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WFWS48 Clarification

By Events, Exhibits, WFWS
Good Evening,
Once again, congratulations to the IWS artists selected for this year’s regional exhibition. In my previous announcement I noted 7 IWS artists had been selected. Looking at the list it is quite obvious that 8 of our fellow artists were chosen. So please congratulate all 8 of our accomplished members.
My only excuse is that as an English major, higher mathematical operations such as counting, are outside my skill set. My apologies.

 


Dennis

IWS Artists Selected for WFWS48

By Events, Exhibits, WFWS
Good Afternoon,
The Southwestern Watercolor Society (SMS) has announced the artists and artworks chosen for inclusion in this year’s exhibition. Out of the 600+ entries this year, the juror selected 91 paintings for the show. Seven IWS artists entered works that were chosen for inclusion in the exhibition. The IWS artists and their selected works are listed below:
Autumn Explosion Steve Gruber
Persistence of Pine Triptych Joyce Green
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park Susan Snyder
Strategic Chaos Linda Aman
55 and Goode Lane Sharon Herther
Girl with Shoes Shelly Johnson
Dancing Through The Garden Lynn McConnell
Patriarch Marina Zavalova
Congratulations to our fellow artists for their outstanding work! Please join me in saluting our friends for their creativity and artistic skills.


Dennis Hayzlett

IWS Delegate

IWS Watercolor Society, Letter from the President

By All IWS Info, Events, Exhibits, President, WFWS, Workshops

OCTOBER 2022

Fellow IWS Artists,

Since we only publish our newsletter quarterly, and IWS is ramping up activities, I thought an update was in order.           

Experimental Exhibition – Wow, what a turnout!  The board was delighted to have 53 entries into our first-ever “Anything Goes” exhibition.  A huge thank you to Cherry Woodbury for leading this effort.  If you were at the Annual Meeting, you saw the winning entries and know who the winners are.  If you missed that great event, here is the announcement…albeit delayed:

First Place, titled “A Night Out” by Jane Wilson $300
Second Place, titled “Summer Sunflowers” by Jean Nelson Ah Fong $200
Third Place, titled “Refugee” by Dave Earnest $100

A huge thank you to our juror Ruth Armitage from the Oregon Watercolor Society.

Annual Meeting – If you were not able to attend, you missed a good one!  So many people helped make this annual event outstanding, but special thanks to our Regional Rep, recently retired, Linda Carlson.  We will miss Linda, as she and her husband move to North Carolina.   We experienced five amazing Art Talks over the course of those two days:  Linda Aman, Sue Tyler, Torgeson Murdock, Yidan Guo, and Bernadette Regnier.  We tried our hand at block prints, visited the Idaho Falls Art Gallery, picnicked in the park, wandered through the amazing Japanese Gardens, and made and renewed friendships from across the state.  A huge thank you to all who helped make this event so enriching.  Watch for news about next year’s location and activities.

Strategic Planning – The day before the annual meeting in Idaho Falls, a handful of members gathered to envision and plan for our future…who we are, who we want to be, and the resources we need to get there.  Our goal over the course of the coming 9 months is to develop these plans and present them at our 2023 Annual Meeting for the organization’s approval.  Our next strategic planning meeting will be in Boise in November. If you are a visionary and/or strategic thinker and would like to be involved, get in touch with me.

Membership – Three announcements regarding membership:

  1. To facilitate increased opportunities for our members, the board researched other regional arts organizations and voted to increase our dues by $5.  Dues will now be $45 per year.
  2. Previously an additional $5 could be paid if a member wanted to receive the quarterly newsletter by mail.  Due to the increased cost of postage and printing, for a decreasing number of members, the board voted to provide the newsletter exclusively by email and eliminate mailed copies.
  3. The board and members at the annual meeting voted to offer a third option for membership.  Joint membership with the Plein Air Painters of Idaho (PAPI) will be offered at a cost of $70.  This is a $20 savings if you belong to both IWS and PAPI.  Each organization will maintain its organizational structure and exhibition requirements. Joint membership will allow you to enter shows, workshops, and events for both organizations.   Joint membership can be paid for either by mail to Lynn McConnell or online at the IWS Website.

We will start our cooperative activities with the previously announced Plein Air Workshop on April 8th.  It will be held at the beautiful Riverhouse in Star, Idaho, featuring the nationally acclaimed Plein air painter, Gabriel Stockton from the San Diego Watercolor Society.

