“Seaside” watercolor by Laura Brown (Reference photo by Dennis Benson used with permission)
From the desk of the BWS President Laura Brown
Our first meeting of the 2024-2025 BWS year is under way! Come join us on:
Monday Sept. 9
First Christian Church, located on the block of Kirkwood and Washington
Bloomington, Indiana
We will be meeting in the downstairs of the
Chapel Gathering Space
Refreshments and light snacks
After a brief business meeting, the evening program will be “Show and Share!” This is an informal show of a piece you worked on over the summer. It does not have to be framed or formal; we simply prop our pieces up and create a mini display to see what we have all been up to over summer break. Please bring something you have worked on, or if not, please come and enjoy the impromptu show!
Further information including door code, agenda items, and a meeting reminder will be sent via email the Friday before the meeting.
Come join in the fun!
Have a friend who is interested in BWS? It’s the perfect time to bring a guest!
See you there!
Left: “Corn Dog County Fair” by Andy Roberts. Right: “Proud” by Jane Matranga.
“We Paint…Spaces and Faces!”
The BWS Annual Membership Show opens with a reception on Gallery Walk Friday, Oct. 4, at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage.
It’s apparent from the images pouring in that this will be a fun and interesting exhibit, so mark your calendars!
Once again, entries will be featured on the BWS SmugMug gallery. Please send your entries (and questions) to FallShow@BloomingtonWatercolor.org in jpg format with the following information: title, framed size, price, contact information, and medium, remembering your artwork must be at least 50% watercolor. (See the prospectus – link below.)
Take In – Tuesday, Oct. 1, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Reception- Friday, Oct. 4, 5 to 8 p.m.
2nd Reception – Friday, Nov. 1, 5 to 8 p.m.
Take down – Monday, Nov. 22, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The prospectus with all the details can be found at https://www.bloomingtonwatercolor.org/home/activities/member-shows-workshops/show-rules/prospectus/.
Linda Branstetter plans on bringing some of the history binders to the next meeting for new members to look at. She has added an old document about the history of BWS.
BWS Gallery and CSCSCI Win National Award
by Jeanne Dutton
In 2022, Stephanie Shelton, development director for Cancer Support Community of South
Central Indiana (CSCSCI), along with a team of BWS members, spurred the creation of the
Bloomington Watercolor Society Gallery. In September of that year, the gallery opened with an
exhibit by BWS Signature Member Meri Reinhold. In the months since, 15 BWS artists have
shared their work in the gallery.
The sale of fine art originals, prints, and hand-painted greeting cards has generated over $7,000.
Sales commissions, plus donations from the artists and patrons, support CSC’s art programs for
cancer patients, survivors, family, friends, and caregivers. Those donations and commissions
have generated in excess of $2,000 which, in turn, have provided:
- 10 art classes instructed by BWS artists
- 16 youth art backpack kits (with resources for parents about how to talk to their kids about cancer and difficult topics like death)
- An assortment of art supplies for the classes and open art studio
In August 2024, CSC Indiana staff attended a national Affiliate Leadership Conference (ALC) in
Louisville, Ky. The conference consisted of CSC and Gilda’s Club affiliate organizations. There are
50 affiliate partners located across the US, in Canada and overseas. During the conference,
awards were presented to recognize outstanding programs among the affiliate organizations.
Innovation and Creativity in the category of Development/Fundraising is one honor, and it was
awarded to the Gallery partnership with BWS and CSCSCI (Bloomington office)!
BWS can be truly proud of its commitment to the Bloomington area, supporting the Cancer
Support Community, Teachers Warehouse, and the Art of Chocolate with exhibits, and such
projects as the Monroe County History Center’s cemetery calendar and “We Paint…Historic
Bloomington.” The BWS Art Scholarship assists aspiring art students graduating from the
Monroe County Community School Corporation. There are others, too numerous to mention.
The Gallery is located in the CSC Offices at 1719 W. Third St. in Bloomington, corner of West Third
and Landmark. It is open Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or by appointment. Please contact Emily at emily@cancersupportscin.org (812) 233-3286 or Stephanie Shelton at stephanie@cancersupportscin.org.
Cookman co-curates an exhibition of photos
showing at IU’s Grunwald Gallery
Longtime BWS member Claude Cookman is one of three curators who have assembled Intimate Alchemy: David Levinthal’s XXX Polaroids. The exhibition of prints from Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute opens with a First Friday reception at IU’s Grunwald Gallery on Sept. 6 and runs until Nov. 11.
