This edition of Brushstrokes combines BWS news for July and August. I have done my best to include everything that was submitted, but it is possible I overlooked something. If you sent in an item that was not included and is still newsworthy, please email me. – Nancy Metz, Brushstrokes co-editor

Aug. 8
Program features local author
of “Painter of the Dunes: A Life of Frank Dudley”

Rachel Berenson Perry will talk about her new book, “Painter of the Dunes: A Life of Frank Dudley.” Dudley devoted most of his artistic career to painting what is now the Indiana Dunes National Park, a passion that led to his environmental activism to save the Dunes from industrial development.

Perry, fine arts curator emerita of the Indiana State Museum, is also author of “Paint and Canvas, A Life of T.C. Steele.” A representative of Morgenstern’s Book Store will be at the meeting to sell Perry’s books; cash and credit card payments will be accepted.

The meeting will be in the Great Hall of First Christian Church, at the intersection of Kirkwood and Washington, at 6 p.m., Monday, Aug. 8. Please enter through the Washington Street door. As is the custom for summer meetings, there will be no business agenda. At the presenter’s request, the meeting will not be available on Zoom. The Great Hall is a large room with windows that open so social distancing and good ventilation can be provided.

Get ready for We Paint…Historic Bloomington!

by Jeanne Dutton
As we prepare for the BWS annual membership show in October and November, mark your calendars for the next event: a paint-out in downtown Bloomington, Saturday, Aug. 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
You can set up on the sidewalks, on the lawns at the courthouse or the History Center, or grab a bench and enjoy painting en plein air. How about sketching over an iced latte at a cafe on Kirkwood?

Headquarters for the BWS paint-out will be the Monroe County History Center at 202 E. Sixth St. MCHC provides the place to cool off, greet your fellow artists, enjoy a brown bag lunch, and use of the restrooms. If it’s too hot to paint outside, bring your photos and paint inside. MCHC has graciously offered the education room for our use that day.

Betty Wagoner and Jeanne Dutton will be your hosts. Please contact Jeanne Dutton at info@bloomingtonwatercolor.org with questions.

BWS Membership Show: Prospectus and Schedule

“We Paint … Historic Bloomington” is the theme of the 2022 BWS Member Show. It will hang at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E. Sixth St., from Oct. 7 to Nov. 27. A second showing will take place at the Monroe County History Center in Summer 2023.

To keep the show fresh, only new work or work not previously displayed in the Bloomington area is eligible. Members may submit one framed artwork. For size restrictions and framing requirements, consult the Show Prospectus https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/home/activities/member-shows-workshops/show-rules/prospectus.

Of course, with the rich history of this county, the city limits is not — well, the limit! Quarries. One-room schoolhouses. Farms. So much to choose from.

We are fortunate to be collaborating with the Monroe County History Center, which has over 40,000 images in their files and has graciously waived fees for copies of photos requested by BWS members. To access the photos, go to https://monroehistory.org/photo-fees-and-guidelines/. Contact Hilary Fleck at collection@monroehistory.org for assistance.

Here are the important Show dates to mark in your calendar:

Sept. 15: Submit scanned or photographed artwork for the Online Gallery to Jeanne Dutton at info@bloomingtonwatercolor.org. Please send in jpg format.

Oct. 4: Deliver paintings to The Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E. Sixth St., between 10 a.m. and noon.

Oct. 7: Opening Reception for Gallery Walk 5 to 8 p.m.

Nov. 4: Second Reception for Gallery Walk 5 to 8 p.m.

Nov. 28: Pick up paintings at The Vault ay Gallery Mortgage 10 a.m. to noon.

Future paint-outs

Saturday, Sept. 10: Great Outdoor Paint Out at the T.C. Steele State Historic Site. The paint-out this year is concurrent with a celebration of the birthday of T. C. Steele. There will be a birthday party with cake and lectures. Artists will enjoy painting at a beautiful site while celebrating Steele’s birthday and, of course, cake. The paint-out fee will increase to $15 which will include the celebration if paid in August. In September the fee increases by $5. To register go to https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/INMUSEUM/bulletins/31f91db.

Saturday, Oct. 15: Paint-out and pot luck at Peden Farm.

Summer BWS Paint-outs

Nine BWS members attended a midsummer paint-out at IU’s Hilltop Garden. The day started with rain but as we arrived, the clouds cleared, becoming sunny with a cooling breeze. The garden was beautiful. A variety of flowers plus the Mimosa trees were blooming. We were encouraged to come back in the spring when many more plants are in bloom. Those attending were Kathy Barton, Linda Branstetter, Jan Britton, Charlotte Griffin, Andy Roberts, Patricia Rowbottom, Bill Schwab, MarySue VeerKamp Schwab, and Betty Wagoner.

BWS awards scholarship to Jesse Kogge

by Jeanne Dutton
BWS is pleased to present to Jesse Kogge the annual Art Scholarship Award. Jesse, a student of Cassidy Young, graduated from the Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship with an interest in photography and sustainable design practices.

Jesse was introduced to BWS via Zoom at the June meeting. Here is more about his creative approach to the art of photography.

His hobby really took hold when he built his first pinhole camera in sixth grade. With the help of a video tutorial, he was able to turn an old shoebox into a genuine, albeit grainy, film camera. Jesse says: “Unfortunately, like many other sixth graders, I was in short supply of the necessary photographic chemicals to develop my film. My workaround to this issue involved a messy concoction of coffee, washing soda, mint leaves, and Emergen-C tablets. Despite its musty odor, the photographic soup produced fair results. That year, my little shoebox camera and I ended up winning grand champion in photography at the county fair.

“Currently, I’m working to design a camera ecosystem that brings the magic of film to everyone, not just individuals with expert knowledge. Recently, I’ve experimented with designs for cameras that can be folded from flat-pack cardboard templates. My ultimate goal is to launch a brand to distribute these types of products, all while studying design at Indiana University.”

Jesse will be pursuing a major in the Eskenazi School’s Comprehensive Design program where he will gain the necessary skills to fulfill his dream of creatively designing thoughtful products based around photography.

Congratulations to Jesse and BWS wishes him the best in his goals and career.

Outgoing President’s Report 2021-2022

by Joanna Samorow-Merzer, outgoing president
With my second term as president ending, I want to thank every member for their support and involvement in our organization. We had an eventful year. BWS survived the pandemic and it keeps going strong. We welcomed new members. Once the pandemic started weakening, we were able to offer to our members a choice of meetings: on Zoom and in-person at the First Christian Church.

Our Technology Committee, Carol Rhodes and Charlotte Griffin, made sure that our Zoom meetings went as smoothly as possible. And our Program Chair, Joanne Weddle, made sure that our space at the FCC was always ready for us, and she was very committed to provide us with monthly programs and the annual holiday party. The Paint-Out Chair, Betty Wagoner, worked hard to organize paint-outs in different locations. The Fall Show Chair, Jacki Frey, organized, with help of other members, our annual membership exhibit “Celebrate Life” at the Viridian Moon Gallery, while the winter benefit show “We paint… Van Gogh’s World!” at The Vault at Gallery Mortgage was organized by Winter Benefit Show Chair Jeanne Dutton.

Our 1st Vice President, Andy Roberts, oversaw the preparation of the “Celebrate Life” exhibit, and our 2nd Vice President, Patty Uffman, worked throughout the year monitoring the membership. Our Treasurer, Carol Rhodes, managed the finances and trained Barbara Coffman to be our new Treasurer in 2022-2023. Our Secretary, Charlotte Griffin, meticulously prepared minutes of every meeting and she was always helpful with her knowledge about how our organization governs itself.

Our Brushstrokes Co-Editors, Jerry Harste and Nancy Davis Metz, kept our online presence lively.Volunteer members helped different Committee Chairs, and many BWS members enriched our exhibits with their paintings. Each of you contributed a lot of your time, hard work and effort so that all of us could enjoy being a part of the BWS family. Thanks to all of you, our organization keeps going and growing stronger. I thank you all for your ways of participating in making BWS an important part of our community.

Executive Board of 2021-2022:

President Joanna Samorow-Merzer
1st VP Andy Roberts
2nd VP Patty Uffman
Treasurer Carol Rhodes
Secretary Charlotte Griffin
Committees of 2020-2021:
Activities:
Brushstrokes Co-Editor: Jerry Harste
Brushstrokes Co-Editor: Nancy Davis-Metz
Finance: Carol Rhodes
Historian: Linda Branstetter
Membership: Patty Uffman
Nominating: Sarah Ward
Paint Out: Betty Wagoner
Programs: Jo Weddle
Publicity:
Refreshment:
Scholarship: Jeanne Dutton
Show: Jacki Frey – Fall Membership Show
Show: Jeanne Dutton – Winter Benefit Show
Technology: Carol Rhodes
Technology: Charlotte Griffin

Here is what our new Executive Board looks like going forward:
Executive Board 2022-2023:
President: Carol Rhodes
1st VP: Katya Alexeeva
2nd VP: Andy Roberts
Treasurer: Barbara Coffman
Secretary: Charlotte Griffin

The new President, Carol Rhodes, will assemble the new Committees in coordination with the new and returning Committee Chairs.

Membership
Our total membership presently is 96. That represents an increase of 11 from the prior year, so we are growing.

2021 BWS Fall Membership Show: “Celebrate Life”
The annual BWS membership show featuring the theme “Celebrate Life” was hosted in October/November 2021 by Irina Shishova at The Viridian Moon Gallery. Jacki Frey, the Show Chair, was supported by members of the board in presenting the show. The following members won awards:
Jacki Frey, First
Mary Sue Schwab, Second
Philip Bowsher, Third
Susan Savastuk, Gallery Choice
Barbara Coffman, Runner-up

2022 BWS Winter Benefit Show: “We Paint…Van Gogh’s World!”
Our BWS show benefitting The Teachers Warehouse was hosted by John La Bella in February/March 2022 at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage. The Show Chair, Jeanne Dutton, was supported by volunteer members in presenting the show. The following members won awards:
Barbara Coffman, Best of Show
Joe Lee, Silver Second

Door prizes went to Charlotte Griffin, Nancy Davis Metz, Zain Mackey and Meri Reinhold. There were eight paintings sold, with 50 percent of the sales benefitting The Teachers Warehouse.

Workshop
Carol Rhodes organized and coordinated a two-day, in-person and online workshop with the watercolor artist Carol Carter at the First Christian Church in September 2021. Ms. Carter, an award-winning artist and teacher, guided us through her process of painting with deeply saturated colors.

Field Trip
In September, thanks to Jeanne Dutton, BWS members had a chance to travel to Indianapolis to see The Lume exhibit at Newfields.

2020-2021 BWS Monthly Programs
Our Program Chair, Joanne Weddle, put a lot of effort into organizing for our members the monthly program presentations:
JULY 2021 “Crayon-Resist” presented by Carol Rhodes.
AUGUST 2021 “Building Community through our Shared Experiences” hosted by Sara Steffey McQueen.
SEPTEMBER 2021 “Show and Share” hosted by Kitty Garlock.
OCTOBER 2021 “Let’s Get Ready for Our Annual Holiday Party” presented by Joanne Weddle.
NOVEMBER 2021 “Using Digital Tools” presented by Cassidy Young.
DECEMBER 2021 Holiday Party
JANUARY 2022 “Watercolor Pencil and Watercolor Painting” presented by Betty Wagoner.
FEBRUARY 2022 “Painting Easy Trees in Watercolor” presented by Carol Rhodes.
MARCH 2022 “Painting Techniques for Water Imagery” presented by Dawn Adams.
APRIL 2022 “One Stroke Flowers in Watercolor” presented by Beverly S. Mathis.
MAY 2022 “Is My Painting Done Yet?” a discussion led by Carol Rhodes and Nancy Davis Metz.
JUNE 2022 Introduction of the Scholarship winner by Cassidy Young.
2020-2021 BWS Paint-outs

Thanks to the commitment and hard work of our Paint-Out Chair, Betty Wagoner, four paint-outs took place between July 2021 and June 2022:
July 2021 — Hilltop Garden at IU
August 2021 — Story Inn
October 2021 — Switchyard Park
May 2022 – Bloomington’s Historic Wylie House

Bloomington Garden Walk
The annual two-day June 2022 event was coordinated by Charlotte Griffin. Two of the houses on the Garden Walk are historic.

Docent Tour of the MCHC
Free event in June 2022 with an opportunity to learn the history of Bloomington and its famous people. The event was organized by Jeanne Dutton.

Scholarship
Fundraising was accomplished through the FMCCS’ online auction. Donated art work by Jerry Harste, Charlotte Griffin, Phil Bowsher, Jo Weddle, Connie McEntyre, Linda Branstetter, Bess Lee, Kriste Lindberg and Lynne Gilliatt brought to the BWS Art Scholarship 70 percent of total sales, netting $322.70. The 2022 BWS Scholarship Winner is Jesse Kogge

Brushstrokes: Periodic Newsletter of Bloomington Watercolor Society
Our online monthly newsletter Brushstrokes has been maintained by our dedicated Brushstrokes Co-Editors: Jerry Harste and Nancy Davis Metz. Both of them work to provide us with a highly professional newsletter that is a source of helpful information not only about our organization but also about the larger art world.

BWS Virtual Art Exhibitions of 2021-2022
“Fall ’21 BWS Show Online Gallery”
“We Paint… Van Gogh’s World”
At https://bloomingtonwatercolor.smugmug.com/, thanks to Carol Rhodes and Charlotte Griffin’s technological abilities, we have now the total of five virtual art gallery exhibitions (including the past three BWS gallery exhibits in 2020-2021).

Let me conclude by saying that I enjoyed seeing you during our monthly meetings on Zoom and during the last (and my first) in-person meeting at the First Christian Church. I look forward to seeing you again throughout the next administrative year.

Guido Frick workshop

by Babette Ballinger
In June Bloomington artists sponsored a workshop attended by members of BWS, Arts Alliance and Upland. Guido Frick taught for three days and it was fabulous!! He taught about seeing, working larger, expressing yourself with exuberance and joy, and it was amazing to me how it could be equally good for watercolorists and oil painters alike of all levels. He may be back in the fall since we all had such a fantastic time.

We painted plein air still lifes in my garden, then everything at Teresa Kinder’s beautiful home, followed by the landscapes at the Hinkle Garten House. It was a first for Bloomington to have an artist of this level, and it was fabulous.