Rotunda Show – Beth Trott and Bonnie Liles have been busy planning for this next exhibition at the Capitol Rotunda Show March 4 – 17th.   We had so many visitors last year, and a first-time reception that was so well attended, it was crowded.  Just what artists, looking to sell their work (sans commission) like.

 Annual Exhibition 2023 – Plans are well underway with our experienced Exhibition Coordinator, Scott Muscolo.  Our Vice President, Don Belts has been working hard at securing a juror and workshop instructor for next year. We are pleased to announce that he has contracted with Robin Poteet of Virginia.  If you are not familiar with her work, check out her website.  I think you will be impressed.  The breadth of her work is amazing.  Scott will have more information and the prospectus available in January.

Regional Reps – I wanted to recognize the great work our Regional Reps are doing, hosting workshops, meetings, and art activities and recruiting new members.   Every week I receive notice from Lynn McConnell, our membership chairman, of new members joining IWS.  A huge thank you to Cathy Anderson, Connie Pepper, Cheryll Root, Les Scott, and Neila Loebs.

In closing, I am writing this from my daughter’s patio in Santa Barbara.  It is 89 degrees today!  Beautiful, but a little too hot in October for this native Idahoan!  Enjoy this beautiful Fall and paint like your life depended on it.  After all, we have numerous shows coming up:  Rotunda show, WFWS, Annual Exhibition, and probably more!

Carol HasBrouck Browning
IWS President

WFWS47 Exhibition Report

By Events, Exhibits, WFWS

The WFWS47 Exhibition Opens in Albuquerque

Last weekend was the official opening of the WFWS47 exhibition in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The weekend began on Thursday evening, May 5th, with a welcome dinner for delegates and artists at the home of a NMWS member. It was an outdoor chuckwagon dinner prepared by the host with barbeque, country music and elegant desserts. It was a fun beginning to the weekend, but even in New Mexico, it gets chilly when the sun goes down and the evening breeze comes up.

The headquarters for the weekend events was the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town where most of the attendees stayed. Our official delegate meeting was held on Friday morning from 9:00 am to noon. This is the annual business meeting where matters pertaining to dues, expenses, prospectus issues, shipping concerns and other problems relating to delivery and handling of the accepted paintings are discussed. Bonnie Lee and I represented IWS during the meeting and participated in the topics of discussion. Three items were discussed at length: the acceptance and handling of varnished paintings, the cost and maintenance of the WFWS website and the prospectus language regarding use of photo references. One change was made to the WFWS by-laws to conform to actual practice. The bylaws will now state that the delegates meeting each year will be conducted by the delegates of the host society. The society hosting the following year will present and highlight their plans for the following year and develop the new delegate book.

This topic of varnished paintings has been the source of much discussion throughout the world of watercolor and has come up at shows from the local to the national level. At its most restrictive, an originality rule would limit an artist from using any photograph as source material for a painting that was not taken personally by the artist. This is to prevent artists from copying or imitating other people’s work. Many of the delegates feel this level of restriction could be too limiting and stifle creativity. The delegates will hold a Zoom meeting later this summer to continue work on the language for future exhibitions. I would be interested in your thoughts on this matter. Send me an email and let me know how you feel about this topic.

Following the business meeting photos of the assembled delegates were taken for posterity and then everyone was free for the afternoon to explore the shops of old town and Albuquerque’s many museums and attractions. Friday evening featured the actual opening of the exhibition at the Fine Arts Gallery on the New Mexico State Fairgrounds. The gallery is a beautiful stand alone building with many rooms for displaying the art selected for the show. The delegates and artists had the gallery to themselves for an hour before the show was opened to the general public. The sixteen paintings from IWS artists in the show were all beautifully framed in blond wood and were a strong component and positive contribution to the show.

Saturday morning, Bonnie and I attended the delegates networking meeting. These sessions give the delegates the opportunity to informally compare notes and ideas on any topic relating to the annual show. Once again, varnishing of paintings was discussed along with the proposed shift to Google Docs from Dropbox to preserve and share show documentation and correspondence. The group also talked about ideas for future jurors, how best to use social media, attracting younger painters to Western Fed societies, how the different societies use Zoom to supplement in person events and the ever-present shipping and handling difficulties.

