Karen Gillmore Art

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Tag Archives: painting

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 […]

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

The April Fool’s Easter Bundragon

April 1, 2018by karencomics 3 Comments

How often do April Fool’s Day and Easter fall on the same day? I couldn’t resist the urge to do this funny li’l guy, once he’d popped into my head! […]

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coloured pencils, gouache, Illustration

The Zooly Art Challenge

June 26, 2017by karencomics 14 Comments

Zooly is a month-long art challenge during the month of July, dreamed up by Karen Gillmore and Melody Pena, two artists who both like drawing and sculpting animals. Every day for the month of July, there will be a prompt for an animal to spark your creative juices.

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art challenge

Colored Pencil Magazine Article!

May 31, 2016by karencomics 2 Comments

Hey, art-process fans! Want to know how I made this comic? I just got word that the article I submitted to Colored Pencil Magazine is now in the June issue, […]

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coloured pencils, Comics, Illustration, Technique

Painting Mermaids and Merboys

April 10, 2016by karencomics 5 Comments

Why are mermaids always maids? What do you call a boy, er, mermaid? Merboy? Merlad? A grown male mer-person is a merman, or sometimes, a triton (though they usually have […]

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Comics, Technique, Technique of the Week, Watercolour

Watercolour Pencils = Fun

January 16, 2016by karencomics 6 Comments

I spent a lovely day today teaching an all-day workshop in Watercolour Pencils to thirteen keen and creative folks. The way to tell when people are really “in the zone” in […]

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Watercolour pencils (aquarelles)

Cats-n-Sasquatch for Indiegogo!

March 10, 2015by karencomics 6 Comments

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about a crowdfunding campaign that I’m involved in. The Camosun Comic Arts Festival, or CCAF, is raising funds through Indiegogo for the event […]

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Comics

Evidence of Comics

February 2, 2015by karencomics 9 Comments

“Hmmm,” said Sherlock, “there seems to be a webcomic about to be published.” “How can you tell?” said Watson, “All I see are some paints and little pictures.” “Elementary, my […]

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Comics, Studio

Photography for Painting

October 17, 2014by karencomics 8 Comments

For many years I have taken photos for reference for making paintings or drawings. At this point I have thousands of images from which I can pull clouds and waves, […]

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Photography

Saturday Night Inspiration

September 13, 2014by karencomics 8 Comments

If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint’, then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. — Vincent Van Gogh I must say, this […]

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Inspiration

“The Mermaid” Cover, part 2

August 6, 2014by karencomics 4 Comments

The cover that I posted the beginnings of two days ago is finished! This will be my entry in the Co-Mix exhibition here in Victoria at the Martin Batchelor Gallery. […]

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Comics, Illustration

Celebrating!

May 20, 2014by karencomics 8 Comments

I have finished the painting of Spam and the Sasquatch, a few minutes past midnight, so I’m too late to post today, because it’s now tomorrow! The work is not […]

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Comics, Spam & the Sasquatch

Featured TCAF creator: Joan Steacy

May 13, 2014by karencomics Leave a comment

This is the second of my posts about artists who were at TCAF this past weekend. Today I’m featuring my friend and mentor, Joan Steacy! Follow the links in the […]

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Comics, It's an artist's life

Cheeze It, Sasquatch!

May 5, 2014by karencomics Leave a comment

Today in Spam and the Sasquatch, our young Sasquatch is in a spot of trouble with the law. Here’s a couple of my favourite panels from today’s painting efforts. (In […]

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Comics, Spam & the Sasquatch

Sasquatch Zen!

May 4, 2014by karencomics 7 Comments

There’s been lots of progress on Spam and the Sasquatch today — here are a panel and a page that pleased me greatly. (In case you’re just tuning in: Spam and […]

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Comics, Spam & the Sasquatch

Fish Negotiations

May 3, 2014by karencomics 8 Comments

Tonight’s sneak peek at Spam and the Sasquatch involves diplomatic relations between Rocky the Vampire Cat and Renfrew the Raccoon over the possession of The Fish (deceased). (In case you’re […]

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Comics, Spam & the Sasquatch

Rocky the Vampire Cat

May 1, 2014by karencomics 6 Comments

Today I’m going to post a whole page, just because I like the way it came out. Spam has encountered his pal Rocky the Vampcat, or Catpire if you prefer, […]

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Comics, Spam & the Sasquatch

A Handsome Villain

April 30, 2014by karencomics 1 Comment

Tonight’s sneak peek into Spam and the Sasquatch has Spam encountering Sven, the good-looking, ladies-man (or so he thinks) villain. I’m not going to tell you why he’s the villain, […]

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Comics

A Deer Encounter

April 29, 2014by karencomics Leave a comment

Tonight’s sneak peek into my Spam & the Sasquatch graphic novel painting marathon involves Spam and Renfrew, uh, running into the deer. The deer are the biggest gossips in town; they […]

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Comics

Technique-of-the-Week — Comic page in watercolour

April 26, 2014by karencomics 4 Comments

Today I painted the first double-page spread of Spam and the Sasquatch, and took pictures as I did each stage! So follow along if you like, and help me celebrate […]

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Comics, Studio, Technique, Technique of the Week

A Mighty Conflagration

April 16, 2014by karencomics 7 Comments

Days like this keep me humble. I put aside the inking of the story I’ve been working on in order to try painting the first page, which I had put […]

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Comics

Technique-of-the-Week — Demystifying Watercolour Paints

April 12, 2014by karencomics Leave a comment

Every Saturday I post about some aspect of art technique. This week’s technique is more of a pre-technique. I’m a strong believer in knowing your materials, in order to get […]

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Technique, Technique of the Week, Watercolour

Dancing Starfish

April 2, 2014by karencomics 6 Comments

One of my favourite subjects is the creatures of the tidepools that abound in this area. This is the only painting of tidepool critters that I’ve done in acrylic, for […]

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Acrylics

Telling Tales

March 25, 2014by karencomics 6 Comments

This is the cover to my first comic book, a collection of several short stories (a few of which can be found in the sidebar to your left!). I hadn’t […]

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Comics

Technique of the Week — Plein-Air Tips

March 22, 2014by karencomics 4 Comments

Plein- Air: just a fancy way of saying you are going outside to paint! With spring upon us in the northern hemisphere (more or less), it’s time to start thinking […]

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Technique of the Week

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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

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