Greetings for BWS Members

Traditionally, Jo Weddle has graciously sent greeting cards to those BWS members who are experiencing ill health or the loss of a family member. If you know or hear of someone in our group who could use a little cheering up, please send a note to info@bloomingtonwatercolor.org.

Lilly Library Photos

Several members visited IU’s Lilly Library last month to view watercolors selected by librarians Sarah Mitchell and Erin Chiparo. Barbara Coffman, Jacqueline Fernette, Meri Reinhold, Bess Lee and Carol Rhodes share their photos from that visit.

BWS History

Historian Linda Branstetter found this tidbit of history: From July 7 – 17, 2010, BWS artists were invited to paint or sketch during the first stages of the International Harp Competition and at the final rehearsal. BWS members who participated were Gillian Harris, Joanne Shank, Rosemary Messick, Jacki Frey, Dan Alexander, Bess Lee, Sheri Curry, Cathy Korinek, Betty Wagoner, Jo Weddle, and Tricia Wente.

Check this out

Joanna Samorow-Merzer writes: Recently I visited the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wisc. There is a beautiful collection of Russian paintings. You can scroll and click through seven pages of this website to see the amazing collection. https://chazen.wisc.edu/collection/?countries[]=10

Member News

“Intuitive Inspirations: Paintings of Sara Steffey McQueen” will hang at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E. Sixth St., Aug. 5 to Sept. 30. Sara writes: “This exhibit of intuitive acrylic paintings reflects a long-time interest in myth and world religions. These stories and images live deep in my subconscious, later to become paintings. The process is like a mystery taking me on a journey of discovery, telling a story.” The opening reception will be Aug. 5, 5 to 8 p.m. Sara also has a chapter “Creating Community,” included in the book “No Ordinary Words,” which is available on Amazon. Proceeds benefit Tree Sisters and SheHasHope charities.

“Cola Wars” by Stephen Edwards (above) has been accepted in the 2022 NWS 102nd International Open Exhibition, which will hang Sept. 1 to Nov. 6. His “Perpetual Machine” (below left) painting was accepted into the Watercolor Society Of Indiana Exhibition , and his “Jersey Girls” (below right) was accepted into the 44th Annual Indiana Heritage Arts.

Andy Roberts shared two paintings from earlier paint-outs this spring. “Griffy Lake Lull” (left), is a view of the lake mid-morning on a nice warm day. The second painting, “Spire and Spirits,” (below) is from a paint-out down at the Green Hill cemetery in Bedford. Both of these paintings are pen and ink with watercolor overlay.

Meri Reinhold won third place in the portrait group at Lawrence County Art Association summer competition. Her painting was titled “Surrounded.” The first solo show at the Cancer Support Community Center will feature the work of Meri Reinhold. It will run from Sept. 2 to Oct. 28. The opening reception will be Sept. 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. (Times may change.) Meri also won third place in the portrait group at Lawrence County Art Association summer competition. Her painting was titled “Surrounded.”

Jerry Harste‘s painting “The Marsh” was accepted into the 98th Annual Hoosier Salon Exhibition. Since this is the third time that he has had a painting accepted in the Hoosier Salon annual juried shows, he is now a “Signature Member” of the Hoosier Salon. This year’s exhibition will be at the Indiana History Museum from Aug. 28 through Oct. 26 in Indianapolis.

Zain Mackey writes that she has been working on painting loosely this year. She was thinking of a Jean Haines style when Earle, the rooster with an attitude came to her.

BWS and Beyond

The Lawrence County Art Association in Bedford is happy to announce an exhibit during the month of August at the Arts Alliance Center, located inside the Bloomington’s College Mall. LCAA invites you to come and see the various forms of art work from our members, which will include watercolor, oils, acrylics, and photography, and styles featuring landscapes, portraits, animals, and abstracts. The exhibit will be on display Aug. 5 thru early September in the large room at the back of the gallery, and most of the pieces will also be available for purchase. The Arts Alliance is open every Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. LCAA is s very appreciative of this wonderful opportunity to work with the Arts Alliance Center, and invite you all to stop in and admire all the talented artists who are represented.

The LCAA Grand Champion of its summer show this year was a watercolor.

The Brown County Art Guild has announced August events in its popular “Artist is In” series. Each session is free and is from 1 to 3 p.m.

Aug. 6: Rena Brouwer, watercolor
Study Rena’s skill as her treatment of nature is awash with striking color.

Aug. 7: Luke Buck, watercolor
Watch Luke Buck create detailed scenes of the countryside to rural life.

Aug. 13: Rodney Reveal, oil
Rodney’s depiction of wildlife or nature is rich with bold color and texture.

Aug. 14: Mary Ann Davis, pastels
Watch Mary Ann create her soft and impressionistic signature style.

Aug. 21 Corinne Hull, pastels
See how Corinne captures the spontaneity and light in natural scenes.

Aug. 27 Ron Mack, oil
Ron’s pastoral scenes are a perfect example of our Down on the Farm theme.

Aug. 28: Karen Graeser, oil
Karen’s landscapes have a serene quality that are alluring and hypnotic.

The Wabash Valley Artists Society has three paint-outs scheduled for August. All events are free, open to the public and take place regardless of weather. Most paint-outs are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For confirmation of cancellation or details, contact Rachel Lattimore at 217-402-5067.

Aug. 10: Rachel Lattimore’s Home/Historic Ninth Street Hill, 510 S. Ninth St., Lafayette.

Aug. 20: Anderson Flower Farm, 2284 West CR 300 South, Frankfort. Jeff Klinker will do an oil demonstration at 10:30.

Aug. 28: Wildcat Creek Park, 5201 Eisenhower Road, Lafayette

Indiana Heritage Arts invites artists to paint on the grounds of West Baden Springs Resort Aug. 12 and 13. There is no fee but artists should register by calling Brown County Art Gallery. Artists can sell their art in the hotel lobby Saturday afternoon.

Calendar

Aug. 5 – early Sept. Lawrence County Art Association exhibit at the Arts Alliance, College Mall, Bloomington
Aug. 8 BWS Monthly Meeting. In-person/No Zoom. First Christian Church Great Hall, 6 p.m.
Aug. 10 Wabash Valley Artists Society Paint-out. Rachel Lattimore’s Home/Historic Ninth Street Hill, 510 S. Ninth St., Lafayette.
Aug. 20 Wabash Valley Artists Society Paint-out. Anderson Flower Farm, 2284 West CR 300 South, Frankfort. Jeff Klinker will do an oil demonstration at 10:30.
Aug. 28 Wabash Valley Artists Society Paint-out. Wildcat Creek Park, 5201 Eisenhower Road, Lafayette

Sept. 10 Great Outdoor Paintout at the T.C. Steele Historic Site

Sept. 15 Submit scanned or photographed artwork for the Online Gallery to Jeanne Dutton at info@bloomingtonwatercolor.org. Please send in jpg format.

Oct. 4 Deliver paintings to The Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E. Sixth St., between 10 a.m. and noon.

Oct. 7 Opening Reception for Gallery Walk 5 to 8 p.m.

Nov. 4 Second Reception for Gallery Walk 5 to 8 p.m.

Nov. 28 Pick up paintings at The Vault ay Gallery Mortgage 10 a.m. to noon.

March 14 meeting

Dawn Adams to demonstrate

painting techniques for water imagery

“Water is a dimensional element,” Dawn Adams writes. “The surface has one visual story, but what happens beneath the surface has its own story and both contribute significantly to the look of water.  This layering of realities is something I have tried to mimic in paint. Using thin layers of oils in a variety of techniques with mostly translucent glazes helps to create the visual depth of water. I will be demonstrating some of these techniques, like sponging, combing, and resist, and will also show some examples of the cumulative results.”

Dawn will bring some blank canvases and several others with a specific image in development. Each example will have another technique layered on it. She will show techniques on the blanks and then show how it has changed the painting. She will be paying attention to how long it takes to develop these consecutive paintings. She may actually paint on one or more of them or stay with the blank canvases and then show the panels she has already worked on as they are. She may bring another completed painting to point out some of the techniques. She expects to be doing this by moving panels in and out of a specified spot on the table during the presentation.

Because Dawn works in oil, it will be difficult to translate to watercolor during the demo. She suggests using the demo as a springboard for experimentation later and lists the following utensils:

• plastic bag
• combs made from erasers and other squeegee implements
• spray bottles with water and oil paint solvent
• brushes with bristles cut from them to make “teeth”
• mineral spirits
• linseed oil

The March 14 meeting will be in person and online. If you are vaccinated and wearing a mask, you can attend in-person at the First Christian Church’s Great Hall, 205 E. Kirkwood. If attending the meeting in person, dress in layers as windows will be open to facilitate ventilation.

Free parking is available in thr IU Poplars Garage, across from the Runcible Spoon. Pay parking is available on the street and in the Fourth Street Garage, across from the former Waldron building.

To attend the meeting via Zoom, look for the link in an email from Joanna Samorow-Merzer or from Carol Rhodes.

From the president 

“We Paint… Van Gogh’s World!” is on until March 27 and it is a great show. We can be proud of all the BWS artwork that is exhibited at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage. Please make sure that you go to the gallery to see the show.   will be a wonderful treat for your eyes and your soul!

I’d like to express my gratitude to many people who were involved in creating and supporting this exhibit:

• Gabe Colman for serving in various capacities: curator, judge, emcee, adviser and moral support.
• John La Bella who sponsors the Best of Show award and graciously shares his space with us for the exhibit.
• Becky Lagle for her help.
• Andrew Preston from Preston Arts Center for donating door prizes and being such a great friend to BWS.
• Susan Cull and Rebecca Stanze from Teachers Warehouse, who have promoted the show with enthusiasm.
• Emily Rosolowski for serving as one of the judges.
• Wes Lasher, videographer, for taping and editing the YouTube video.
• Cyrilla Helm at MCCSC for sending out the scholarship flier with the show info to their mailing list.
• And from our own membership I want to thank:
• Jeanne Dutton for her ideas, energy and time in organizing and creating this fabulous show.
• Carol Rhodes, Barbara Coffman, Charlotte Griffin for help with SmugMug, YouTube, Square, the website and their all-around constant support and work. Charlotte kept Jeanne going with a latte!
• Kathy Truelove Barton for her help at a very busy take-in day and for buying Jeanne’s lunch!
• And to all the BWS artists who made this exhibit so beautiful with their artwork. And to many of you who created and donated the greeting cards for sale during the March 4 reception.

I also want to congratulate our winners Barbara Coffman for Best in Show and Joe Lee for Silver Second. And congratulations to these artists whose paintings were sold: Candi Bailey, Barbara Coffman, Claude Cookman, Charlotte Griffin, Joe Lee, Penny Lulich, Denise Lessow and Sharon Parsons.

With my gratitude to all of you,

Joanna Samorow-Merzer

BWS President, 2021-2022

We Paint … Van Gogh reception

BWS finally celebrated its fund-raising show, “We Paint … Van Gogh’s World,” March 4; snow the first week of February had delayed the reception a month.

So far, eight paintings have sold, an all-time high for BWS shows, with 50 percent of the sales benefiting Teachers Warehouse. In addition, 100 percent of the sales of hand-painted cards goes to Teachers Warehouse.

All artists exhibiting work were entered into a drawing for door prizes provided by Preston Arts Center in Louisville. Charlotte Griffin took home the postcards, Nancy Metz won the Van Gogh watercolor paper, and Zain Mackey won the Van Gogh paint box. Meri Reinhold won the grand door prize: a Sierra pochade paint box.

Jeanne Dutton, coordinator for the event, offers much thanks to ALL those who helped with the show – from Patty who proofed and edited the prospectus right on through to Charlotte and Carol who helped tidy up after the reception. The artists.  Teachers Warehouse. Those patrons who purchased paintings. Our curator, Gabe Colman. Our host and sponsor, John La Bella. Our other sponsor, Andrew Preston of Preston Arts Center, who graciously donated the door prizes.

Bloomington Portrait Group work

shown at State of City event

An audio slideshow featuring more than 150 portraits by members of the Bloomington Portrait Group was shown as a prelude to Mayor John Hamilton’s State of the City Address in late February. It’s online at this URL:

Many BWS members also participate in BPG, and you will see their work in this video. 

Since January 2017, the group has met every other Thursday afternoon to draw and paint from live models. There are no dues, but participants share the cost of the model fee. Artists work in a wide range of mediums from oil and watercolor to charcoal, graphite, pastel, collage, even the old Renaissance favorite, silverpoint. All are welcome. Models represent our community’s rich diversity in age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. During school vacations we try to schedule children. Our youngest model was 8; our oldest a nonagenarian. They also include people who help make Bloomington a great place to live. “Interesting faces, interesting lives” has become the group’s motto. In March, BPG is meeting at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage. From April through October, it will meet at the Switchyard Park shelter. Covid protocols apply.

If you have questions or would like to be put on the BPG announcement listserv, please contact the director, Claude Cookman. His email is in the Member Directory, which was most recently updated in a March 4 email from Patty Uffman.

BWS Paint Out schedule

May 21 – Wylie House

June 11-12 – Bloomington Garden Walk

July 16 – Hilltop Garden at IU

BWS doesn’t just happen;

It takes volunteers

Please consider volunteering for available vacant slots on the BWS Executive Board and committees in 2022-2023. Some of the officers and chairs will continue serving, and available vacancies are listed below. Let president Joanna Samorow-Merzer know if you have any questions If you are interested in volunteering for any vacant slot, please contact the Nominating Committee Chair Sarah Ward. Her email is listed in the Member Directory emailed to you March 4 by Patty Uffman.

BWS Executive Board Officers Available Slots 2022-2023

President – Presides over all regular meetings. May attend all committee meetings, except the nominating committee, as an ex officio member. Oversees Executive Board and Chairs. Signs checks.

1st Vice President – Presides over all meetings in the absence of the president. Becomes president of BWS in the event that the office of president becomes vacant. Oversees the Show Committee.

Secretary – Keeps a record of all meetings including board  meetings. Beginning in July of even numbered years, reviews the By-Laws along with one other member.

BWS Committees Chairs Available Slots 2022-2023

Activities – Ensures that BWS offers at least one workshop, paint-outs and other activities.

