‘I’ve always loved the ocean’

MOSES LAKE — There’s a definite theme to Hannah Fountain’s artwork.

“I always loved the ocean,” she said. “I love the water, and painting it has always been my favorite subject.”

Fountain’s gallery, The Drip, features her original artwork, almost all of which is water-related: waves breaking on the beach, ripples glittering in blue water, an ebb tide clutching gently at the sand. The water theme ties in with some family loss and grief she’s experienced over the last few years, she said.

“I did some studying on trauma and how it injures the brain,” she said. “The ocean can actually help bring the two hemispheres of your brain back together in a healing sense. Your brain is sending messages back and forth of logic and emotion, and when you experience trauma, it pulls apart and gets a physical injury. So when you are at the ocean, and you're watching the repetition of the waves coming in, and you're feeling that kind of calming of the molecules, it's actually healing your body at the same time as bringing you a lot of joy watching it.”

Others appreciate the artwork and its serenity as well.

“All her paintings look like they're real,” said Mallory Miller, director of the Downtown Moses Lake Association. “You have to stare at it and be like, this is just a painting?”

Fountain has been painting professionally for five years, she said, and opened The Drip in May. She’s never taken art classes, but she’s been drawing and painting for as long as she can remember.

“I’ve never been able to put down the art supplies,” she said. “I’ve always used my art for different community efforts. During the pandemic, we painted a giant card and it was sitting outside Red Door (Cafe). It was a thank-you to all the first responders, and people could come by and sign it. But the last five years I’ve focused on developing as an artist and being able to create a career out of it.”

The Drip shares space with Dolz Coffee Shop. Dolz, which had its grand opening Sunday, offers coffee drinks, energy drinks, cookies and scones.

Some of Fountain’s art isn’t specific: there are countless paintings of waves curling and breaking with no land in sight. There are also more definite subjects, like Mount Rainier or the fountain that sits off the Alder Street Fill in Moses Lake in the summer. The latter was a donation to the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation’s fundraiser auction in February.

For those who can’t afford original art — or don’t have a lot of wall space, as Fountain’s original work tends to be large — prints are available as well. She also offers art classes periodically, one-time affairs where aspiring artists can learn to paint something specific, like a crashing wave or an imitation Van Gogh.

This summer and fall, The Drip will experiment with crowdsourcing, as it were.

“I’m featuring a little art show where people can come in, the whole community, and they can buy a little art kit, take it home and paint something and bring it back,” she said. “And then in October, we're going to have an art show. Everybody who participates can show their art. Kids, adults, anybody can be a part of that.”

The Drip will be one of the locations for the DMLA’s annual Sip & Stroll art and wine walk Sept. 14, Miller said.

“It benefits because people actually have to finish their drink before they leave,” she said. “What's better than drinking wine and looking at the most beautiful art you've ever seen?”

“I just really hope that this place becomes a hub for our community of not only food and coffee, but enjoying art, enjoying the prospect of participating in art, and also viewing and appreciating art,” Fountain said.

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com. 

The Drip

121 W. Third Ave.
Moses Lake
Tu-Sa: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
509-770-4508
www.hannahfountainart.com

    Besides being a place to buy paintings, The Drip has chairs and tables for people who just want to look at the art and maybe have a cup of coffee from Dolz Coffee Shop, located in the back of the gallery.
  

    The Drip offers art supplies for those who like to make their own art, including a pre-assembled kit that comes with entry into the gallery’s art show in October.
  

    Hannah Fountain also offers high-quality framed prints of her original work, for those who are watching either their pocketbook or their wall space.