MOSES LAKE — Looking at Angela Hagerty’s work, you might think she’s been painting for a long time. You’d be wrong. 

“I retired (about three years ago), and I thought, ‘Well, now what do I do?’” Hagerty said. “I did some artwork at school, and then family and career (came along) and I didn’t really have much time to dig in and do this.” 

Hagerty is the first guest exhibitor at Up Town Art Gallery, one of the five small businesses at the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce’s Catalyst Center. Her favorite medium is watercolor, she said, although she dabbles in ink and collage. Her watercolors frequently take a mosaic-like form, with bold colors and strong edges. Those show up in her stylized paintings of a bird and a cat, both of which are on display at Up Town. The feel is reminiscent of ancient Aztec art, which Hagerty said is one of her inspirations. At a previous show, she said, she had two quail paintings on display. 

“(One is) a real live quail, and … the other one is a full Aztec type, more structure and lines,” she said. “I’m more of a linear type of individual.” 

Not all of the work on display at Up Town is mosaic-themed. “Snacking Frog,” which depicts a frog eyeing a fly that’s about to be his next meal, has more curves and circles underlying it. 

“I pick up National Geographic Magazines,” she said. “I noticed a couple of pages of (photos of) bubbles and I thought ‘What can I do with these bubbles?’ So, he ended up that way.” 

Along with the paintings, Hagerty will have some cards that she paints as a member of the Desert Artists, said Up Town owner Judy Kalen. 

“(They’re) beautiful cards,” Kalen said. “Each one of the cards is original; they’re not prints or anything … We’re honored to have her.” 

Hagerty is entirely self-taught, she said. 

“I did take a watercolor course at one point,” she said. “I enjoyed it, but it was very rigid. You had a picture, and you had to copy it; there was no allowance for any kind of elaboration … I see pictures, and I formulate a little bit of a different look, so it's my own work.” 

Angela Hagerty’s exhibit runs through Oct. 27. 

Angela Hagerty 

Moses Lake 

Up Town Art Gallery 

301 W. Broadway Ave., Suite A 

Wednesday-Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 

    “Chubby Quail,” one of Angela Hagerty’s watercolor paintings, uses bold colors and strong borders to create an Aztec-like mosaic effect.
  

    Angela Hagerty’s watercolor “Cat of Many Colors” fills in the curved lines with sharp, angular mosaic tiles.