Several years ago, in search of more color in my life, I signed up for a traditional watercolor class.

The emphasis was on excellence and technique. Halfway through the course, the instructor demanded that we wash the page from darker to lighter without showing any brush marks. I dropped out. I felt impatient and edgy. Soon after, I found an Urban Sketchers workshop called Draw Now, Think Later. Since then, making a painting a day is part of my normal routine. I crave it and learn from the practice.

I live in Rhode Island, the smallest state in the US. It has a lot of scenic diversity and it is easy to navigate. So a typical sketch begins by driving, biking or walking somewhere to see what catches my interest. The focus might be shape, color or light.

My Rhode Island School of Design degree in metal-smithing led to a lot of satisfying projects including functional decorative cabinet hardware, reproduction lighting fixtures, bold found object sculpture and whimsical wire sculpture. I love metal, but it was getting hard on the hands. And it never satisfied my need to tell a story. Now I am enjoying a quieter way of telling stories to my viewers through pen and watercolor sketches. Come see what I see.

Thea Ernest
Riverside, RI
2020