadra Cats

Practicing in Procreate: Still More Animals

April 30, 2020by karencomics 8 Comments

Yesterday’s post showed some of my first efforts in the iPad app Procreate. As I practiced, I got more confidence, and tried flexing my digital muscles a bit. I’ve got […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, Digital colouring, Digital Drawing, zooly

Learning a New App: Procreate

April 29, 2020by karencomics 3 Comments

This post was supposed to happen yesterday, but it didn’t, due to my discovery that I needed to do a bit more organizing of the images. Also I just plain […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, Digital colouring, Digital Drawing, Illustration, zooly

Sketchbook Roundup 6: The Rest of the Gang

April 27, 2020by karencomics Leave a comment

I’m coming to the end of the hand-drawn sketchbook creatures I want to share as part of this series; tomorrow I’m going to end the series with some digital drawings […]

Read Article →
animal art, coloured pencils, Illustration, Ink, Watercolour, Watercolour pencils (aquarelles), zooly

Sketchbook Roundup 5: Sketch Cards

April 26, 2020by karencomics Leave a comment

It’s Day five of my sketchbook series, but today is not going to be about drawings from my sketchbooks, but sketch cards. Sketch cards are tiny cards, often (but not […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, coloured pencils, Watercolour pencils (aquarelles), zooly

Sketchbook Roundup 4: Goofy Critters

April 25, 2020by karencomics Leave a comment

It’s day four of my sketchbook animal series! Sometimes drawing accurate depictions of creatures gets to be too much for me (I am a cartoonist, after all) and I just […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, Comics, Illustration

Sketchbook Roundup 3: They Come in All Sizes

April 24, 2020by karencomics 2 Comments

This is Day Three of my Earth Week special series, of animals I’ve drawn in the past year in my sketchbook (and occasionally on random pieces of paper). Today’s post […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, coloured pencils, Watercolour pencils (aquarelles)

Sketchbook Roundup 2: Hoofing It

April 23, 2020by karencomics Leave a comment

Today is the second in a series of peeks into my sketchbooks. In honour of Earth Week, I’m posting some of my animal drawings that I’ve done over the last […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, Drawing-a-Day, Illustration

Sketchbook Roundup 1: Animal Kingdom

April 22, 2020by karencomics Leave a comment

It’s Earth Day, and I’m stuck inside, as so many of us are these days… Hi! It’s been a while. I’m weathering this all OK, since as an artist, I’m […]

Read Article →
animal art, art challenge, Illustration, zooly

A Midsummer Night’s Comic

June 21, 2019by karencomics 2 Comments

Happy Midsummer, folk of the northern hemisphere (and happy Winter Solstice, folk of the southern hemisphere)! Here’s an eight page comic I completed recently, which will soon be published in […]

Read Article →
Celtic, Comics, Illustration, Ink, Markers, Song

I Blame the Kittens

March 14, 2019by karencomics 8 Comments

Oh, hi! It’s been a while. A really long while. I’m kind of staring at the screen wondering what to say; wondering if anyone’s still out there after all this […]

Read Article →
art challenge, Cats, Comics, Drawing-a-Day, It's an artist's life, Watercolour pencils (aquarelles)

Seashore Books!

July 26, 2018by karencomics 2 Comments

Big news — the children’s books I’ve been working on for the last few years are out! Written by Gloria Snively, published by Heritage House Publishing, illustrated by me, these […]

Read Article →
Book Covers, Illustration

Meeting the Art Challenge

June 30, 2018by karencomics 4 Comments

The word “challenge” conjures up a lot of different connotations: a dare, a provocation, an opposition, a task, a problem. An Art Challenge contains many of these; it’s a kind […]

Read Article →
art challenge, Drawing-a-Day, Inktober, It's an artist's life, zooly

What I Learned at TCAF

May 23, 2018by karencomics 6 Comments

I’m a firm believer in the principle that there is something to be learned from every experience. Really, it’s wired into us biologically; but humans are complex creatures, and we […]

Read Article →
comics conventions, It's an artist's life

Post navigation

1 2 … 15 Next →
  • Comics Class
  • Watercolour Basics
  • Watercolour Wizardry
  • Technique of the Week
  • Polymer Clay maquettes

The Quadra Cats, a webcomic

The cover of Takeout Planet, the first book in the Quadra Cats series

When the neighbourhood cats meet a takeout-obsessed Alien Cat, they become impromptu ambassadors for Earth! Updates Mondays and Thursdays.

Mermaid Music, a webcomic!

Mermaid Music, Book One cover

Mermaid music is the story of a girl who accidentally runs away to sea, and finds herself in deep water indeed! Click the image to read the webcomic from the beginning.