Paint-Outs – The term on this position is from January 2023 through December 2023. The Chair ensures that BWS provides opportunities to work en plein air, planning paint-outs. Please note that Betty Wagoner will end her term as the Chair with the final October 2022 paint-out.

Publicity – Distributes information about BWS, using appropriate media.

Refreshment – Works with the committee to provide refreshments at meetings, receptions, and other group functions.

Scholarship – Oversees, with the committee, the scholarship application process and assures delivery of the scholarship in appropriate form. Please note that Jeanne Dutton is willing to either continue or to step down if someone else wants the position.

Show – With help from volunteers, the Chair leads the annual Membership Show in the fall and arranges a venue for the annual member show for the next year. Please note that Jeanne Dutton manages the Winter Benefit show/Art of Chocolate.

Reminder:

“Like” the BWS page on Facebook.

Remember …

… April 2012 when the Bloomington Watercolor Society teamed up with the Parks and Recreation Department to paint pictures of local parks.   Deborah Rush had her painting selected to go on the front cover of the Parks and Recreation Departments Program Guide from May to August. Delores Schnider and Diane Probst had their paintings illustrated on the inside cover.

Member News

Tim Lewis was recently elected to the Watercolor Society of Indiana Board of Directors as Annual Juried Show Chair for 2022 and 2023. He has also been busy showing his work. He will have three paintings at the Watercolor Society of Indiana Show at Whitewater Valley Arts Association gallery in Connorsville. This show runs from April 3 through May 5. He also is showing two paintings at the Art of Transportation show at the 20 North Gallery in Greenfield. That show runs from March 2 through 26. Tim also had two paintings in the Nature’s Inspiration show at the Cool Creek Nature Center in Fishers last month

Friends of TC Steele Member Art Show runs from March 5 – 27 in the Stevens Education Studio at the Brown County Art Gallery. A number of BWS members have paintings in the show.

Andy Roberts sends along two photos of recent paintings done in Florida. “Sanibel Post Office Circa 1926” was exhibited at the Sanibel Historical Village and Museum on Sanibel Island during the month of February and was sold while on display. The second painting is a fun rendition of a popular restaurant on Captiva Island, “The Bubble Room,” a very eclectic place. “I hope everyone in Bloomington is getting through this winter and looking forward to spring and painting outdoors in Indiana,” Andy writes.

Three BWS members have had work juried in to the 2022 Kentucky Watercolor Society Aquaventure Show. Sara Steffey McQueen’s “Lotus Mandala,” Penny Lulich’s “Last Catch” and Nancy Metz’s “Honey Horn Camellia” and “Vevie’s Morning Glories” will hang at the Lyric Theatre in Lexington, Ky., until April 15.

Stephen Edwards has received word that “Sky Pilot” has been awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2022 Abstracts International Light, Space & Time Exhibit. “As I don’t do many abstract paintings, it was a pleasant surprise to get this award out of over a thousand entries,” Stephen writes.

Jerry Harste, who has been “wintering” in Myrtle Beach, writes: “To pass the time I have been trying my hand at painting the marsh at Pawley’s Island. A close-up called “Marsh Water” is my third painting in what has become my marsh series. The first two marsh painting can be seen on Facebook). In addition, I have been showing some of my work at the William H. Miller Gallery here in Myrtle Beach and am happy to report that my “Zen Reader” sold as part of the 11th Annual Collectors’ Event sponsored by the Burrough-Chapin Art Museum.

Kitty Garlock says she rarely finishes a painting, especially in the last two years when one would expect to be prolific. “So since I just finished one I want to share it,” she says. “This is the home of my good friend Teresa Kinder whose only daughter was married in Australia last October (needless to say no one was allowed into the country at that time so Teresa did not get to be there). I wanted her daughter to have a memory of her home living so far away so I picked up a painting I had started in 2019 at an Upland paint-out at Teresa’s house and gardens and finished it for Lily and Lewis when they visited recently as their country just opened up. So now she has a little bit of home at their home in Australia.”

Beyond BWS

Well-known artist Luke Buck will demonstrate his watercolor and gouache techniques at the Brown County Art Guild March 19 and 20. Painters of all skill levels will benefit from his honed mastery and many years of teaching. The workshop, “Watercolors with Luke Buck,” will be housed at the Guild and lunch will be catered. $225 members, $250 non-members. For more information, go to https://browncountyartguild.org/product/watercolors-like-buck/.

The Upland Plein Air 2022 Member Exhibition will hang at Viridian Moon Gallery April 1 – May 15. The opening reception will be 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 2.

Jasper Community Arts is looking for solo and group exhibits for 2023 to fill our new galleries in the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center! Email submissions or questions to visualarts@jaserindiana.gov. The deadline is March 11. 

From Hayley Parnell, the marketing director for Mallow Run Winery and The Sycamore Event Center in Bargersville, Ind. “Every year we release our special Artist Series wine with a local artist-created label on the bottle. This year we are happy to dedicate our proceeds to the 100th Anniversary of the Historic Artcraft Theater in Franklin, Ind., and encourage artists to submit artwork inspired by this wonderful local business. The link to the information page for any artists interested in entering this competition is https://mallowrun.com/artist-series/. The deadline is March 15.

Calendar

March 14 BWS Monthly meeting. 6 p.m. Online and in person at First Christian Church, 205 E. Kirkwood

Now – March 27 “We Paint … Van Gogh’s World,” The Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E. Sixth St.

March 11 Deadline to apply for 2023 exhibition at Thyen Clark Cultural Center in Jasper, Ind.

March 15 Deadline to enter Mallow Run competition

March 19-20 Watercolors with Luke Buck Workshop, Brown County Art Guild

March 28 Pick up paintings from “We Paint … Van Gogh’s World” 10 a.m. to Noon

April 1 – May 15 Upland Plein Air 2022 Member Exhibition, Viridian Moon Gallery, with reception April 2, 3 to 5 p.m.

May 21 Paint-out at Wylie House

June 11-12 Paint-out at Bloomington Garden Walk

July 16 Paint-out at Hilltop Garden at IU

January 10 meeting

Watercolor pencil and watercolor painting

The January meeting will be a 6 p.m. Zoom meeting; no one will be gathering at First Christian Church that night. Watch your email for the Zoom link.

Following a brief business meeting, Betty Wagoner will review a few examples of watercolor pencil artworks that have and have not employed watercolor paints. She will then lead members in an exploration of a few watercolor pencil techniques and some color-mixing techniques combining both mediums. Using both watercolor pencils and watercolor can provide a greater range of colors and values. The program will be a combination of demonstration and viewer participation.

Supplies needed for the watercolor pencil and watercolor paint program:

• a watercolor brush (round) #4 or #6
• watercolor pencils in primary and secondary colors
• watercolor paints in primary and secondary colors or whatever is on
• your palette
• 3-4 small pieces of #140 watercolor paper or thick paper, as found
• in journals for water-based mediums. (Scrap paper will do. It is
• important not to use standard weight paper, such as typing paper.)
• pencil
• water

We Paint … Van Gogh’s World

by Jeanne Dutton

It’s time to prepare for our first BWS show of 2022, a show that will benefit Teachers Warehouse!

Take inspiration from Vincent Van Gogh’s swirls, stars, self portraits, sunflowers and vibrant colors.

Here are the links to the full prospectus and a few links to inspire you:

https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/home/activities/member-shows-workshops/show-rules/prospectus/

The first deadline is Jan. 10 when you should submit an image of your painting if you want it to be considered for publicity. Please send to Teachers@BloomingtonWatercolor.org.

Delivery date is Feb. 1 at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E. Sixth St., #1, Bloomington. The Opening Reception is during the Feb. 4 Gallery Walk.  

All paintings must be for sale; 50 percent of the sale will go to Teachers Warehouse.

BWS Art Scholarship Fund Auction

Artwork by BWS artists generated $461 in sales through the online auction sponsored by the Foundation for Monroe County Community Schools. Seventy percent of that goes to the BWS Art Scholarship, a total of $322.70.

A big THANK YOU to these participating artists for their generous donation: Jerry Harste, Charlotte Griffin, Phil Bowsher, Jo Weddle, Connie McEntyre, Linda Branstetter, Bess Lee, Kriste Lindberg, and Lynne Gilliatt.

And thank you, too, to those who participated as bidders!

Clockwise from top left: .Members made three-dimensional ornaments. The First Christian Church tree was adorned with the BWS ornaments. Jo Weddle outlines the evening’s schedule. Bundt cakes were given to members at the party and to those participating through Zoom. Carol Rhodes moderates the Zoom session with BWS President Joanna Samorow-Merzer addressing the group from the screen. Carol Rhodes displays one of the three-dimensional ornaments for the Zoom audience. Diane Thrasher, Bob Thrasher, Sharon Parsons, and Sara Steffey McQueen enjoy the gathering at First Christian Church. Jacki Frey points out a card to Jerry Harste as Barbara Coffman examines another. Members painted cards for an exchange. (Photos by Claude Cookman/Bundt cake photo by Candi Bailey)

Holiday Party: An in-person event!

by Jo Weddle

Twenty-two members attended the BWS holiday party at the First Christian Church this year. Five additional members connected to this event through Zoom in their homes. Reports from those in attendance say they really enjoyed the evening; the thing they enjoyed most was being able to be together after being separated by the pandemic for such a long time.

Tasty individual bundt cakes and mixed nuts were served along with cold punch and/or hot tea or coffee.

Many brought artistically painted postcards and creatively made ornaments to place on a BWS Christmas tree in the church’s Chapel Gathering Place.  Through a drawing, everyone who brought a postcard took home one or two cards made by someone at the party. We all enjoyed looking at the cards and ornaments everyone made; what a creative group of members we have! Thanks for planning and assisting with the party go to Carol Rhodes, Charlotte Griffin, Diane Thrasher, Jeanne Dutton, and Mary Walker.

Obituary

Connie Brorson, founding member of BWS

Connie Kay Brorson, 87, passed away Nov. 28 in Naples, Fla. She was a founding member of BWS and with her husband, Carl, had hosted BWS paint-outs and holiday parties at Meadowood for years.

The obituary published in Indiana.funeral.com included this paragraph:

“After retirement in 1991, she and Carl moved to Bloomington IN where she soon made many friends and took up Watercolor painting. Her watercolor paintings were a way of sharing her imagination and joy of life with others. With bold colors and curving lines, she painted swaying forms to represent a familiar image in a whimsical way. Her goal was to capture cheerful and often humorous spontaneity in her paintings. She was a member of the Bloomington Watercolor Society and the Watercolor Society of Indiana, and displayed her works in museums, official buildings and various art galleries.”

Memorial donations may be made to the Laughlin Family Fund at the Rush County Community Foundation, 117 N. Main St., Rushville, IN 46173. This fund supports a monetary award for outstanding first-year teachers in Rush County, Ind., Connie’s birthplace.

Member News

Henry Leck has a show coming up in January at Viridian Moon Gallery. The opening reception is Saturday, Jan. 8, 3 to 5 p.m.

Lynne Gilliatt is preparing for her 2023 show at The Vault at Gallery Mortgage. She will have a joint show with Jean Haley, who dyes the wool pieces on which Lynne does here abstract stitchery.

Andy Roberts sent in paintings from an Ivy Tech Class, Discovering Your MUSEum, taught by Carol Rhodes and Nancy Metz. “If you have never taken a class with Nancy and Carol, then I would encourage you to do so,” he wrote. “Their classes are a way to stimulate new ideas and artist growth while learning from them and fellow students. I am sharing my paintings from the most recent class. The first two are on Yupo and the third one paper, all watercolors. “

Paintings by Andy Roberts: Goose Pond November Sunset, Hopkins Pond Lilies, and Water Lily Adventure

Beyond BWS

Eric Rhoads is hosting Watercolor Live, an online conference Jan. 27 – Jan. 29. The faculty includes top watercolor artists such as Carol Carter, Alvaro Castagnet, Thomas W. Schaller, Birgit O’Connor and many more. Go to https://event.watercolorlive.com/tickets for information, pricing, and registration.

Friends of T.C. Steele Art Show will run from March 5 to 27 at the Brown County Art Gallery in Nashville, Ind. The show is open to all members of Friends of T.C. Steele. Non-members may enter the show by joining the Friends at the show registration. The registration deadline is Feb. 21. The delivery dates are Feb. 26 and 27, from noon to 3 p.m., and the pick-up date is March 28 from 1 to 3 p.m. Do you have a child or grandchild who would like to exhibit their art in a show? Added this year is a youth category for anyone 18 and under. The Prospectus is at https://tcsteele.org/2022-member-art-show-registration/. Artists may register online or print the PDF form and mail it. For more information, contact BWS member Betty Wagoner.

Calendar

Jan. 8 3-5 p.m. Opening reception for Henry Leck’s show at Viridian Moon Art Gallery

Jan. 10 6 p.m. Monthly BWS meeting, Zoom only; no in-person meeting

Jan. 10 Deadline for submitting publicity image of painting for the “We Paint … Van Gogh’s World” to Jeanne Dutton

Jan. 27 – 29 Watercolor Live, an online conference

Feb. 1 Deliver paintings to The Vault at Gallery Mortgage for the “We Paint … Van Gogh’s World” show

Feb. 4 Opening Reception for the “We Paint … Van Gogh’s World” show

Feb. 21 Deadline for registering to enter the Friends of T.C. Steele Art Show

Feb. 26-27 Deliver paintings to The Friends of T.C. Steele Art Show at Brown County Art Gallery

March 5 – 27 Friends of T.C. Steele Art Show, Brown County Art Gallery

March 28 Pick up paintings from the Friends of T.C. Steele Art Show

Oct. 11

Let’s get ready for our Holiday Party

This year BWS members are invited to create two items for the holiday party on Monday, Dec. 13. First, you may create one or two watercolor postcards in a design of your choice. Members are also invited to create a “structure” out of watercolor paper. At Monday’s meeting Joanne Weddle will share examples of both cards and structures.

To attend the meeting via Zoom, look for the link in an email from Joanna Samorow-Merzer or from Carol Rhodes.

If you are vaccinated and wearing a mask, you can attend in-person at the First Christian Church’s Great Hall, 205 E. Kirkwood. If attending the meeting in person, dress in layers as windows will be open to facilitate ventilation.

