Hot Summer Night on the Strip

This watercolor nocturne sure was a challenge during a busy car show on Bagnell Dam!  There were so many people, I could hardly see my scene at times, and I had to stand back from the walkway without tumbling down into a ravine!  My first attempt at using watercolor for a nocturne, I struggled with getting the colors as dark as I wanted.  I added and added pigment to get it where I needed it.  It is also my first time to use a light while painting at night, and it was a good thing I had it.  It was very dark at my back with no light to paint by!  I would normally choose a more comfortable place from which to paint - this was the view I wanted, so no other place would do.  This painting was certainly a lesson in perseverance, from the gridlock in traffic beforehand to the long walk from the car, to pushing me to pick up my gouache after many years of neglect.  I've found a while new painting adventure with that medium. So happy the gallery owner wanted this painting for her very own, too!  Painting number 4308 in 4308 days. 

Hillside Lodge

What a treat to find this amazing large log cabin on the lake to paint!  This place lodged the workers on the Bagnell Dam, and now houses a museum inside.  Still lovely inside, the lobby is as it was so long ago.  A large veranda sweeps along the lake side, where an amazing view of the Lake of the Ozarks can be had from various spots. With walking trails down the hill, a wonderful lakeside garden is the reward at the bottom!  If only I had more time - I would have painted that view, too!  It would have been a lovely place to rest at the end of the day!  This painting now showing at Lake Fine Art Galleria in Osage Beach!  Painting number 3141 in 3141 days. 

Bagnell Dam

This is the perfect spot to paint this historic dam - which turned 90 years old this week!  I haven't done an ink sketch all week - so I finally got back to my ink this afternoon.  The day turned off cool after two weeks of heat adviseries and warnings - leaving it very pleasant to sit out and draw.  I zoomed in on a favorite part of this dam and started sketching the lines and angles.  A drawing like this is a bit like a puzzle where I have to sketch out each piece.  Once the composition was in, the values made quick work.  I have wanted to paint these towers for so long, it is a joy to finally get to it!  Painting number 3130 in 3130 days. 

Bagnell Dam

As I explore more fountain pens, a few have risen to the top like cream.  Both the TWSBI Eco and Mini are smooth as butter and hold so much ink.  I didn't realize what a benefit this was until I ran out a couple of times with other pens.  I do love the piston reloader, so easy to use!   This paper is a more traditional watercolor paper, and less absorbent than the cotton rag.  The result is a line that bleeds freely with the addition of a little water.  I thought these towers along the dam looked like they stepped out of a Star Wars movie!  So cool to draw!  Painting number 1908 in 1908 days.