All text and images © Karen Gillmore 2014 -2017

...except as otherwise noted. If you share, please link back to this blog — you'll feel a warm glow right in your karma!

Celtic Art

Wolf and the Stones (pen & ink, watercolour, coloured pencil)
Wolf and the Stones (pen & ink, watercolour, coloured pencil)
Wolf and the Stones (pen & ink)
Wolf and the Stones (pen & ink)
Eostre (pen & ink, watercolour, coloured pencil)
Eostre (pen & ink, watercolour, coloured pencil)
Eostre (pen & ink)
Eostre (pen & ink)
Celtic Green Man (pen & ink, watercolour)
Celtic Green Man (pen & ink, watercolour)
Celtic Green Man (pen & ink)
Celtic Green Man (pen & ink)
Celtic Dragon (pen & ink, embellished version)
Celtic Dragon (pen & ink, embellished version)
Celtic Dragon (pen & ink, outline version)
Celtic Dragon (pen & ink, outline version)
Elemental Steed: Air (acrylic)
Elemental Steed: Air (acrylic)
Elemental Steed: Water (acrylic)
Elemental Steed: Water (acrylic)
Elemental Steed: Fire (acrylic)
Elemental Steed: Fire (acrylic)
Elemental Steed: Earth (acrylic)
Elemental Steed: Earth (acrylic)
Elemental Manifestations: Water (pen & ink, watercolour, collage)
Elemental Manifestations: Water (pen & ink, watercolour, collage)
Elemental Manifestations: Fire (pen & ink, watercolour, collage)
Elemental Manifestations: Fire (pen & ink, watercolour, collage)
Elemental Manifestations: Air (pen & ink, watercolour, collage)
Elemental Manifestations: Air (pen & ink, watercolour, collage)
Elemental Manifestations: Earth (pen & ink, watercolour, collage)
Elemental Manifestations: Earth (pen & ink, watercolour, collage)
Celtic Seahorses (linocut on banana paper)
Celtic Seahorses (linocut on banana paper)
Celtic Seahorses (pen and ink)
Celtic Seahorses (pen and ink)
Celtic Seahorses (pen & ink, watercolour, coloured pencil)
Celtic Seahorses (pen & ink, watercolour, coloured pencil)

Coloured Pencil

"Two Lips" — from a photo I snapped of a bunch of tulips someone had given me. As the petals started to fall away, they got more and more interesting. This one took quite a long time, lots of burnishing.
“Two Lips” — from a photo I snapped of a bunch of tulips someone had given me. As the petals started to fall away, they got more and more interesting. This one took quite a long time, lots of burnishing.
"White Rose" — I took a bunch of white silk roses into a class I was teaching one day, and we all had a good time trying to make them look natural, adding backgrounds and suggestions of colour.
“White Rose” — I took a bunch of white silk roses into a class I was teaching one day, and we all had a good time trying to make them look natural, adding backgrounds and suggestions of colour.
"Sheltered" — a demonstration on doing an underpainting in dark grey pencil to establish the values turned into this.
“Sheltered” — a demonstration on doing an underpainting in dark grey pencil to establish the values turned into this.
"Broken Seashell" — I like to pick up broken seashells, because their curves are challenging and fun to draw. For this one, I used a technique I often use for figure drawing — woking on toned paper and just picking out the deepest shadow and the highlights with white and black pencils.
“Broken Seashell” — I like to pick up broken seashells, because their curves are challenging and fun to draw. For this one, I used a technique I often use for figure drawing — woking on toned paper and just picking out the deepest shadow and the highlights with white and black pencils.
"Falling Apples" — When I teach a coloured pencil workshop, I often go buy a bag of apples and hand one out to everyone. Apples are excellent subjects for learning how to build up colour from light to dark. After my demo, he whole class goes back to their tables and becomes very quiet for a while — silence is the sound of creativity! One class I actually had time to draw my apple several times on the same page.
“Falling Apples” — When I teach a coloured pencil workshop, I often go buy a bag of apples and hand one out to everyone. Apples are excellent subjects for learning how to build up colour from light to dark. After my demo, he whole class goes back to their tables and becomes very quiet for a while — silence is the sound of creativity! One class I actually had time to draw my apple several times on the same page.
"El Morro" — the famous landmark fort at the mouth of Havana harbour. I got really caught up in the rocks on this one.
“El Morro” — the famous landmark fort at the mouth of Havana harbour. I got really caught up in the rocks on this one.
"Pink Rose" — One of the most burnished coloured pencil paintings I have ever produced. This little thing is the size of a greeting card, and it took me many hours.
“Pink Rose” — One of the most burnished coloured pencil paintings I have ever produced. This little thing is the size of a greeting card, and it took me many hours.
"Bear Hangout" — from a photo I took in Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. There were no visible fences, and everyone wanted to know how I'd gotten so close to the bears! Usually I would just smile and look mysterious.
“Bear Hangout” — from a photo I took in Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. There were no visible fences, and everyone wanted to know how I’d gotten so close to the bears! Usually I would just smile and look mysterious.
Woman in Blue — indigo and white Prismacolor pencils on toned paper
Woman in Blue — indigo and white Prismacolor pencils on toned paper
Relaxing Woman — burnt sienna and white coloured pencils on toned paper; a fifteen minute pose
Relaxing Woman — burnt sienna and white coloured pencils on toned paper; a fifteen minute pose
The Blues — Indigo and white coloured pencils on toned paper _ ten minute pose
The Blues — Indigo and white coloured pencils on toned paper _ ten minute pose
Man Forming a Triangle — coloured pencils on toned paper. Going through my sketches, I was amused to see how many similar poses I've drawn over the years — there are only so many ways the human body can fold up, after all. I thought this drawing made an interesting comparison with the previous one.
Man Forming a Triangle — coloured pencils on toned paper. Going through my sketches, I was amused to see how many similar poses I’ve drawn over the years — there are only so many ways the human body can fold up, after all. I thought this drawing made an interesting comparison with the previous one.
sm flower demo 9
"Golden Retriever" — coloured pencil. I got the detail of the brush in the background by indenting the paper through a piece of tracing paper with a pencil. The tracing paper protected the working paper from the pencil, and I was able to lightly colour over the indented lines with my coloured pencils, building up layers of mixed colours. I eventually decided the white lines this left were too stark, and went in with very sharp pencils in different colours to tone them down.
“Golden Retriever” — coloured pencil. I got the detail of the brush in the background by indenting the paper through a piece of tracing paper with a pencil. The tracing paper protected the working paper from the pencil, and I was able to lightly colour over the indented lines with my coloured pencils, building up layers of mixed colours. I eventually decided the white lines this left were too stark, and went in with very sharp pencils in different colours to tone them down.