Levinthal burst onto the art photography scene in 1977 with the publication of Hitler Moves East: A Graphic Chronicle, 1941-43. The book’s text was written by his friend and Yale classmate, Garry Trudeau, creator of the Doonesbury cartoon. The images forecast what would become Levinthal’s signature approach. By arranging toys — in this case miniature tin German soldiers — in fabricated settings and photographing them with controlled lighting and extremely narrow focus, he achieved trompe l’oeil realism.
From 1999 to 2001, he used a rail-mounted Polaroid view camera that produced 20- x 24-inch images to photograph plastic figures, creating his XXX series. The Polaroid technology meant that — unlike analog photography in which multiple prints can be made from a negative or digital photography where duplicates are potentially infinite — each image is unique. Polaroid’s chemical process produced vivid, highly saturated color. With shallow focus and careful lighting, Levinthal performed alchemy, turning plastic into what appears to be human flesh. He photographed most of the figures — modeled on strip club dancers — numerous times adjusting the lighting, framing, and camera angles to create a widely varied but coherent body of 272 images.
Intimate Alchemy comprises 26 of those Polaroids. Several of the plastic figures are displayed near their corresponding images, allowing viewers to assess Levinthal’s transformations. Levinthal will speak in IU’s Fine Arts Building 105 from 5 to 6 p.m, Thursday, Oct. 17, followed by another reception at the Gallery. A selection from his XXX portfolio can be seen at https://davidlevinthal.com/artwork/xxx.html.
To learn more about the exhibit, visit https://blogs.iu.edu/kinseyinstitute/2024/09/03/intimate-alchemy-david-levinthals-xxx-polaroids/.
Member News
Jerry Harste writes: I’m on safari in South Africa staying at Tambamati Luxury Lodge collecting pictures of animals, many of which I’m sure you will see in future paintings. My favorite sightings have been the wild dogs (probably because I have never seen them on previous safaris). On the first occasion I saw a female dog with 10 pups playing, and on the second occasion I saw a pack of eight wild dogs on the hunt (a real trick to keep up with them). The elephants, of course, are magnificent. On this trip I found out that elephants are right-handed and left-handed (just like humans) and use their feet to do lots of things. The front of their foot also has extra sensors through which they can pick up communications from other elephants via vibrations in the earth. Their roars are also transmitted this way to other elephant groups. (Editor’s note: In Jerry’s absence, this issue has been edited by Nancy Davis Metz.)
“Bass Harbor Head” by Tim Lewis is a 15″ x 22″ watercolor of the Bass Harbor Head Light Station marking the entrance to Bass Harbor and Blue Hill Bay on the southwest corner of Mount Desert Island. Inspired by a photo taken by Chip Merriman and used with his permission.
Tim Lewis‘s watercolor, “Bass Harbor Head,” was accepted into the 2024 Watercolor Society of Indiana Annual Juried Show. This event runs through Sept. 28 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfield’s in the Waller Gallery. Another of Tim’s paintings, “Eventually,” was accepted into the 100th Hoosier Art Salon. This show hangs through Oct. 22 at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. Two of Tim’s watercolors, “Bearcat” and “Day’s End,” were accepted into the 2024 Fishers Art Council Juried Exhibit of Hamilton County Artists. This show will run from Sept. 13 to 27 at the new Fisher City Hall Art Gallery.
“Bearcat” is 15″ x 11″ watercolor of a 1914 Stutz Bearcat seen at the old Stutz factory in Indianapolis, IN in 2024. A classic in bright yellow with a large bronze horn. The sports car of its time.
“Day’s End” (left) is a 7.5″ x 11″ watercolor of a sunset. As the sky becomes bright red, the viewers’ attention shifts from the colorful flowers to the distant sunset. The end of another Wisconsin day was inspired by a photograph taken by Cathy Harvey-Slawkin and painted with her permission. “Eventually” (right) is a 15″ x 22″ watercolor of the St. James Tavern in Columbus, Ohio. This landmark is close to the Ohio State campus and the building has obviously been used for other businesses over the years. Tim loves the “ghost sign” for Gold Medal Flour and the graffiti stenciled on the entry steps. Classic.