Free parking is available in the IU Poplars Garage on Sixth Street, across from the Runcible Spoon. Pay parking is available on the streets and in the Fourth Street Garage, across from the former Waldron building.

Annual BWS paint-out and picnic

at Switchyard Park shelter

Saturday, Oct. 9

Starting at 10 a.m., Lunch at 12:30 p.m.

Stay as late as you like

Bring art supplies or an art project plus a brown-bag lunch. Paint or sketch this beautiful park and enjoy a picnic lunch with BWS friends. Coffee, iced tea, cups and ice will be provided. This is not a shared lunch because of COVID-19. Sweets or snacks that can be prepared and offered safely would be greatly appreciated.

The main entrance to the park is on Rogers Street between Rockport Road and Grimes Street. The parking lot at the Rogers Street entrance is the closest to the shelter. Restrooms are near the shelter.

Masks are required when not maintaining social distance.

Carol Carter shares her

‘imaginary color’ approach

at BWS fall workshop

by Claude Cookman

The artist swishes her No. 10 brush in a gallon bucket of clean water, leans over the table and saturates a gladiolus petal with the clear liquid. She charges the brush with Alizarin Crimson, touches it to the water, and we watch with her on a large digital screen as the brilliant red explodes — branching out in a thousand bifurcations — across the glistening surface.

Then Carol Carter, the artist, transforms into Carol Carter, the teacher, and 18 of us in the Great Hall of Bloomington’s First Christian Church plus another seven on Zoom follow her as she guides us through painting our own vivid glads.

During a two-day Bloomington Watercolor Society workshop in early September, Carter, an award-winning artist and teacher who lives in St. Louis, shared her process and immersed us in her “imaginary color” approach.

BWS Treasurer Carol Rhodes, who did an immense amount of work coordinating the event, explained why she invited Carter: “Her abstract approach to painting and her deeply saturated, fantastical use of color is unlike any of our recent presenters.”

Carter’s method

Carter describes herself as a cell painter, completing one shape, or cell, at a time. She starts from the back and paints forward, saving the focal point for last. “Think of the paper like a stage,” she says. “You are setting the stage for the main character.”

The text on Carter’s T-shirt read, “Just Add Water,” and she lives up to that motto by resolutely painting wet into wet. “You can never have enough water” is a mantra she repeats frequently. She wets each cell with clear water before adding paint. All mixing is done on the wet paper, never a palette.

She also uses fresh paint. Instead of rewetting cracked, caked pigments in palette wells, she squeezes out a pea-size dab of each color. She likens this to eating fresh, instead of stale, vegetables — the best way to get vibrant color.

Carter calls herself “a one-and-done” painter, meaning she gets the colors, values, and paint density on the first application. She does not add paint after the first round dries, limiting any adjustments to occasionally softening an edge to make a transition between shapes.

The major technical skill she wanted to teach was how to break down a reference photo into a drawing we could paint from. “Reference photos give you every nuance — too much information!” she exclaimed. “Get just the essence.”

She urged us to simplify by omitting unimportant detail and by seeing component shapes instead of subjects. She elaborated with an example from her student days. In a life-drawing class, she was struggling to capture the model’s elbow. After several failed attempts, she had a break-through: Don’t paint the elbow, she realized, paint a beautiful shape. Viewers will figure it out.

Carter’s most distinctive technique put a contour line around most of those shapes. After wetting a cell, she had us paint the edge with a small brush, applying half the paint inside the wet shape and half outside. Using a brush with clear water, we feathered out the paint on the inside and finally painted the shape with a base color, often applying a second color. She painted most of her shapes with thick pigment, created gradients, and in some places feathered lighter densities out to paper white.

Imaginative color

Many of us signed up for Carter’s workshop after seeing her creative approach to color in her online galleries. We were not disappointed.

“Color is a connective voice,” she said in an interview. “Color can win you an audience when an image can’t.

“Don’t use local color,” she insisted. “Get away from brown hair, flesh skin. Change it up a bit. Play with color.”

“Realistic color is: a brown door equals sepia, burnt sienna, and brown pigment,” Carter explained. “But inventive color is: a brown door is a dark value [that] can be a blue, a green, a dark-value purple or even a dark-value red.”

Focusing on value “frees you up to plug in any color,” she continued. “Once you see color as value, you can be inventive with your color choice.”

To see those values, she uses a red glass which filters out color.

She recommends picking “a warm and a cool and maybe a complementary color.” Then, “use color as emotion to dictate the message you are trying to convey,” she said. You can use a hot, fiery palette or a cool, moody palette or even a green face.” She has painted “a lot of green figures in orange pools,” the opposite of naturalistic warmed-toned figures in cool water. “I flipped the sensibility,” she said.

Good advice comes in threes

Carter had three major pieces of advice for BWS members:

1. Work every day. “If you want to be a painter, go into the studio six days a week and paint,” she admonished. “On Sunday, look at what you’ve painted.”

2. Push your gift. Art is extremely complex. Not every artist can be good at every aspect, but, “every artist has something that they’re naturally good at,” Carter insisted. “That’s the path you should follow — what you’re good at — and not beat yourself up for what you’re not good at.”

“Early on, I recognized my gift was color,” she said. “So I pushed that as something that would always permeate my growth as an artist. I struggle with value or composition or content. So I explore the color, and the value comes secondarily.”

3. Paint what you love. “At some point you have to let go of the how [technique] and move to the why [motivation],” she told the group. In an interview, she expanded on this from her own artistic trajectory.

“For the first five years of my career, after college and before I went to graduate school [at Washington University in Saint Louis], I struggled with what to paint,” she related. “I was a realistic painter. I was a plein air painter. I did a bunch of different imagery that was polished. But it wasn’t really from the heart.

“At graduate school, they don’t care what you paint, but you have to defend why you painted it,” she continued. “And I realized early on that I was giving no thought to why I was painting. I was just painting what I thought my clientele wanted. It was nothing from within.”

She reset her practice, spending most of her first graduate year painting color abstractions. When a blue shape kept reappearing, a professor asked what it was about. Carter, who grew up in Florida loving swimming pools, realized the abstract shape referenced those pools.

“Why don’t you paint the pool?” the professor asked. For the next year Carter did just that. “It connected to the why I was painting which was autobiographic, narrative, and personal,” she said.

“That launched the rest of my career, which is based around imagery that I feel profoundly connected to as an artist,” she said. “I’m no longer a realistic painter, but I am a representational painter. I’m no longer an abstract painter, but abstraction figures in my work.

“I think too many artists never get to the why of what they’re painting,” she said. “They keep answering the how. You do need how. My work is very how oriented. But it doesn’t just dwell on that. And that does not drive me as an artist. It’s the why.”

She summed it up in a single sentence: “I think the most important thing to learn from me as an artist is to paint what you love.”

Carter explores motifs she loves by working in series. She introduced us to two of them — flowers and horses — in her workshop. During breaks she shared others, including large-scale faces and people in swimming pools. She is currently painting a series of 6- x 6-inch dog portraits. She has completed 100 and intends to add another 20. At that point, she will exhibit them and probably move on to a new subject, perhaps ice in a glass of water which she has started exploring.

Regarding her motivation as a teacher, Carter said, “I feel like my job as an art instructor is to inspire people to take a risk and do something different.” 

 That “something different” may involve a continuing collaboration between Carter and interested members of BWS. At dinner on Friday, Carter, Carol Rhodes, Jacqueline Fernette, and others connected the idea of painting what you love to the question of how art could make a difference. They hit on the notion of painting subjects that are likely to disappear because of global warming. They plan to invite artists who wish to be involved to engage with Carter in this effort to raise consciousness about the climate change crisis.

Stay tuned to Brushstrokes for developments. 

• 

• 

Welcome Connie!

Our roster of new members continues to grow. This month we would like to welcome Connie McIntyre, who brings our roster to a total membership of 80 as of Sept. 30. We look forward to meeting you, Connie!

BWS field trip to the LUME at Newfields

A group of BWS members and friends traveled to Newfields in Indianapolis Sept. 30 for the immersive Van Gogh experience in THE LUME.

NEW!

Show Calendar

As a service to its members, BWS is initiating a show calendar project – a listing of upcoming shows that may be of interest to BWS members. We want our exhibitors to have an easy way to find upcoming opportunities, and we want to encourage those who are less experienced or new to exhibiting.

The show calendar will be updated and sent to you every month as an attachment to the email announcing the publication of Brushstrokes, edited by Nancy Metz and Jerry Harste.

This is a member-driven project. A few people have made initial entries to get the calendar started, but it will be successful only if other members take an active role in keeping the spreadsheet populated with new opportunities.

To add entries to the show calendar: Send a newsletter, a email, a listing on a website, or other resources referencing the show – preferably including a link to the prospectus or the prospectus itself – to showinfo@bloomingtonwatercolor.org; one of our members will extract the information needed and enter it on the spreadsheet.

We would like your input on the calendar itself:

Does it include the information you want and need to make a decision about entering a show?

What show-sponsoring organizations would you like to see listed in addition to BWS? Watercolor Society of Indiana? Upland Plein Air? Indiana Plein Air Painters Association (IPAPA)? Others?

You can download the Excel spreadsheet, save it to your own computer, and modify it however you like to best serve your needs. For example, one member said she was going to add columns so that she could track which artworks she had entered or exhibited at which show. This will not affect the BWS master document.

To enable BWS to best serve its members in this way, please send your feedback and entries to showinfo@bloomingtonwatercolor.org.

Member News

Connie McIntyre shares a recent painting in which she added some wildflowers she grows as a little added factor. “I have so much fun creating these pictures,” she said. “To me it is truly a form of therapy.”

Sandy Hall sent a painting she is exhibiting at Greenfield’s Riley Festival Oct. 7-10. The theme is based on James Whitcomb Riley’s Poem, “The Bumblebee.” Artwork is housed at 2 W. Main St. Sandy also announced publication of Argyle’s New Friend, which features her illustrations, which were done in acrylics. The book is a sequel to MOMMS, the Mountain of Mismatched Socks.

Left to Right: “The Bumblebee” by Sandy Hall, Argyle’s New Friend book cover, “Agapanthus Flowers” by Sandy Hall

Last month Tim Lewis was juried in as a member of the Art IN Hand Gallery in Zionsville. Both of his entries, “Winter Oak” and “Waiting,” were juried into the annual Open Space: Art About The Land exhibit put on by Minnetrista and the Redtail Conservancy. The show will run Oct. 2 through Nov. 7 at the Minnetrista Center in Muncie, from Nov. 17 through Dec. 23 at the Art Association of Henry County in New Castle, and then finish at the Anderson Museum of Art in Anderson from Jan. 12 through Feb. 20. His painting, “Inflation”, will be a part of the Watercolor Society of Indiana exhibit at the Gallery at Fishers City Hall from Nov. 4 – 28.

Counterclockwise from Top Left: “Inflation,” “Winter Oak,” and “Waiting” watercolors by Tim Lewis

“Head Scout,” a painting by Penny Lulich, made it into the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society Aqueous International Exhibition, which runs through Nov. 30. Carla O’Conner was the juror. Penny writes: “This was my fourth painting to be juried into shows this year, which was completely unexpected as it is my first year to submit to any show outside of BWS member exhibits. I would sure like to encourage others who might be thinking of submitting, to do it. It can definitely be stepping outside of one’s comfort zone (I know it was for me), but the reward of getting an acceptance is worth any discomfort or even a few rejections along the way (yes, I had a few of those as well). If you’d like to visit the show, here is the link:  https://www.pittsburghwatercolorsociety.com/page-1735944.”

MarySue Veerkamp-Schwab has been awarded Signature Member status in the Watercolor Society of Indiana.

Lynne Gilliatt reports she is making abstract patterns on hand-dyed rectangles for a Spring show with Jean Haley here in Bloomington. She uses plain embroidery cotton thread and makes the colors pop. She has also been writing essays for The Ryder Magazine. Her third one, called “Cooling Off,” will probably be published in October.

“Citrus Bowl” by Joanna Samorow-Merzer is one of the many watercolors currently on display in the BWS Member Show at Viridian Moon Art Gallery.

Carolyn Rogers Richard was invited to submit a painting for the Brown County Rotary Club’s annual Taste of Art charity fundraiser auction, which will take place Oct. 15 at 7:15 p.m. at the Seasons Lodge Conference Center, 560 SR 46, Nashville. A silent auction will also be offered 6 to 7 p.m. Details and tickets are available on the Rotary website at rotaryclubofbrowncounty.org. An article will appear in the Oct. 10 Bloomington Herald Times art section.

Calendar

Oct. 9 BWS Paintout and Picnic, 10 a.m./lunch at 12:30 p.m., Switchyard Park shelter

Oct. 9 Member Show Reception, 5-7 p.m., Viridian Moon Art Gallery

Oct. 11 Monthly BWS Meeting, 6 p.m. In person at First Christian Church and via Zoom

Sept. 13

BWS goes in-person (as well as online)

Greetings! Our new administrative year of 2021-2022 will begin with our first in-person and simultaneous Zoom Show and Share meeting. For at least this month we will limit onsite participation to only 25. I emailed members in late August a link to sign up to attend in person. All the details concerning the Sept. 13 meeting are in that email. [You can also find the link and details about the meeting in a Sept. 3 email from Carol Rhodes.]

In September we will have a two-day workshop with Carol Carter and a trip to The Lume exhibit in Indianapolis. In October/November our annual membership show will take a place in the Viridian Moon Gallery.

Kathy Barton graciously stepped up to help with the publicity for our October show, and Andy Roberts (our 1st VP) offered to help as needed. And now I need other members to help with future publicity through individual small assignments. Please consider either helping with one assignment or becoming the Publicity Chair, and let me know.  My contact info is available in the membership roster.

Joanna Samorow-Merzer

BWS President, 2021-2022

Sept. 13 meeting logistics

• If you are vaccinated and wearing a mask, you can attend in-person at the First Christian Church’s Great Hall, 205 E. Kirkwood, but you MUST sign up at this site: https://tinyurl.com/BWSsignup. To make this work, you need to use it on a personal computer or else download an app. If that is inconvenient, contact Carol Rhodes and she will add you to the signup sheet. This measure is being taken to avoid overcrowding.
• To attend the meeting via Zoom, look for the link in an email from Joanna Samorow-Merzer or from Carol Rhodes.
• Free parking is available in the IU Poplars Garage on Sixth Street, across from the Runcible Spoon. Pay parking is available on the streets and in the Fourth Street Garage, across from the former Waldron building.
• If attending the meeting in person, dress in layers as windows will be open to facilitate ventilation.
• The program will be a Show-and-Share session with in-person and Zoom attendees showing the works they have done this summer.