Watercolours

"Mount Baker Dreams" — The ferry from Sidney BC to Anacortes , Washington puts in at one of the islands in between. This is what I saw from the dock.
“Mount Baker Dreams” — The ferry from Sidney BC to Anacortes , Washington puts in at one of the islands in between. This is what I saw from the dock.
"Sunshine" — funny how cats always find the warm spot in the house!
“Sunshine” — funny how cats always find the warm spot in the house!
"Bones of the Earth" — a mountain in the Montana Mission Range that has an oddly shaped top above the treeline. It is not a volcano, but I suspect there is a hollow at the top with a lake. However, I did not climb up there to see.
“Bones of the Earth” — a mountain in the Montana Mission Range that has an oddly shaped top above the treeline. It is not a volcano, but I suspect there is a hollow at the top with a lake. However, I did not climb up there to see.
Wickaninnish Wind — This tree stands by the parking lot at Wickaninnish Beach , in Pacific Rim National Park.
Wickaninnish Wind — This tree stands by the parking lot at Wickaninnish Beach , in Pacific Rim National Park.
"One Perfect Rose" — an anniversary card I made for my husband some years ago.
“One Perfect Rose” — an anniversary card I made for my husband some years ago.
"Willow Banks" — part of a large wetland park at the base of Montana's Mission Mountains that I visited once.
“Willow Banks” — part of a large wetland park at the base of Montana’s Mission Mountains that I visited once.
"Rainbow Pebbles" — many of the techniques described here are used in this painting
“Rainbow Pebbles” — many of the techniques described here are used in this painting
"Winter Tree" — a Christmas card I did for a friend; the white was all masked off with masking fluid, after which I could paint freely, knowing all that lovely snow would be preserved in pristine white paper.
“Winter Tree” — a Christmas card I did for a friend; the white was all masked off with masking fluid, after which I could paint freely, knowing all that lovely snow would be preserved in pristine white paper.
"Storm Building" — I used a paper towel to lift colour out of a solid sky wash for the clouds, then dripped in a bit of grey, then more water for the backwashes.
“Storm Building” — I used a paper towel to lift colour out of a solid sky wash for the clouds, then dripped in a bit of grey, then more water for the backwashes.
pebble sampler — I make samplers of many of the techniques during class, using pebble shapes.
pebble sampler — I make samplers of many of the techniques during class, using pebble shapes.
Wildly blooming
Wildly blooming
"Haunted River" — painted over a saran-wrap texture in multiple glazes; an example of mixing paint on the paper.
“Haunted River” — painted over a saran-wrap texture in multiple glazes; an example of mixing paint on the paper.
"Night Lights" — the background nebula-like blooms of sky colour are salt; the individual stars are dots of white ink.
“Night Lights” — the background nebula-like blooms of sky colour are salt; the individual stars are dots of white ink.
"Long Beach Sketch" — the backwashes created by dripping water into a wet wash created the clouds and the misty effects in the rocks on the right.
“Long Beach Sketch” — the backwashes created by dripping water into a wet wash created the clouds and the misty effects in the rocks on the right.
"Edge of the Woods" — I started with very light washes to build up the background and lighter tones of the foreground; the dark trees went in last.
“Edge of the Woods” — I started with very light washes to build up the background and lighter tones of the foreground; the dark trees went in last.
Cuban Tree
Cuban Tree
