As we approach the holiday season, I wondered who I could ask to guest blog, whose work would reflect the season of joy and warmth and love. And then it became obvious – Kathy Hildebrandt and her amazing still life paintings filled with childhood memorabilia. Happily, Kathy agreed to contribute a post and here we are!

I first featured Kathy Hildebrandt in a Monthly round-up. Even the piece you’ll find there is one of childhood delights, of crayoning (a favourite past time of mine at a young age!) If you don’t know Kathy’s work, here’s a teaser!

Before I hand the blog over to Kathy Hildebrandt, here’s a wee bit about her.

Kathy Hildebrandt Bio

Kathy Hildebrandt, ASA, SCA, AFCA, ISAP, MPAC, PSA, IAPS/MC, is the President of Pastel Artists.CA and the Secretary of the Society of Canadian Artists. She is a signature member in several art associations including a Master Pastelist with Pastel Artists.CA and a Master Circle member of the International Association of Pastel Society.  Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and art books.  She is known for her highly detailed still life paintings. To see more of her work, click here.

And now here’s Kathy!!

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Like many artists, I started off painting landscapes in oil and acrylic. When I came across pastels almost 20 years ago, I knew I had found my medium. While I painted different subjects for years, my foray into still life paintings started about 10 years later and took a while to take hold.  

The few still life paintings I had done earlier in my painting journey never really appealed to me. They felt stilted and unnatural, for lack of a better word. Typical still life subjects like flowers, pots, food and fabrics failed to interest me but the one aspect I did appreciate was that I had control over my subject matter. I didn’t have to wait for the weather to be right or to have signed model releases. I was able to control the lighting and the composition without having to worry about the model moving.  

About 10 years ago I was experimenting with pastels and collage a fair bit. In the back of my mind I had always knew that I wanted to try trompe l’oeil but never had the courage to flat out try one in pastel. The combination of these two elements of pastel and collage resulted in my first still life painting that I could really get excited about. My painting, Time Warp, was my start down this path.  

I had found subject matter that interested me, and I had fun thinking of the different objects I could use to represent the old and the new. To get started on Time Warp, I collaged the old newspaper and money onto a 20 x 30in piece of illustration board. That was covered with a couple of layers of clear gesso to provide the tooth for the pastel. While the painting process proved to be a challenge because of the surface, I knew I had found subject matter that needed to be further explored. Unfortunately, it would be a couple of years before it came to fruition.

Over the next couple of years, thoughts on how I could paint in the still life genre played around in the back of my mind. I knew that traditional subject matter wasn’t for me, so I would have to find something different. Humour came to mind and resulted in the painting Screwed.

Another idea that interested me were idioms. You know, the sayings like “back to the drawing board” or “the best thing since sliced bread.”  I started keeping track of different sayings as I heard them in day to day conversation, and wondered how I could express those sayings in visual terms.  From there, When Pigs Fly was born, figuratively and literally! I had found my calling.

Toys – My Inspiration

My work today follows along a few main themes with two of my favourites being the Old News series based on old magazines and newspapers, and the other, Old Toys. My collection of old toys and memorabilia has grown significantly over the years. What started off with a few old toys from my childhood has grown through scrounging around antique and second-hand stores to “here, have this” from friends and family willing to part with some of their childhood memories. I have more props than I’ll probably ever use and there are a few that have made many, many appearances in my work.  

I create a still life composition in one of two ways, one where I know the title and know what I want to say, and the other is where I don’t have a clue, but I know I need to pull something together. The former is my preferred way of going rather than the latter, but the latter often results in a more natural composition!

When I don’t have a firm idea in mind, I start by picking a few objects I think I might want to use. I will add more items, one or two at a time. Often when approaching a set up this way, nothing sparks. Other times, some objects will start to click but in a completely different tangent from where I thought it was going to go.  

Most of the time though, I know the title of the painting before I start putting the composition together.  The title is the story I want to tell, and I use different props to tell that story. Examples of this would be First Loves or Animal Party. The young boy and girl on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post magazine spoke to me of first loves. It made me think of first loves of other things in life at that age, baseball, toys and for me. Animal Party started off with an original composition of only a few animal characters. However, that quickly bloomed into a whole host of characters and at 28 x 40 in became one of my largest pastel paintings.

Photographing the Setup

My studio set up doesn’t allow for painting directly from the set up. Quite honestly, I prefer painting from images on my computer monitor. I don’t have to worry about the set up shifting or falling apart because quite frankly, many of the objects are being held in place by tape, sticky tack, string or paper clips.  