Oct. 1 – Nov. 13

Annual Membership Show

at Viridian Moon Art Gallery

“Celebrate Life” is the theme of this year’s Membership Show that will hang Oct. 1 – Nov. 13 at Viridian Moon Gallery, 1600 W. Bloomfield Rd., Suite B. An Opening Reception is scheduled at the Viridian Moon Gallery on Oct. 9.

To enter, one’s membership dues must be paid for 2021. Paintings should be created with aqua media on a two-dimensional substrate. Please note, the term watercolor excludes encaustic or oil. Watercolor paintings may include other mediums (collage, pastel, pen and ink, etc.) as long as their use does not exceed 50 percent of the work. Each member may submit only one painting. The painting may be as small as a 10 x 12 framed. The maximum size is 24 inches including the frame. There will be an entry fee of $20, but there is no commission fee. All paintings submitted must be new to a BWS show, created without the help of an instructor, and suitable for public viewing. They must be created as original pieces; copying published imagery is not permitted. Artists shall consent to the photographing of artwork for the purposes of cataloging, publicizing and/ or archiving of the show.

Artwork should be matted and framed with flat hangers. No sawtooth hangers or screw eyes are permitted. Wires should be stretched tightly and attached 1/3 of the way down the vertical dimension. Neutral matting and framing is encouraged.

The show prospectus details labeling and delivery instructions. It is available at https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/home/activities/member-shows-workshops/show-rules/prospectus/. If you are unable to deliver your painting yourself, please make arrangements for someone else to do so.

It is strongly encouraged that art be for sale; however, this is not a requirement. Purchases will be handled by Viridian Moon Gallery. There is no commission fee. Purchaser may take painting at time of the sale. Another framed painting of the same size and by the same artist can be hung to take the place of the sold art.

The BWS Artist Biography Binder will be available for patrons during the show. Please consider including your information. Bring a printed copy of the biography you want included on delivery day.

Email invitations will be sent out near the time of the show opening. Help promote the show and BWS by forwarding the invitations and posting them on social media. Please consider submitting, for publicity purposes, an image of the painting you will show. Images need to be submitted to Jacki Frey no later than Sept. 20. Questions not answered by a careful reading of the prospectus can be answered by Jacki Frey, Kathy Barton, Kitty Garlock, or Cathy Korineck as well as by Andy Roberts, BWS 1st VP. See the prospectus for Jacki Frey’s contact information: https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/home/activities/member-shows-workshops/show-rules/prospectus/.

Important Show Dates

Sept. 20: Submit images for publicity to Jacki Frey

Sept. 29: Deliver art to Viridian Moon Gallery, 1600 W. Bloomfield Rd., Suite B, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Oct. 9: Reception at Viridian Moon Gallery

BWS MEMBERS and GUESTS:  

Announcing the BWS Road Trip to THE LUME: Van Gogh

Thursday, Sept. 30

TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED 

Cost $16 per person

MASKS REQUIRED ON THE BUS and at NEWFIELDS

You are invited to join your watercolor friends on a road trip to Indianapolis to visit the wonderful all-sensory exhibit at THE LUME. https://discovernewfields.org/lume.

Please read and discover all the details and how to register at https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/home/activities/special-activity-for-members.

BWS Welcomes New Members

In August BWS boosted its membership roster with the addition of five new members:

• George Beckerman
• Laura Brown
• Rita Davis
• Zain Mackey
• Shari Ross

Most have signed up for the Carol Carter workshop in September, but we hope we will also see our new members at upcoming meetings on the second Monday of the month — whether in person or on Zoom!  Glad to have all of you joining our organization!

Oct. 9

Last paint-out of 2021

BWS has reserved the shelter at Switchyard Park for its final paint-out of the year. The park is full of interesting features to paint, including children playing, skateboarders, dogs in a dog park, walking trails, woods and grasslands.

Traditionally, the final paint-out is a combined luncheon picnic with shared food. COVID alters these plans. It is probable that each of us will be responsible for our own food.  Masks and social distancing will most likely be required except when eating lunch.

Please watch for updated information closer to the date.

Story Inn paint-out

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Many members show work

at Bloomington Portrait Group’s

exhibition at Viridian Moon

An exhibition by the Bloomington Portrait Group continues at Viridian Moon Gallery, 1600 W. Bloomfield Rd., through Wednesday, Sept. 29. Gallery hours are 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, go to https://www.viridianmoon.art/events.

You might think about the portrait group as the grandchild of BWS. It is an offshoot of Upland Plein Air, which grew out of BWS. The three groups share many members.

For this exhibition, 18 artists submitted 58 images. Gallery owner Irina Shishova was able to hang 46.

“It’s been three years since our first exhibition,” said BPG director Claude Cookman, “and we were not sure what to expect. We are delighted and impressed by the wide range of styles, the high level of technical skill, and the deep level of inner character the artists have captured.”

Many of the models are well-known Bloomington personalities. It is particularly interesting to compare how several artists visualize the same models. The exhibition also documents the Covid-19 era with several self-portraits featuring masks.

BPG has resumed in-person sessions outdoors at Bloomington’s Switchyard Park. They will move to an indoor venue in late October. There are no dues, but participants share the cost of the model. If you would like to paint or draw at these sessions, please contact Claude Cookman.

Above left: Meri Reinhold describes the process she used for creating her self portrait to Barbara Coffman and Kitty Garlock. Top right: Jane Matranga and Cassidy Young share a moment in front of Cassidy’s portrait of her son. Bottom right: BWS President Joanna Samorow-Merzer studies one of the portraits. All photos by Claude Cookman

Member News

Tim Lewis shares two small commission watercolors he completed in August. His latest watercolor, “Blowin’ in the Wind” graces the top of this month’s Brushstrokes. It is an 11 x 15 inch painting of the beautiful red and yellow leaves on a sapling spotted in West Park in Carmel, Ind. “They were quite striking against the cloudless, autumn sky – a great memory of a beautiful day,” Tim says.

Left: Five Siblings by Tim Lewis/Right: The First by Tim Lewis

Kriste Lindberg writes: “Why don’t you just get your art journal back out, again?”  That was the comment from a friend as we wrapped up a stormwater art project on Kirkwood during Pridefest 2021. Our conversation of connecting people to education of a subject through art had evolved into one of how to connect to the heart (I had experienced that during a vacation 12 years ago with fellow BWS members Joanne Weddle and Jan Britton). Sometimes it just takes a little nudge. The next day, Sunday morning, I grabbed my art journal, a coffee mug, and headed back downtown…  Thanks to our sponsors, Pridefest 2021 volunteers, and Bloomington Paint & Wallpaper.

Robin Edmundson will be part of a small group show at the Hoosier Salon Gallery in New Harmony, Ind. “Falling for Art” will hang at the gallery, 507 Church St. in New Harmony Sept. 25 to Nov. 7.  The gallery is open Thursday through Sunday. https://hoosiersalon.org/new-harmony-current-exhibition/.

Sandy Hall’s paintings: The Workman, The Guardian and A Monet Moment

“The Workman” by Sandy Hall was chosen for the Watercolor Society of Indiana exhibit in Indianapolis. The show is on view now thru Sept 25 at Newfields. Another of her paintings, “The Guardian,” received an honorable mention in July’s Blackford County juried show. Sandy also  participated in Fort Wayne’s Artist Guild Kekionga Plein Air event in late July. She worked in watercolor this time around. “A Monet Moment,” a fluid acrylic piece will be at the Bona Thompson Memorial Center, 232 S. Downey Ave. in Indianapolis through Nov. 13.

Paintings By Stephen Edwards: Studio Windows, After a Spring Rain, and Looking for Patch

Stephen Edwards received Best Of Show for “Studio Windows” at the Indiana Artists’ Club Member Exhibit which is being displayed at the Richmond Art Museum in Richmond, Ind., now through Sept. 25. The juror was David Mueller. Stephen also received the First Place Award in Watercolor at the Hoosier Salon for “After a Spring Rain.”  A second painting, “Slow Summer Stream” was also accepted. The Salon is being shown at the Indiana State Museum now through Oct. 24. The juror was Paula Swaydan Grebel. “Looking For Patch” was accepted into the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society’s 42nd International Watercolor Exhibit. Awards have not been announced for this exhibit. The show will be only online starting Sept. 25 due to COVID-19 protocols. The juror was Lana Privitera.

• 

• 

Jerry Harste writes: “I am pleased to report that ‘The Good Earth #2’ was juried into the 2021 Northstar Watermedia Society’s Annual Show. A sister painting, ‘The Good Earth #1,’ was rejected. Given that these paintings feature the house and barn on my family’s farm, I thought it only appropriate that I submit them for showing in a Minnesota-based watercolor society. More good news! A nephew has written to say that he wished to purchase both paintings.” 

Beyond BWS

The Richmond Art Museum’s 123rd Annual Exhibition by Indiana and Ohio Artists will be on display Nov. 4 through Jan. 8. The postmark deadline for entering this juried show is Oct. 1 with delivery of works Oct. 7-9, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. See the Prospectus at https://richmondartmuseum.org/annual-exhibition/ for complete information.

As part of the 100th anniversary celebration of the Brown County State Park, the Brown County Art Gallery Artists Association is working with state tourism folks and the DNR to hold a Paint Out in the Park Oct. 22-24. 

Artists can paint anytime and anywhere in the park during regular hours on those days. All artists must register with the Gallery by calling 812-988-4609. There is no fee. When entering the park, tell the gatekeeper you are with the Brown County State Park Paint Out and you will not be charged admission.

Paintings may be dropped off at the Gallery, 1 Artist Dr., Nashville, anytime during regular business hours during the Paint Out. The Art Education Studio at the Brown County Art Gallery will be open for those who want to finish up work or prefer to paint in studio.

On Sunday Oct. 24 the Brown County Art Gallery will open its doors at noon and paintings will go on sale. Each artist will fill out a consignment sheet. The Gallery will transact all sales with a 10 percent commission to the Art Association. The Gallery will be open at 10 a.m. for early take in. No sales can be made in the park per DNR restrictions.

Painting may be picked up before closing Oct. 24 or left in the Gallery to be picked up starting Nov. 1. Paintings left behind cannot be picked up before that date due to Gallery events.

If artists choose to paint before Oct. 22, they will have to pay their own entry. They still must register with the Gallery.

Calendar

Now – Sept. 29 Bloomington Portrait Group at Viridian Moon Art Gallery

Sept. 13 BWS Monthly Meeting in-person and on Zoom. 6 p.m.

Sept. 20 Deadline for submitting images of paintings being shown in the Member Show (See Prospectus https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/home/activities/member-shows-workshops/show-rules/prospectus/.

Sept. 29 Deliver Member Show paintings to Viridian Moon Art Gallery, 1600 W. Bloomfield Rd. between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Sept. 30 BWS Road Trip to LUME at Newfields for the Van Gogh immersive experience

Oct. 1 – Nov. 13 BWS Member Show at Viridian Moon Art Gallery, 1600 W Bloomfield Rd.

Oct. 9 Membership Show Opening Reception

Oct. 9 Last Paint-out of 2021, Switchyard Park

Oct. 22-24 Brown County State Park Paint Out

July 12

BWS meeting to feature resist technique

Carol Rhodes will show how to use a white crayon or wax resist crayon to create foliage and water textures in a watercolor painting. The project she will paint is shown. To keep it expeditious, we will work small; this piece is 7×10”. Colors she used are phthalo blue, cerulean blue, Winsor or Hansa yellow, permanent rose, burnt sienna, and white gouache or Chinese white. (For transparency enthusiasts, whites are optional; they are used just to enhance the misty area.) A white crayon or a wax resist crayon will create the textures. Soft, pointed candles or birthday candles will also work.

Log in to the Zoom meeting by 6 p.m. to paint along with Carol. Because BWS will not have business meetings in July or August, the programs will start at 6 p.m.

BWS juries in 4 Signature Members

Signature Member status has been awarded to Candace Bailey, Kathy Truelove Barton, Stephen Edwards, and Joanna Shank. Kitty Garlock, as second vice president, supervised the selection process, and local artist Tom Rhea was the judge. Paintings of the newest Signature Members appear above left to right: “Steve at Ghost Ranch, NM,” by Candace Bailey. “21st Century House; 21st Century Landscaping,” by Kathy Truelove Barton. “Symphonion Dream,” by Stephen Edwards. “Sandhill Crane,” by Joanna Shank.

Attend an inspirational watercolor workshop

with internationally renowned artist

Carol Carter

Bloomington Watercolor Society and Carol Carter will present the two-day workshop Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10-11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT. The workshop will be held at the First Christian Church, 205 E. Kirkwood, Bloomington.

With vivid colors, blending, lost and found edges, and washes, paint the everyday imagined both representationally and abstractly. Internationally known watercolor artist Carol Carter will share her watercolor vision and techniques with you in this BWS workshop. Carol will lecture, demonstrate, and give feedback, while discussing control of water, composition and design, simplification, value structure, and more, using her original works of art as starting points. Subject matter will be animals and botanicals. The workshop, which will be offered both in person and online, will be informal and fun.

Andrew Preston, president of Preston Art Center in Louisville, will bring art supplies to the workshop; you can preorder supplies from Andrew from the supplies list provided by Carol Carter, and/or shop and purchase on site during the workshop.

Covid-19 considerations

Local, facility, and CDC Covid guidelines in place at the time of the workshop will be observed for in-person participants.

• Vaccinations are highly recommended but not required. Those who are not vaccinated are advised to wear masks. (These safety measures may be revised as circumstances change.)
• In-person participants will meet with each other and Carol in a large room with spacing between participants.
• Technology will allow participants to watch Carol’s demonstration as it is projected on a television screen to avoid crowding around her work area.  
• You may bring your own lunch or participate in a group order; all group-order lunches will be packaged individually. Information about lunch options will be available after registration.