Long-distance member Phyllis Taylor will be the featured artist at the Trails End Art Association Gallery in Gearhart, Ore., for the month of October. Her show theme is Musicians (especially cellists) she has painted and drawn over the years. Two high school students on violin and cello will provide music for the show’s opening Oct. 5. She hopes to present a painting of the duo to them at the opening.
Schwab workshop
While working with the Daughters of Charity and the Franciscan Friars, Bill and MarySue Schwab gave art lessons at the Cordona center for the Homeless in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Lynne Gilliatt shares her latest work, a gouache on black paper painting.
Beyond BWS
Artists for Climate Awareness
Enjoy an inspiring Nature Journaling workshop led by Bailey Russell, a recent intern with the Brown County Soil and Water Conservation District. This all-ages workshop is perfect for anyone who loves nature and wants to learn how to observe and document the natural world through journaling and drawing.
Saturday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Karst Farm Park (Park Shelter #6)
Skills Covered: Participants will learn how to observe and draw natural subjects, focusing on their roles within ecosystems. Bailey, a talented illustrator, will share her techniques for capturing the beauty and intricacy of nature in your journal.
Activities: Weather permitting, we will venture out on a charming, fully accessible trail with an interesting pond at Karst Farm Park to practice our observation and drawing skills. In case of inclement weather, we will bring natural subjects indoors to study and draw.
Additional Education: Marilyn Bauchat of the Uplands Network of the Hoosier Chapter of Sierra Club will provide a brief educational session on how we can support environmental action in our daily lives.
Artists for Climate Awareness is pleased to offer this workshop as part of its series to help artists learn how to use art as a way to bring social awareness to conservation efforts in your communities. Along with art, all events include education and guidance on climate and environmental action. A portion of the proceeds will go the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization.
Friends of the Library
Friends of the Library is looking for watercolor artists to propose and possibly facilitate activities in conjunction with its Armstrong exhibit next year at the library. The artist being featured is Matthew Cordell, a Caldecott winning (Wolf in the Snow) children’s picture book illustrator. Kathie Durkel from the Friends of the Library says 88 of his original pen & ink with watercolor drawings from 15 of his books will be displayed. The organization is looking for activities that can be offered to all ages. ” We can help you plan events in the gallery or other spaces in the library, or just brainstorm activities,” Kathie said. “Hands on, multigenerational would be great! We do have some funding for materials for participants.” The exhibit will run February and March 2025 and will include Youth Art Month. It will be open Monday through Thursday 3 to 7 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. with longer hours on President’s Day and Spring Break. Contact Kathie at kdurkel@gmail.com with ideas, proposals, or questions.
Left: Caleb Weintraub presents Best of Show Award to Anne-Karine Bley. Right: Rita Davis was awarded First Place in the Professional Category.
2024 Friends of T.C Steele Member Art Show
by Betty Wagoner
The show featured 48 regional artists and 79 artworks, reflecting a variety of art media, styles, and traditional and modern subjects. The judge was Caleb Weintraub, who is an associate professor at IU’s Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design. He was pleased with the range of artwork displayed by the Friends’ membership.
At the reception, the judge presented the awards and briefly discussed each award-winning artwork. The Best-of-Show was awarded to Anne-Karine Bley for “Red Abundance,” an oil painting of an alley in New Harmony.
In the Profession Category, the following awards were presented:
1st Place, Rita Davis, a watercolor titled “Celestial Wanderers”
2nd Place, Jacki Frey, an oil painting titled “Singing Winds”
3rd Place, Scott Miller, a watercolor titled “Starkey Park 2, Father’s Day Outing”
In the Amateur/Emerging Artist Category, the following awards were presented:
1st Place, Christine Missik, an acrylic painting titled “They Showed Up”
2nd Place, Renee Buchanan, an oil painting titled “The Longest Evening”
3rd Place, Katha Soens, Encaustic medium titled “Color Play 4”
In the Adult Category, Honorable Mention was awarded to Laura Crawford for “Cosmos in Blue 1,” done in Gouache and Colored Pencil.
In the Youth Category, the following awards were presented:
1st Place, Abigail Maxwell, an oil painting titled “The Studio”
2nd Place, Sarah Stonerock, colored pencil painting titled “Rufous-tailed Jacamar”
Honorable Mention, Marta Scalabrini, an acrylic painting titled “Retro Pears”
The People’s Choice Award was presented to Stephen Edwards, a watercolor titled “Keeyler
Road on the Uphill”
