Night at Gallery Augusta

It was lovely to spend such a beautiful evening painting with artist friends in historic downtown Augusta, and this golden gallery was irresistible!  Using the light from a street lamp, I quickly marked out my masses with their local color.  I like to start nocturnes while there is still some blue in the sky, before it turns very dark.  This allows me to paint those hints of color that show in the shadows - while I can still see them.  As my friends painted, I finished this and another painting of the cottage across from this building, too.  It's rare to have such perfect weather, so I just had to take full advantage of it all.  Painting number 5037 in 5037 days. 

Gallery Augusta Lit

As the lights came up in Augusta, I was drawn to this scene. As I sketched it in paint, the lights popped on across the street.  After talking to the owners, I decided to lay this one aside to work on their sweet cottage. I finished before the other artists on the street, so I came back to this one.  That gorgeous gold is a super color on the gallery, and so very paintable at night!  Painting number 5028 in 5028 days.

Gallery Augusta

It's super fun (and messy) to explore fountain pen inks in the field!  Magic happens when that chromatic ink mingles in wet masses, as I gently manipulate the paper to control the flow.  Unpredictable and vibrant - these Diamine inks are rich, and the possible results are endless!  This painting of Gallery Augusta is now showing at Gallery Augusta!  Painting number 3771 in 3771 days. 

Church Street Barns

I love painting the old barns on Church Street in Augusta!  Though pretty messy in the field, I am again playing with my collection of fountain pen ink!  As I pared down my supplies, I forgot a crucial element to this process - my wash brush!  Laying in down with brush or dropper, I lay a very wet stroke along that ink with that brush!  I just couldn't make it work with my largest round brush.  So, upon mentioning this to my host family, Saundra pulled out a selection of house painting brushes.  The one inch brush was perfect!  Not quite as soft as a wash brush, it still held a lot of water, allowing me to achieve the stroke i needed to get these chromatic inks to mingle.  Unpredictable and vibrant, the whole process is fun - unless I have a little ink accident!  Yes, that happened with the first ink painting - and it took me over an hour to clean that mess up!  Come see this fountain pen ink painting in person at Gallery Augusta on Walnut Street!  Painting number  3768 in 3768 days. 

Iconic Barns of Augusta

I just dropped off the largest ink and watercolor paintings I've ever done at Gallery Augusta!  I LOVE painting the local iconic barns, and these have been long time favorites of mine.  Ordering large pieces of this handmade paper, the whole process from sketch to finish took so much longer than I thought it would. Unwieldy at 36x24, I had a little trouble maneuvering the paper.  And at the onset, I knew my favorite travel paints were far too small for the thick, juicy brushes.  So, after years of neglect, I again turned to a few of my old favorite Daniel Smith watercolors, my old large palette, and an easel that could shift easily from upright to flat, depending on the need.  The project seemed laborious in process, but I was elated at the finish.  These historic buildings are so worth the extra effort, and am I actually looking forward to starting another large project?  Maybe!  This one now showing at Gallery Augusta, and is painting number 4255 in 4255 days.