About Carol Carter

Carol Carter is an internationally recognized artist and has taught and exhibited both nationally – from coast to coast – and internationally in France, Norway, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Morocco, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. She received her MFA in painting from Washington University in 1984, and lives and maintains her studio in St. Louis.

She is a Master Signature Member of American Women Artists and Heartland Art Club in St. Louis.  She has received numerous awards, and her work has appeared in national and global publications. She has been the keynote speaker for various watercolor organizations, and she has been awarded commissions for artwork in public and governmental spaces.

Carol has taught her own workshops for over 30 years and teaches at Maryville University in St. Louis. She is on the advisory board of the American Watercolor Weekly.

For more about Carol and her work, go to her website: https://www.carol-carter.com

Registration and fees

Registration will be limited to 20 in-person and 20 online participants; online registrants will participate via Zoom.

As part of its commitment to furthering the artistic education and experience of its members, BWS is partially subsidizing the cost of the workshop with this internationally known artist. For the two-day workshop, BWS members pay $120. The fee for online participants is $65 for two days. Online participants will hear and see the presentation, discussion, and demonstrations, and will have the opportunity to ask general questions and receive occasional feedback from Carol on their work.

Need financial assistance? BWS’s Sande Nitti Fund can assist members with the expenses of this program. Email treasurer Carol Rhodes at carol@bloomingtonwatercolor.org to obtain info on scholarship opportunities.

Ready to register! Online registration opens Friday, July 9, for current BWS members only. See https://www.bloomingtonwatercolor.org/

NOTE: Only current BWS members may enroll before Aug. 1. Any seats still available as of Aug. 1 will be opened to nonmembers at nonmember rates.

To check membership status, people can contact carol@bloomingtonwatercolor.org.

You will receive a full refund if you cancel your registration by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25. After that date, you may receive a refund if your seat can be filled from a waiting list; as a last resort, participants may feel free to find a fellow artist to buy their registration.

Questions? Please contact carol@bloomingtonwatercolor.org.

Join us! Go to https://www.bloomingtonwatercolor.org/ to register on or after July 9.

BWS

State of the Society

2020-2021

by Joanna Samorow-Merzer

As our administrative year is ending, I want to thank every member for not abandoning BWS during the pandemic. Facing the lockdown last year, we had no choice but to make virtual meetings our way of gathering. Carol Rhodes and Charlotte Griffin made it possible with the technology to continue our monthly meetings on Zoom. I’m so thankful for Carol’s and Charlotte’s technological talent that helped BWS flourish during the lockdown.

I’m the only president who never experienced an in-person meeting. We all lost the opportunity in the last year to mingle with each other during actual meetings. Let’s hope we’ll be able to do it again soon.

While entering the office of president last year I received a lot of guidance from outgoing president Patty Uffman and from Carol Rhodes. I’m grateful to both of them for their time and patience in guiding me through matters of technology and BWS protocols.

I felt warmly welcomed by the membership. Everybody on our Executive Board and Committees was eager to help me and answer my questions. Each contributed a lot of time, hard work and effort so that all of us could enjoy being a part of the BWS family. Thanks to all of you, our organization became even stronger during the pandemic.

Executive Board of 2020-2021

• President: Joanna Samorow-Merzer
• 1st VP: Patty Uffman
• 2nd VP: Kitty Garlock
• Treasurer: Carol Rhodes
• Secretary: Charlotte Griffin

Committees of 2020-2021

• Activities: Cassidy Young
• Brushstrokes Co-Editor: Jerry Harste
• Brushstrokes Co-Editor: Nancy Davis Metz
• Finance: Carol Rhodes
• Historian: Linda Branstetter
• Membership: Kitty Garlock
• Nominating: Andy Roberts
• Paint Outs: Betty Wagoner
• Programs: Jo Weddle
• Publicity: Kriste Lindberg
• Refreshment: Carla Hedges
• Scholarship: Jeanne Dutton
• Show: Kathy Truelove Barton
• Technology: Carol Rhodes
• Technology: Charlotte Griffin

Here is what our new Executive Board looks like going forward:

Executive Board 2021-2022

• President: Joanna Samorow-Merzer
• 1st VP: Andy Roberts
• 2nd VP: Patty Uffman
• Treasurer: Carol Rhodes
• Secretary: Charlotte Griffin

Our committee chairs remain the same except that every new 2nd VP automatically chairs the Membership Committee and we have now a new Show Chair, Jacki Frey. We have open positions on the Refreshment and the Activities committees. The Nominating Committee will be selected again next winter.

Throughout the year, BWS managed to maintain a virtual camaraderie and to keep its spirit and mission alive and vibrant. All members got an opportunity to partake in art exhibits, paint-outs, Zoom program presentations and workshop tutorials. I want to thank all of our members for participating in BWS activities, for being creative and productive, for contributing to making our organization stand out and attract new members. The highly successful, popular and informative Zoom tutorials represent a new and enduring perk that BWS will continue to offer its members. These tutorials enable us to reach out to artists across the country.

Membership

Our total membership for the year is 85. Four new members joined BWS during 2020-2021.

By-laws

Every two years BWS reviews its By-laws, and proposed amendments are made to improve the operation of the organization. Approval of the amendments requires 2/3 vote of the active membership. The BWS Secretary, Charlotte Griffin, chaired the ad hoc By-laws Committee and she put to work her experience acquired from serving on past BWS Boards. In January the By-laws changes were passed and changes were made in three areas:

1. Removing locality from the definition of active member and clarifying the definitions and rights of active, student, and associate members.
2. Clarifying who makes up the executive board
3. Defining the length of term for executive officers and refining the duties of the nominating committee in creating the new slate of officers each year.

2020 BWS Fall Membership Show

“We Paint… Renewal/Rejuvenation”

The annual membership art show featuring the theme “We Paint… Renewal/Rejuvenation” was hosted in October 2020 by John LaBella at The Vault at Gallery Mortgage Company. Kathy Truelove Barton, the Show Chair, was supported by members of the board in presenting the show. She gave special thanks to our 1st VP Patty Uffman for her help. Kriste Lindberg, the Publicity Chair, provided the publicity for the show and she produced the panorama photo of the show.  Kathy Truelove Barton extended her thanks and appreciation to the 40 members who participated in the show with over 60 works of their original art.

The popular category for the show was “Landscapes,” with Stephen Edwards’ piece “Thawing Along Owl Creek” winning first place in the People’s Choice Awards.  People’s Choice runner-up was MarySue Veerkamp-Schwab for her painting “Green Pears, Ready to Pick!” Honorable Mention Award Certificates went to Candace Bailey for her painting “At Ghost Ranch, N.M.” and to Carol Rhodes for her painting “Rain-Washed Vienna.”

To give the annual art show an additional opportunity of viewing by friends and families of exhibiting artists during the pandemic and to give the art show more exposure in the world, Carol Rhodes and Charlotte Griffin created a successful virtual gallery at https://bloomingtonwatercolor.smugmug.com/.

The Herald-Times

“Winter Scenes from The Bloomington Watercolor Society”

BWS artists were featured in the December 27 issue of The Herald-Times.  The newspaper included images of eight paintings while the online edition displayed 31 images of paintings.  Kriste Lindberg, the Publicity Chair, worked in unison with other BWS committees and members to provide publicity for the year-end spread in The Herald-Times as well as for other exhibitions, including the BWS Annual Membership Show.

2021 Month of Chocolate BWS Art Exhibition

“We Paint… Carnival!”

BWS held its sixth Month of Chocolate exhibit during February and March at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage. Because of the pandemic, no in-person receptions were held and the gallery was available only to patrons wearing masks and social distancing. In spite of the limitations, paintings by Candi Bailey, Lynne Gilliatt, and Penny Lulich sold. Tim Lewis won Silver Second, and Candi Bailey won Best of Show with its award of $100 sponsored by John La Bella of the Vault at Gallery Mortgage.

This art exhibit is available for viewing at https://bloomingtonwatercolor.smugmug.com/.

Volunteers outside BWS who helped with the exhibit included Gabe Colman hosting a virtual exhibit on YouTube, filmed by Alex Coniaris and edited by Lucas Coniaris. Emily Rosolowski and John La Bella served with Gabe as guest judges; Gabe also volunteered as the exhibit curator, and Andrew Preston of Preston Arts Center donated prizes.

Several artists, including Penny Lulich, Linda Branstetter, Charlotte Griffin, and Sharon Parsons, painted original greeting cards. (One customer bought eleven!)

LIFEDesigns received 50 percent of the price of each painting sold, and $6 or $10 for each greeting card.  Four more Art of Chocolate cookbooks sold; the book was illustrated in 2019 by BWS artists.

Contributions Summary:

• Greeting cards sold:  $166
• Paintings sold:  $275
• Estimated In-Kind Contribution, including creative time, framing, prizes for artists, judges, general expenses:  $2,338
• Time (estimated) that was contributed over the year by Jeanne Dutton and BWS members, including organizing, planning, contact hours, judging, filming, technology. etc.:  225 hours.

BWS can be truly proud of its contributions to LIFEDesigns and to the overall community it serves.

Workshop tutorials

Carol Rhodes put a lot of effort into contacting a Boston-based artist, Gary Tucker, and negotiating with him a purchase of workshop tutorials available to our members on Zoom.  As a result, in the spring of 2021, BWS members received free access to four tutorials paid by BWS:

1. Rocks and Water
2. Twilight in the City
3. Across the Water
4. Roses are Red

2020-2021 BWS Monthly Programs

Our Program Chair, Joanne Weddle, worked tirelessly to organize for our members the monthly program presentations:

JULY 2020 – Discovering Your MUSEum – Carol Rhodes and Nancy Metz showed the members how to tour the museums of the world in search of inspiration.  Members got a tutorial on how to do a quick sketch of an art work and how to translate inspiration into their own work.

AUGUST 2020 – Artist Trading Cards – Joanne Weddle gave a presentation on making artist trading cards to be used during our Zoom Holiday Meeting in December.

SEPTEMBER 2020 – Show and Share – Kitty Garlock hosted sharing of pieces of artwork completed by our members during the summer.

OCTOBER 2020 – Printing Cards – Joanne Shank shared her tips on the process of creating and printing greeting cards from your own paintings. 

NOVEMBER 2020 – Indiana Greens Throughout the Year – Kathy Truelove Barton gave a presentation on mixing greens for changes of foliage color throughout the seasons between April and October.

DECEMBER 2020 – Artist Trading Cards – Hosted by Joanne Weddle. Following the August presentation, members sent painted trading cards to Cassidy Young who randomly redistributed them in sealed envelopes among participating BWS members. During our Zoom December holiday “party” everybody opened the sealed envelopes and shared the cards with the viewing members.

JANUARY 2021 – Journals – Joanne Weddle, Linda Branstettter, and Jacqueline Fernette presented a program on journaling.

FEBRUARY 2021 – Using the FUNdamentals of Art to Create an Abstract – Jerry Harste gave a presentation on working in abstracts.

MARCH 2021 – Making Folding Greeting Cards – Charlotte Griffin gave a presentation on how to incorporate an artist trading card in making a greeting pop-up card.

APRIL 2021 – Exhibiting Your Art Work – An interactive program, a panel presentation led by Barbara Coffman, Jerry Harste, Carol Rhodes and Nancy Metz on how to exhibit your art work.

MAY 2021 – Drawing a still life in charcoal – Claude Cookman gave members an opportunity to gain some real insights into drawing. He shared with us his drawing experience acquired throughout years of practice.

2020-2021 BWS Paint-Outs

Uncertainty regarding the Covid-19 pandemic was behind the late start for the spring/summer paint-out season. It was necessary to find paint-out locations with space for social distancing. Thanks to great weather and the commitment of our Paint-Out Chair, Betty Wagoner, four paint-outs took place between June and September 2020 and so far two paint-outs have occurred in 2021:

June 2020 – Yellowwood Lake Shelter in the Yellowwood State Forest with 12 in attendance.

July 2020 – Karst Farm Park with 8 in attendance.

August 2020 – The Woolery Mill with 8 in attendance.

September 2020 – T.C. Steele State Historic Site with 6 in attendance.

May 2021 – Yellowwood Lake Shelter in the Yellowwood State Forest with 9 in attendance.

June 2021 – BWS members were invited as “Artists in the Garden” to paint during the annual Garden Walk. We had 9 members painting in five gardens during the weekend.

2020-2021 BWS Signature Membership

Starting in 2020, our 2nd VP Kitty Garlock began looking for members to assist her with the signature membership application process for 2020-2021. After several months and no takers, she asked individuals directly to please help with the process and Claude Cookman, Charlotte Griffin and Cathy Korinek graciously stepped up. It was eventually determined that four applicants could continue to the judging of their artwork. Tom Rhea from the IU art department evaluated the work and the final points were tallied to determine that Stephen Edwards, Joanne Shank, Candace Bailey and Kathy Truelove Barton would be honored with signature member status of BWS and were recognized during the Zoom meeting in June. They will receive their certificates and pens at the September meeting when we gather in person to show our work. A review of parameters and required proof of qualifications are now under review by interested parties to shore up the evaluation process.

Scholarship Committee

Jeanne Dutton reported that the committee continued to work with the Foundation for Monroe County Community Schools to raise funds and distribute information to the high school art students. Andy Lehman, professional graphic designer and BWS member, created the digital poster. It was sent to the art teachers with a request to distribute to their students; however, there were no applicants in 2021.

Fund raising was accomplished through the FMCCS’ online auction. Artwork by Tricia Wente, Lynne Gilliatt, Jo Weddle, and Jeanne Dutton brought in total sales of $272 with 70 percent, $190, being added to the scholarship fund.

Due to our inability to meet in person, the annual table sale of surplus art supplies was postponed until we have a gathering space.

Brushstrokes

Our online monthly newsletter Brushstrokes has been maintained by our dedicated Brushstrokes Co-Editors, Jerry Harste and Nancy Davis Metz. Both of them work to provide us with a highly professional newsletter that is a source of helpful information not only about our organization but also about the larger art world.

BWS Virtual Art Exhibition

“Spring and Summer 2021 – Multimedia”

Currently at https://bloomingtonwatercolor.smugmug.com/, thanks to Carol Rhodes, we have our third virtual art gallery exhibition alongside our two previous BWS gallery exhibits.  Full members can submit by September 1 images of their work done in any media to carol@bloomingtonwatercolor.org. You can find more information in the June Brushstrokes.

