Close up of the humpback whale
Nature Landings is thrilled to announce that Playa del Coco artist Carlos Hiller is in the process of designing the cover for its December/January issue. The painting is being done with oil and acrylic paint, and is scheduled to be completed just in time for the next edition. Hiller is currently about halfway done with the project, which he has designed specifically for Nature Air.
Originally born in Argentina, Carlos Hiller has lived in Costa Rica for nearly two decades. He is currently the resident artist at one of the largest art galleries in Guanacaste: The Hidden Garden.
He originally came to Costa Rica on a backpacking trip, but quickly fell in love with its diverse and gorgeous natural environments – which were the perfect inspiration for his artwork. In the beginning he painted exclusively rainforest scenes, but switched to seascapes as he fell in love with the ocean and the myriad of sea creatures that inhabit it.
Step one: Working on the easel, Hiller made a pencil sketch in order to study the whale’s position.
Rough sketch
Step two: Starting with a blank canvas, he sketched out a few lines as guides. With acrylic paint, he began painting the deepest level of the sky.
Early stages
Step three: Next he began painting the island, leaving a space for where the jumping whale will be. The island is a dark green color, with a bit of Prussian blue for texture.
The painting begins to come to life
Step four: He drew in a few lines for the water surface as a reference point using turquoise and the same colors as the sky.
Adding texture to the water
Step five: On the easel, Hiller painted the ocean – acrylic paints dry quickly, so the color is not very well distributed at first. However this is more of a color study, so it will get painted over anyway. He added many layers in order to soften the colors, using combinations of blue and cobalt with Prussian blue.
Beginning to paint the whales
Step six: He worked on the surface of the water, creating small waves. Then he added more layers of paint, along with the background colors of the whales. This he did both on the easel and on a table.
Step seven: He began filling in the intricate lines on the whale’s body, and the white belly so typical of whales from the southern hemisphere.
Carlos at the table
Step eight: Carlos painted for a while on the table, then went back to the easel. He worked on the shadow of the whale, adding in scars and other details. The progress of the painting began to slow down at this phase, but Carlos commented that it was fun and interesting to play with the shadows, texture and light to give the painting a tri-dimensional effect.
Step nine: Carlos added the final whale to the bottom, and finished up the deep areas of the water.
Step ten: He stopped using acyrlics and switched to oils for the last layer of the painting. The oil layer gives it a soft, surreal effect.
Step eleven: Finishing touches!
Contact Information:
www.carloshiller.com Tel: (506) 8928-8752 email:info@carloshiller.com
Hidden Garden Art Gallery: www.hiddengarden.thevanstonegroup.com
