Pre-Dawn On The Hi-Line I Acrylic Print

Watching the sky turn slowly from black to deep dark blue or some other "almost-black" color was the point of fascination for this series of "pre-dawn" paintings, of which there are now 6. And driving highway 2 across Montana (something I have done over a hundred times) offers one of the most evocative and enchanting settings for this daily transformation. The technique for getting the sky dark enough has been an evolving one. This, the first attempt, took 16 consecutive washes, letting the paper dry completely in between each one. The second painting got it in about 8 and the third in 3. A more experienced watercolorist may be able to do it in one coat. I don't know this trick yet.

Visions of the Great Plains consists of drawings and watercolor paintings inspired by the American Great Plains, by Scott Kirby. Referred to as an accidental artist by Sandpoint Magazine, Kirby began painting in 2005, after 9 months of drawing with dual-tip brush pens. Although the attempts to capture these mostly imagined visions are quite intentional, the origins of Kirby's transition from music to art was, in a way, accidental, and unexpected. While drawing with his daughter Sara one afternoon, Kirby was suddenly compelled to continue into the night and following days, being bombarded by mental images which demanded expression. Weeks turned into months, and drawing turned into painting, all scenes rooted in a long relationship with...