Let me conclude by saying that I enjoyed seeing you during our monthly meetings on Zoom and I look forward to seeing you again throughout my next term.

Smart tip

Have a tip or resource you want to share with members? Submit it to the next issue of Brushstrokes. You can answer the email calling for news and images or you can email it to Nancy Davis Metz or Jerry Harste.

This month we heard from Beverly Ohneck-Holly about an excellent resource for plein air painters. She said you can download a free 42-page E-Book titled “240 Plein Air Tips” at https://pleinairmagazine.com/240tips-optin.

Member News

Meri Reinhold was awarded second place at the Lawrence County Art Association’s member show for her pastel painting, “The WPA Bridge at McCormick’s Creek.”

Susan Savastuk has been working on watercolors of homes in her neighborhood. She also had work juried into the Will Vawter Show in Hancock County.

Robin Edmundson will have a show of her recent work at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E. Sixth St, Bloomington, from Aug. 4-Sept. 24. Please join her at the artist reception Friday, Aug. 6 from 5 to 8 p.m.  For more information or to receive a postcard in the mail, you can email her or check her website at http://www.robinedmundson.com.

Tim Lewis had all three of his watercolors accepted into the Will Vawter Show in Greenfield and the one above, “The Collection,” received a Judge’s Award.

Stephen Edwards’ painting, “Auction Day,” has been juried into the Watercolor Society of Indiana’s Juried Show. His painting, “Studio Windows” received a Second Place in the Will Vawter exhibit in Greenfield.

Another of his works, “Rush County Farm #2,” has been juried in to the Light, Space, & Time Gallery where it received a Third Place in Landscapes. This is an international competition. 

MarySue Schwab’s “Colors Arranged,” a floral theme, has been accepted into the WSI Juried show and will hang in Newfields, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Aug. 6 to Sept. 25. MarySue writes, “My grandson’s dogs were the inspiration for my painting, ‘Best Friends’ that is currently hanging at the WSI Members show, until July 10 at McFarland Hall, Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis.” The WSI Member Show can be viewed at  https://www.watercolorsocietyofindiana.org/member-exhibit/.  Anyone interested in a workshop to paint favorite pets is invited to contact MarySue.

Joanne Shank’s oil painting, “Lilacs,” received the First Place award in the Will Vawter show in Greenfield.

At the Lawrence County Art Association’s Midsummer Judged Art Show and Reception, Andy Roberts received a Blue Ribbon for his 52 Ford Truck painting that was also a part of the Upland Plein Air Show earlier this year. Andy reports that his painting has been somewhat diminished by preparations to move to Bloomington late this summer or early fall.

Beyond BWS

July 16 is the application deadline for the 28th Annual Juried Exhibition sponsored by the Jasper Community Arts Center. The show will hang from Sept. 2 to Oct. 20. The prospectus can be seen at https://www.jasperindiana.gov/arts/topic/index.php?topicid=242&structureid=49.

Kathy Truelove Barton has shared the link to Manifest, an online list of  all current and near-term upcoming exhibits and projects at Manifest: http://www.manifestgallery.org/projects. Manifest is a gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio and sponsors international competitions all year long. It offers an amazing window on the art world just getting the emails every month, she says.

The NorthStar Watermedia Society has issued a Call For Entry into its  National Juried Exhibition Sept. 23 to Nov. 4 at the Wildwood Library in Mahtomedi, Minn. The entry deadline is midnight Aug. 1. The prospectus is available at https://www.northstarwatermedia.com and https://www.callforentry.org.

My Favorite Technique

This month Carolyn Rogers Richard shares a technique she has recently been experimenting with:

“I have been experimenting with mixing glazing fluid and retarder to my fluid acrylic paints to get the effect of a watercolor painting,” she writes. “It has been fun. I attach an image of one of the paintings. I did three, which are on display in the window at Hoosier Artist Gallery, 45 S. Jefferson St. in Nashville, Ind. Adding the glazing fluid and the retarder make the acrylic paint much more fluid, and it moves more like watercolor, giving transparent passages.  Of course, I still love painting with watercolor, the way watercolor paints react with each other, and the look of watercolor paintings best.  But the combination I am working with now makes it possible to paint on gessoed cradled wood panels, eliminating the necessity of framing with mats, glass, etc., and still get some of the look of watercolor that I so love.  I would enjoy hearing from other members about their experiments.

“Another method I have used is to paint watercolor on watercolor paper as usual, and then adhere it to a canvas of the same size with heavy gel medium and put cold wax over the painting to seal it. This method has been very successful for me as well.”

Let’s make “My Favorite Technique” a regular feature of Brushstrokes. The next time there is a Call for Brushstrokes news, share some watercolor technique you like to use. Break down the process into steps and provide photographs. Cell phone photos will suffice for most everything. Keep it short and simple. We all have something to share. Think of it as if you were at an in-person meeting and someone asked, “How did you do that?”

Calendar

July 9 Registration opens to BWS members only for Carol Carter Workshop

July 12 BWS monthly program, 6 p.m., on Zoom

July 16 Application deadline for 28th Annual Juried Exhibition sponsored by Jasper Community Arts Center (See Beyond BWS above.)

July 24 BWS Paint-out, Hilltop Garden and Nature Center

Aug. 1 Deadline for entering NorthStar Watermedia Juried Exhibition (See Beyond BWS above.)

Aug. 14 BWS Paint-out, Story Inn

Sept. 10-11 Carol Carter Workshop, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., First Christian Church, 205 E. Kirkwood Ave.

Sept. 13 BWS monthly meeting, 6 p.m., IN PERSON, provided Covid protocols allow, First Christian Church, 205 E. Kirkwood Ave.

Oct. 1-29 BWS Member Show, Indiana Memorial Union Gallery

May 10

BWS to elect officers,

draw still life in charcoal

Members will vote on the 2021-22 slate of officers forwarded by the Nominating Committee, chaired by Andy Roberts. The proposed slate includes Joanna Samorow-Merzer as president, Andy Roberts as first vice president, Patty Uffman as second vice president, Charlotte Griffin as secretary and Carol Rhodes as treasurer. Following the business meeting, Claude Cookman will present a hands-on experience in drawing a still life with charcoal. He sends the following comments.

We will start with a gesture drawing like this:

And refine it toward a finished level like this:

The objective is to combine the spontaneity with control — to achieve the best of both our left- and right-brain activity in our drawing. 

Attached are two PDF files. The first details the content of the session, including thoughts about drawing and information about shadow theory, and the picture plane, and directions on how to use a must-have tool to calculate proportion, angle, and alignment. The second file contains suggestions on what you can do to prepare, including a materials list. Please be sure to have a barbecue skewer at our session. 

https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/1.Preparation.pdf

https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/1.Drawing-1.pdf

In addition, please prepare your drawing pad like this: 1) Leave the first page blank; we will use it for warm-up exercises. 2) Tone your second page to a light–middle gray: Cover it with vine charcoal or powdered charcoal, then rub it with a tissue or cotton ball to smooth out the tones. You may make it absolutely even or leave some variation. 

Why? We want a minimum of lines in our drawing. This toned background will give us a head start in creating edges with values instead of lines.

To inspire you, I recommend this review of a drawing exhibition by NPR’s Susan Stamberg:  https://www.npr.org/2021/04/22/988011611/drawing-inspiration-from-artists-who-make-their-mark-on-paper-not-canvas.

And/or view the exhibition online at https://www.forumgallery.com/exhibitions/drawing-inspiration/installation-views?view=slider.

Bio: Claude has been trying to learn to draw since 1994. At the invitation of Nancy Davis Metz, he became a member of BWS in 2014. He is active in Upland Plein Air, and he directs the Bloomington Portrait Group.

You may read his academic bio at https://mediaschool.indiana.edu/people/profile.html?p=ccookman.

And an artist’s profile at https://mediaschool.indiana.edu/news-events/news/item.html?n=portrait-of-a-teacher-as-an-artist.

So you want to enter an art show?

By Kathy Truelove Barton

This article provides an overview of formal art shows. In addition to these, many county festivals each summer as well as the county fairs and the Indiana State Fair sponsor art shows open to artists to participate on a more informal basis.

To find shows, Google the phrase “Call for Artists (year)”; use the word “and” in the search to create a more specific search for your geographic area of interest.  This would yield a search like “Call for Artists 2021” and Bloomington and Indiana. Other possibilities are  “Call for Artists 2021” and Greenfield and Indiana; or “Call For Artists 2021” and Nashville and Indiana; or “Call For Artists 2021” and Brown County and Indiana. If no shows are scheduled for this year, you may not get any results for this year, or you may get a result for venues that usually have a show, but may not be sponsoring a show this year due to COVID-19 guidelines. Indiana is allowing small masked groups to gather if they are socially distanced and follow other CDC protocols. You can use other search engines as well as Google.

There is a list of juried shows on the sidebar of the BWS web page (https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/home/activities/juried-shows-2019/).

If you have not exhibited, the BWS (Bloomington Watercolor Society) Member Show is a good place to start.  This annual show is usually in the spring or fall.  The 2021 BWS Member Show will be in October.  You must be an active member to enter, so remember to pay your dues. There will be an entry fee this year since Viridian Moon Gallery will be handling sales. The artist will receive 80 percent of the sales price (minus tax) and 20 percent will go to the Gallery.

The show prospectus will be out in May or June of 2021. It will be posted at www.bloomingtonwatercolor.org and will include important information such as media, themes, dates, and deadlines.

Almost every show publishes a prospectus similar to what BWS uses. Always look for one and follow the rules set out by the show organizers. If you are a watercolor artist, make sure that the show you are applying to accepts watercolor media.  Check the application for an entry fee. Some shows allow you to apply online and use a credit card to pay the fee. If so, print your application and receipt out for your show file. Before applying, check the list of dates relevant to the show. Will you be able to meet all the deadlines and deliver and pick up your work? I recommend completing your art work before applying.  Allow two weeks before the deadline for framing your art work.  Good luck!

Pandemic expands learning opportunities

through online experiences, classes

by Cassidy Young

Despite all the craziness, frustration, and adjustments brought on by Covid, a few good things have happened. By far my absolute favorite is the increased number of online/virtual workshops and art-making opportunities. Since my work schedule sometimes prohibits me from engaging in activities with the club or from taking classes locally, I’m finding that I can still get my art-making fix by joining other groups – even ones in the UK. Here are a few of my favorites:

Illustration Isolation

https://visualartspassage.com/illustration-isolation Thursdays, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

As part of the Visual Arts Passage online schooling and online art services Studio Bridge, this illustration group has a free weekly draw-together activity. To participate you’ll want to follow the link, and click on the button “save your spot.” Watch out for the visual arts passage ad; just click to the side. Once you put in your name and email, you’ll receive a zoom link for the free Thursday meetings. Around 6 p.m. on Thursday, you’ll receive an email with the Zoom link and a link to the pictures that will be drawn that night; pictures don’t get loaded until 6:30 p.m. At the 7 p.m. meeting, several leading industry and working illustrators get together to draw the same pictures. They are friends and just chat about what they’re doing, the industry, and art. All participants who have registered can ask questions in the chat but are otherwise not on display and cannot speak.  They do four pictures, each taking about 20 minutes. To really get the full experience, pull up or print out the pictures and draw with them. When you’re done, post each image onto Instagram with the tags #illustrationisolation and @visualartspassage as well as any other tags they suggest to support the photographer. At the end of the night, the hosts pull up all of the images from Instagram and display them. They always give positive feedback, and it’s so inspiring to see how so many people do the same pictures differently. Most of the pictures are portraits and figures but occasionally they do pets. If you choose to join Studio Bridge (with this group), there are more drawing opportunities like this during the day on Thursday, and they have demos from professional illustrators on Mondays, which are recorded and available to watch whenever you want. Studio Bridge is about $35 per month and you can try it out free for two weeks.  But Illustration Isolation is free, and you don’t need to pay for anything to do it. 

Need some figure drawing?

Mathew New and Shannon Hagen host a super inexpensive ($3) live figure drawing class a couple times a week. Although Mathew is the regular model, they do get guest models occasionally. You can check out information about upcoming events on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/figuredrawingclub/ or online at https://figuredrawing.carrd.co/. All you have to do to sign up is go to the Ko-fi website http://ko-fi.com/mathewnew and pay the $3. You will receive a link to the Zoom meeting about 10 minutes before it starts, so don’t forget when it is. If you are looking for a different figure model, check out https://www.instagram.com/whatifwefly_model/. The model is fantastic, but she’s in the UK so watch out for the times of the meetings. You might end up choosing a drawing session really late at night or super early in the morning. 

Have you ever heard of Nature Journaling?

It’s awesome and https://johnmuirlaws.com/ has so many resources and tutorials and is constantly doing online workshops, many of which are low cost, for donation, or free. From the website check out the Events tab. There is a weeklong conference coming up in June that I can hardly wait for, but there are also weekly “Pencil Miles & Chill” low-key chat and draw activities. These events have no intended goal; just a bunch of people get together to work on their sketchbooks and journals. 

Free museum events

So many museums have free online talks, workshops, and hangouts now, and I hope they last. IU Eskenazi Museum has a few every month; check out https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/news-events/calendar/index.html. The Mazza Museum in Cincinnati has monthly interviews with children’s book illustrators at https://www.mazzamuseum.org/events/. Mass Arts has several events, including a Noodle & Doodle event where live music is played over Zoom while people draw/paint and share their work. It’s all very family friendly. The link is https://calendar.massart.edu/. 

Need a good art exercise/workout?

Ever wanted to do a Barque drawing (academic drawing from plaster casts) but not sure how to get started? Join John Skelcher for his weekly Classical Figure Drawing Course. It happens on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. London time (2:30 p.m. our time EST). You can get information directly from John at skelcherj@yahoo.co.uk. But you can also find more information about this from the Eventbright website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/classical-figure-drawing-course-weekly-tickets-152746556061?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&keep_tld=1. 

There are literally hundreds more opportunities out there and Eventbright is a good place to start looking. Use the search bar in the upper left (near the logo) and put something in: Drawing, Painting, Figure, Game –whatever. You’re bound to find something exciting. 

Honestly, I’m sharing all of this for very personal motives. I want to see these sites keep going, even when we can work and meet in person, and I think they will if people keep signing up. 