I photograph my set ups right from the very beginning. For me this is my sketch. With the initial setting in place, my first few photos are to determine what the composition needs. I’m looking for odd or bad negative shapes and how the items are situated and relate to each other. Are there any objects that are kissing (just barely touching each other)? Is there variety in object shapes and sizes? Do objects overlap to give depth to the composition? Is there a concentration of a colour or value in an area? The photos allow me to see these issues and correct them before I commit to the final arrangement.

This process is repeated until I’m fairly satisfied with the overall composition. If I don’t have a specific background in mind that is a key part of the composition, I will start playing with different coloured backgrounds. This can either be done with Photoshop or with different coloured papers or fabrics being placed behind the setup. Like many others, I too sometimes don’t give enough attention to the background until it is too late!

I will also experiment with different lighting scenarios. Many times, I go with overhead lighting when I don’t want the shadows to play a big role in the painting. Or, I will set up my light stands, usually lighting the composition from the top left. On the odd occasion, I will also pull out a flashlight to enhance the lighting on a specific object or in a certain area. Having my camera on a tripod is essential as it allows me to set the timer so that I have time to shine the flashlight where I need it. 

My camera also plays one more vital role in my process. I have my DSLR hooked up to my laptop and use Live Shooting so that I can try out different settings and see the results directly on my monitor. This has cut down the number of shots I have to take dramatically. I like shooting at low ISO settings so that I don’t get a lot of camera noise. I also shoot at around f-stop 11 or higher so that the whole set up is in sharp focus. Having a clear image of the objects is very important to me during the painting process so that I can see the detail.

My Materials

Over the years I have become an avid collector of pastels and papers. With the exception of Henri Roche, I have a selection of every soft pastel brand currently available. I also have all the pastel pencil lines. With all those choices available I still always go back to my favourites. 

For pencils, Carb Othello and Faber Castell Pitt are must haves. The Carb Othello’s colour range suits most of my needs and while many others may dislike Faber Castell because they are on the harder side, that is exactly why I use them. They are fantastic for blending and glazing.  

And while I like the softness of Ludwigs, Mount Vision, and Unisons, my frequent go to pastels range on the harder side. One of my favorites are Holbeins, but I also frequently use Girault, Faber Castell Polychromos and NuPastel. I like these pastels for the control they provide and their ability to easily get into tight places.  

My early venture into pastel painting was on Sennelier LaCarte paper. It is a paper I still frequently use but I now also Pastelmat and UART. UART 800 is now my go-to paper, especially if I want to do a watercolour underpainting or if there is a lot of small details in the painting. 

The Painting Process

Because I paint in a realistic style, my approach to the painting process is quite methodical. When I first started with pastels, my primary paper, Sennelier LaCarte, didn’t hold up well to erasing so I would draw my composition on tracing paper, a practice I still use today. Having my drawing on tracing paper also allows me to check for drawing errors during the painting process. If and when things turn south while I’m painting, I can simply lay my drawing over the painting surface and check my drawing.  

Most of my work these days starts with a watercolour underpainting. I find watercolour works best for me as I can quickly block in all the objects in as much tonal detail as I want or need. My underpaintings serve as my colour map and most importantly covers the colour of the painting. It drives me up a wall when I see bits of the paper colour showing through my work. It works great for others but not for me.

Once my underpainting is complete and dry, the painting process begins, starting with the background. From there, I paint from top left to bottom right, one object at a time. I start each object by laying in thin layers of hard and soft pastels paying attention to form and value. When the object is blocked in, I turn to hard pastels and pastel pencils to blend and fine tune the object. Finer details and highlights are the last to go in place. As each object comes to life, I focus on edges and reflected colours and shadows ensuring that everything ties together. 

As I’m painting, I will take photos of my work in progress. These images allow me to see detail that isn’t obvious to the naked eye. I then make any corrections if necessary. The painting will then sit on my easel for a few days. If nothing jumps out at me during that time, I consider it complete and move on to the next project.

Painting old toys and memorabilia puts a smile on my face. I’m especially pleased when I see that smile on the face of a collector as they recognize these reminders from their childhood too. Being an accountant in my professional life, I am drawn to details, so realistic paintings of toys seems like a good fit for me. I might stick with it for a while!

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Wow, such precision and painstaking detail! Don’t you just love the way artist Kathy Hildebrandt combines all the different memorabilia from a childhood of days gone by?!

Now we’d love to hear from YOU! If you enjoyed this blog, have questions for Kathy, want to tell us your favourites, feel the need to share your own childhood story, then please leave a comment.

This is my last blog of 2018. I wish you the happiest of holidays and an amazingly creative 2019!! And with that, let me leave you with a thought for the New Year.

Until next time (in the New Year!!)

~ Gail