The UFOs are coming! Or maybe they are flying hats. Suggested by one of the students, I thought it was a great idea. This demo used salt and gouache to make stars and the explosions (or maybe they are fireworks). The city is just simple brushstrokes with a flat brush.
The UFOs are coming! Or maybe they are flying hats. Suggested by one of the students, I thought it was a great idea. This demo used salt and gouache to make stars and the explosions (or maybe they are fireworks). The city is just simple brushstrokes with a flat brush.
This demo was to blend a nice sunset wash, and to show how to make very quick trees with brush scribbles.
This demo was to blend a nice sunset wash, and to show how to make very quick trees with brush scribbles.
This demo was to show lifting paint out of a blended wash (and add some more for shadows) to make clouds, and how to make aerial perspective by making distant things lighter and bluer. I wasn't sure what the landscape was going to be, it sort of evolved as I went along.
This demo was to show lifting paint out of a blended wash (and add some more for shadows) to make clouds, and how to make aerial perspective by making distant things lighter and bluer. I wasn’t sure what the landscape was going to be, it sort of evolved as I went along.
Demo to show masking (I masked off the blue areas), and how to draw people in about ten seconds! This is kind of a bizarre picture because the blue areas look like holes in the sky, but I kind of like that effect.
Demo to show masking (I masked off the blue areas), and how to draw people in about ten seconds! This is kind of a bizarre picture because the blue areas look like holes in the sky, but I kind of like that effect.
"The Sky's the Limit" — a tiny painting, 4x6 inches, in which I demonstrated lifting wet paint to reveal the light.
“The Sky’s the Limit” — a tiny painting, 4×6 inches, in which I demonstrated lifting wet paint to reveal the light.
"New Horizons" — watercolour, 4x6 inches
“New Horizons” — watercolour, 4×6 inches

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 577 other subscribers
Follow Karen Gillmore Art on WordPress.com

Facebook!

Facebook!

Twitter!

My Tweets

Posts by Date

March 2023
S M T W T F S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Dec    

Monthly Archives

Lots of folks liked these posts!

  • Spam the Cat Becomes a Character Maquette (Part 2)
  • Technique-of-the-Week — Watercolour Monotypes
  • Technique of the Week — Collage, beyond the Magazine
  • A Comic in Process: from Thumbnails to Finished
  • Technique-of-the-Week — Combining Pen & Ink and Watercolour
  • Technique of the Week — Watercolour Pencils
  • Tam Lin — an Ancient Scottish Ballad
  • Nature and Sea Life
  • Paper for Comics
  • Evolution of a Design — Celtic Seahorses

Acrylics animal art art challenge Book Covers Brush and Ink Cats Celtic Character Design children's books Collage coloured pencils Colouring Pages Comics Comics Class comics conventions Cool Stuff for Artists Design Digital colouring Digital Drawing Drawing-a-Day Figure Drawing gouache Illustration Ink Inktober ink wash Inspiration It's an artist's life Linocut Markers Mermaids! Miniature Paintings oil pastels Paper maché Pen and Ink Photography Poetry Polymer Clay maquettes Printmaking Procreate Quadra Cats Reblogs Sculpture Short Stories sketchbook Song Spam & the Sasquatch Storytelling Studio Studio Journal Technique Technique of the Week tutorials Uncategorized Watercolour Watercolour pencils (aquarelles) writing zooly
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Home
  • Bio and Pics
  • Comics and Webcomics
  • Illustration
  • Time Travellers
  • Drop me a line!
Karen Gillmore Art
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Follow Following
    • Karen Gillmore Art
    • Join 577 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Karen Gillmore Art
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...