The final event of the weekend was the awards gala held Saturday evening at the Albuquerque Art Museum in Old Town. Bonnie Lee, Betty and I, Steve and Pamela Gruber and Anne and John Sorensen were present to represent IWS at the festivities. After drinks and snacks the juror, Iain Stewart, discussed his personal history, his art and how he judges the entries to a show like WFWS. Dave Cook from NMWS and Iain then presented the awards to twenty paintings selected from all the accepted works. Mr. Stewart commented on each painting and what factors led him to give the work an award. During the discussion, each painting was projected on a large screen behind the speakers, visible to all in the room. The work of one IWS artist, Hugh Mossman, was selected for an award because of its loose dynamic style and coloration. Please congratulate Hugh for his excellent work.

Following the trend of the last two years with their covid cancellations, the awards ceremony came to a sudden halt when power was lost, and the museum went completely dark. Somewhere a car had rammed a power pole and caused an outage for a large area around the museum, Old Town and the hotel. After a few minutes, the ceremony carried on with flashlights and cell phones providing illumination till all awards were given out. The true highlight of the evening was the climb up ten stories in the fire escape stairwell to reach our room at the hotel. All in all, a great evening.

The prospectus for WFWS48 should be available early this fall. The Southwestern Watercolor Society in Dallas is planning on an early spring exhibition opening next year to avoid the summer heat. So, plan on having your paintings ready for entry by late fall or early winter. I will send out the prospectus as soon as I receive it. Good luck!

Dennis Hayzlett
dchayzlett@gmail,com

Iain Stewart Workshop

By Events, WFWS, Workshops
All IWS Artists,
Ian Stewart will present a 4 day watercolor workshop, May 3-6 in Albuquerque, NM in conjunction with the WFWS47 exhibition. There are still a few spaces available for this workshop. If you are interested please see the attached flyer for more information on applying.
I urge you to act quickly as there are not many spaces left. Go to www.nmwatercolorsociety.org and see listing in the left lower column.
Dennis Hayzlett

WFWS IWS Delegate

Update List of IWS Artists Selected for WFWS47!

By Exhibits, WFWS

It was brought to our attention that a person entered ArtCall as a member of IWS when they actually were not a member, so we are sending out a corrected listing. We have also notified the exhibition manager that the painting should be removed from the show.

The 16 IWS artists and the paintings chosen for this year’s exhibition are:

Debra Bruner – I Hope We Dance
Jessica Bryant – Section Thirty Four Creek
Renee Galligher – In or Out?
Joyce Green – Tide Pools
Steve Gruber – Majestic
Yidan Guo – The Artist
Sharon Herther – The Road to Home, Rainbow Bridge
Aryana Howard – Under the Sea
Laurel Lake McGuire – The Latest Style
Hugh Mossman – Angling Shapes
Torgesen Murdock – Steamwork
Jeriann Sabin – In The Year of the Dog
Brad Schultze – Ted’s Beard
Ann Watson Sorensen – Awake and Arise
Calista Ward – Story-time Sisters
Kathy Whitaker – Crows

Please join me in congratulating all of these artists for their excellent work. And my personal thanks to all you who entered but were not chosen – start planning and painting for next year!

Dennis

Congratulations to IWS Artists Selected For WFWS47!

By Exhibits, WFWS

This year 34 IWS artists entered 75 paintings for consideration by the juror for WFWS47 to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico this coming May. Of the 100 paintings selected by the juror, Iian Stewart, 16 paintings by IWS artists were selected for inclusion in the show! This is the largest number of IWS paintings accepted into a WFWS exhibition since we joined the Federation 12 years ago.

The IWS artists and the paintings chosen for this year’s exhibition are:

Debra Bruner – I Hope We Dance
Jessica Bryant – Section Thirty Four Creek
Renee Galligher – In or Out?
Joyce Green – Tide Pools
Steve Gruber – Majestic
Yidan Guo – The Artist
Sharon Herther – The Road to Home, Rainbow Bridge
Aryana Howard – Under the Sea
Laurel Lake McGuire – The Latest Style
Hugh Mossman – Angling Shapes
Torgesen Murdock – Steamwork
Jeriann Sabin – In The Year of the Dog
Brad Schultze – Ted’s Beard
Ann Watson Sorensen – Awake and Arise
Calista Ward – Story-time Sisters
Kathy Whitaker – Crows

Please join me in congratulating all of these artists for their excellent work. And my personal thanks to all you who entered but were not chosen – start planning and painting for next year!

Dennis