First Light at the Mississippi Bridges

For 40 years, artist Florence Hill has hosted a community drawing group each Sunday at her studio in Northeast Minneapolis, nurturing connection, inspiration and creativity. It’s her personal creativity that’s on display here at the library, with this painting of the Mississippi River at sunrise. Hill used gouache—a type of opaque watercolor paint that allows the artist to layer lighter colors over dark—to give the sunrise a depth and richness that’s beautifully reflected in the waters of the Mississippi.

Artist statement

"I never tire of chasing those colors that can drift like perfume, or bolt out of the darkness, that make a drama of the moment never to be repeated exactly the same another time.”

Funded by the Minneapolis Public Library percent for art program