May Paint-out

Yellowwood Lake Shelter

S. Yellowwood Lake Rd.

Yellowwood State Forest

May 22, 10 a.m.

Start time subject to change based on weather

Member News

Penny Lulich has two paintings juried in to the St. Louis Watercolor Society 2021 show: “Testing the Waters” and “Yo-Yo Ma.” “Testing the Waters” was awarded an honorable mention. The juror was Sandra L. Strohschein, and the online show began May 1.

Andy Roberts sent images of two painting he completed while in Florida for the winter. They depict his interest in seascapes of the local beaches he and his wife frequent. Andy has sold both of these paintings to an area collector and is now back in Indiana ready to paint and join plein air excursions.

Several BWS members are exhibiting in Upland’s 2021 Member Exhibition at Viridian Moon Art Gallery, 1600 W. Bloomfield Rd. in Bloomington. The show hangs from April 30 to May 22. Meri Reinhold and Jacki Frey sent images of their works that are included in the exhibit. Jacki is also currently showing her work at The Juniper Art Gallery and Gift Shop, located on the courthouse square in Spencer. The gallery is open Noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and Noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.

“Twins” is an 11-inch x 15-inch watercolor painted by Tim Lewis with QoR paints on Arches 300# cold-pressed. Twin Aspen trees in a typical Colorado Aspen grove. Tim was inspired by a photo he shot in a typical Colorado Aspen grove in the San Juan National Forest on vacation a few years ago. This is the second painting he has done of the San Juan National Forest in southern Colorado

Beyond BWS

Hoosier Art Salon 2021 Juried Show: Call for Entries

The dates for the 97th Annual Exhibition are Aug. 21 to Oct. 24 at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. Online entries will be accepted from May 3 to June 30. For further details go to 97th Annual Exhibition at https://www.hoosiersalon.org.

Missouri Watercolor Society 2021 Juried Show: Call for Entries

The 2021 International MOWS Judged Exhibition will be shown from Aug. 27 to Oct. 2 at the MOWS Gallery in St. Louis, Mo. Online entries will be accepted from April 23 to May 29.  For further details see: https://www.mowsart.com.

Illiana Gallery: Call for Landscapes

ArtIlliana Gallery in Terre Haute has a call for landscape paintings. The deadline is June 4. For more information, email  artillianagallery@gmail.com.

Watercolor Society of Indiana 2021 Juried Show: Call for Entries

The 2021 Watercolor Society of Indiana will be shown at the Indiana Museum of Art from Aug. 6 to Sept. 25. Online entries are currently being accepted through May 3.  For further information see: www.watercolorsocietyofindiana.org

.

Calendar

Now – May 22 Upland’s Member Exhibition at Viridian Moon Art Gallery

May 10 BWS monthly meeting on Zoom, 6 p.m. Link to be sent via email to members

May 22 Paint-out at Yellowwood Lake Shelter on S. Yellowwood Lake Rd in Yellowwood State Forest. The start time is tentatively set for 10 a.m. but is subject to change based on weather conditions.

The Last Word

Following the April meeting program on “Exhibiting Your Work,” Stephen Edwards had one last bit wisdom to share that seems particularly pertinent to those of us collecting stacks of our own paintings. He said this comes from the late Crawford Donnelly: “Don’t let your paintings become children. For you to grow as an artist, they need to have homes of their own.”

March 8

BWS meets via Zoom;

turns ATCs into greeting cards

• 

• 

Join your fellow BWS members for the group’s monthly meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 8. Check your March 3 email for the Zoom link. Following the business meeting, Charlotte Griffin will guide members through the process of turning Artist Trading Cards into greeting cards. This requires a little preparation so Charlotte has offered the following:

So, you went wild and made too many Artist Trading Cards. OK, then, let’s make a greeting card out of a trading card that was created in portrait view (landscape view will not work).

Materials:

• Trading Card in portrait view
• 12”x12” piece of cardstock in a color that harmonizes with the Trading Card
• 8-1/2”x11” piece of Cardstock in a contrasting color for curtain insert
• Two templates (I emailed these to you on Feb. 17.)
• Scissors and/or an Xacto Knife if you have one
• Bone folding knife or Stylus
• Glue (Glue stick, Elmer’s glue, Quilling paste, Scrapbook adhesive roller, 1/8” or 1/3” Scor-Tape)

Before the program you should do the following:

Print template 1 that was sent to you Feb. 17 via email onto printer paper.  Note: It will print across two pieces of printer paper.  Cut out the large shapes and glue them into one long template 1. 

Trace that template 1 onto the 12”x12” paper and cut cardstock along the solid lines.

Do one of the following:

Alternative 1: Print template 2 onto the 8-1/2”x11” cardstock; cut along the solid lines.

Alternative 2: Print template 2 on to printer paper and cut out the shapes of the pulls and the window.  Trace those shapes onto 8-1/2”x11” cardstock. Use your own greeting for the curtain pieces, and write “Pull” on the pull tabs.  Cut the cardstock along the solid lines.

Charlotte will provide assembly instructions Monday evening in the meeting.

We Paint…Carnival!

On display at the Vault through March 26

9-5 Monday through Friday

The Vault at Gallery Mortgage

121 E. Sixth St., Bloomington

Congratulations to Candi Bailey for winning Best of Show for “Masquerade” (above) and to Tim Lewis for Silver Second for his “Bourbon Street Morning” (below).

Winners of the drawing for prizes were Phyllis Taylor, Patty Uffman, and Susan Savastuck.

Many thanks for donating awards and prizes go to Andrew Preston of Preston Arts Center, John La Bella of the Vault, and BWS. Paintings by Penny Lulich, Candi Bailey, and Lynne Gilliatt had sold by press time.

Several artists created greeting cards, and 21 of those have sold with orders for more. Thank you to Charlotte Griffin, Linda Branstetter, Sharon Parsons, and Penny Lulich for those creative contributions.

Gabe Colman worked hours on this exhibit as planner, curator, judge, and virtual tour host. Thank you, Gabe.

Check out the YouTube video of the “We Paint the Carnival!” show, narrated by Gabe Colman at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA381rjr0sA.

“BWS’s benevolent activities, including the Month of Chocolate and our Art Scholarship, have helped establish and maintain our organization’s credibility in the southern Indiana community,” Jeanne Dutton said. “We can be proud of that record of service.”

Members share resources

Jerry Harste wrote to say that Nancy Metz had alerted him to Karen Knutson’s approach to mixed media collage. As a result, he ordered Karen’s new video, “Fun with Mixed Media.” Below he shares a couple of recent paintings he did using Karen’s techniques. Jerry says any BWS member can contact him via email or phone to borrow the video.

• 

• 

Editor’s note: Anyone wanting to share should send in a description of the resource and instructions on how to arrange the pickup. It’s the sort of sharing we would do during meetings; it just takes a little more coordination in these pandemic times.

Viridian Moon Gallery gets

coverage in local paper

The Feb. 28 Sunday Herald-Times featured Viridian Gallery, where several current and former BWS members are showing their work. Irina Shishova and Katya Alexeeva have opened the gallery at 1600 W. Bloomfield Road in Bloomington. It is open 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The gallery features acrylics, drawings, oils, watercolors, ceramics, and fiber art from Anne-Karine Bley, Carol Rhodes, Eric Brock, Henry Leck, Irina Shishova, Jacki Frey, Katya Alexeeva, Nancy Davis Metz, Laurel Bender, and Olga Klyachko. Check out the online gallery at www.viridianmoon.art.

Member news

Andy Roberts painted actively in preparation for the Annual Sanibel-Captiva Art League Fair, an event that attracted approximately 800 visitors, and it paid off. Andy sold five paintings and many notecards. He says he has enjoyed the winter in Florida and looks forward to returning to Indiana in April for spring.

”Rosemary at Rancho Jacona, New Mexico” by Lynne Gilliatt was awarded Best of Show in The Friends of T.C. Steele show in Nashville last month. The award includes a $1,000 cash prize. “My piece was very large and pastel work done in New Mexico of a friend, a peacock and the sun shining on trees at sunset,” Lynne said. “The setting was Rancho Jacona, a place where small casitas are available to rent and where I once stayed.” The pastel painting was done on fine grit sanded paper.

Clockwise from top left: Linton Barn by Robin Edmundson; Waiting for the S-Bohn by Penny Lulich; Market Day by Meri Reinhold; Social Distancing by Nancy Davis Metz, and Lotus Mandala by Sara Steffey McQueen

Bloomington Watercolor Society has a strong presence in the Kentucky Watercolor Society’s 2021 AquaVenture exhibit. Five of the 43 paintings are by BWS members. Robin Edmundson, Penny Lulich, Sara Steffey McQueen, Nancy Davis Metz, and Meri Reinhold have work accepted in to the exhibit, which will be displayed on the KWS website www.kentuckywatercolorsociety.com under “Exhibitions” from March 15 through April 30. The 43 paintings were selected by juror Marianna McDonald from 100 entries.

“The Collection” by Tim Lewis received the 3rd Place Award in the Brown County Art Guild’s Can You Paint Challenge. His “Sweet Gum Autumn” painting received an Honorable Mention award in the Nature’s Inspirations Fine Art Exhibit & Sale at Cool Creek Nature Center in Fishers. Two of his three entries were accepted into the Minnetrista Annual Juried Art Show in Muncie.

Beyond BWS

The Watercolor Society of Indiana has published the prospectus for the WSI Juried Show for 2021, which will hang at the Indianapolis Museum of Art @ Newfields Aug. 6 through Sept. 25.

Artists can register and pay online at www.watercolorsocietyofindiana.org. The fee is $35 for one entry and $45 for two entries. The competition is open to current and former residents of Indiana. You must be a current WSI member. May 3 is the postmark deadline for mailing entry fee and forms with May 7 being the deadline for receipt in the WSI Office of CDs, flash drives, emails and online signups. At presstime, the prospectus had not been posted on the WSI website. You may request a prospectus by emailing wsiemail@ori.net.

My Favorite Technique

We all have something to share. Think of it as if you were at an in-person meeting and someone asked,” How did you do that?” Share some watercolor technique you like to use. Write a paragraph or two. Or break down a process in to steps and include some photographs. Cell phone photos will work for most everything. Keep it short and simple. Have it ready so that when you get the Brushstrokes Call for News email, you’ll have it ready to send.

Calendar

March 8 BWS Meeting on Zoom, 6 p.m. Link was sent in a March 3 email.

Now – March 28 We Paint … Carnival! The Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E Sixth St., Bloomington

April 12 BWS Meeting via Zoom, 6 p.m. Link will be sent via email.

April 24-26 Waycross Retreat, featuring Stephen Edwards, Waycross Conference Center or via Zoom TBD

May 3 and May 7 Deadlines for entering Watercolor Society of Indiana’s Juried Exhibit

Jan. 11

Monthly meeting program

features journaling

Be sure to join BWS’s Zoom meeting on Monday, Jan. 11, at 6 p.m. After the business meeting, Joanne Weddle will present a program on journaling. Joanne, Linda Branstetter and Jacqueline Fernette will share examples of journals they have made.

At last month’s Zoom meeting, all who had participate in the Artist Trading Card project opened their envelopes with the Artist Trading Cards they had received. “What an enjoyable time it was to then show each one on the screen and tell who had painted it,” Joanne Weddle said. “This turned out to be a lot of fun and an opportunity to thank those who had participated in this activity.” Thanks go to all who painted cards for giving their time and effort to making these small individuals works of art and to Cassidy Young who received, sorted and mailed the envelopes out to those who sent cards to her.

President’s message

As we said our goodbyes to the challenging and tumultuous 2020, we stepped into 2021 with hopes and desires for better times. I want to wish all of you a great year full of interesting opportunities.

Bloomington Watercolor Society, despite the pandemic, is vibrant and active as always. We continue our monthly meetings on Zoom, first with our business meeting, followed then by an art program presented by one of our artists. In February we will have a “Carnival” art exhibition at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage and also online.  We anticipate having an online workshop sometime in the next months. And as of the spring, we will resume our plein air paint-outs. We are so lucky to have this organization here in Bloomington. We always welcome new watercolor artists of all levels. We are here to support each other and to grow as artists.

And here, I would like to share with you a link to The National Museum in Krakow to a page of selected works by a great Polish painter, poet, and playwright, Stanislaw Wyspianski, a master of portraits and landscapes. Enjoy!

https://mnk.pl/collection/selected-works-by-stanislaw-wyspianski

During the holidays, some of our artists had a chance to have images of their Winter Scene paintings published in The Herald-Times, in the paper and online. The Bloomington Watercolor Society is grateful to The Herald-Times for the year-after-year opportunity to display the work of our artists and to please the eyes of its readers. We look forward to continuing this relationship in the future. Also, many thanks to our artists who participated in creating the Winter Scene paintings and sharing the images with The Herald-Times. Thank you all.

Joanna Samorow-Merzer

BWS President, 2020-2021

Vote by Jan. 11

on bylaws amendments

Proposed amendments to the BWS Bylaws are up for a vote by active members; the deadline for a vote is Jan. 11. Active members should have received the information from Charlotte Griffin, BWS secretary, in an email dated Dec. 27, 2020. Find that email and follow the instructions.

Carnival.  Noun.  1.  a period of public revelry at a regular time each year, typically during the week before Lent in Roman Catholic countries, involving processions, music, dancing, and the use of masquerade.

“We Paint … Carnival!” 

by Jeanne Dutton

Here is your prospectus for the Month of Chocolate show coming in February 2021:

https://bloomingtonwatercolor.org/prospectus/.

There are some exciting changes from the normal MoC exhibit program, so please read the prospectus carefully!

First, we will have an online gallery.

Second, the plan is to film a guided tour of the exhibit, hosted by art curator and one of our judges, Gabriel Colman.

Third, everything will be linked to the LIFEDesigns’ Month of Chocolate website where BWS will have its own page.

Fourth, sales will be handled online through LIFEDesigns, so folks can pay with their credit card, check, or cash.  That will make sales so much more convenient and hopefully prompt sales. Sales commission is 50 percent, which supports LIFEDesigns.

Fifth, Best of Show will receive a $100 award sponsored by John La Bella at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage, and there will be other prizes to go along with that and a prize for runner-up.

Please photograph your painting BEFORE framing it. Then send to me at Chocolate@BloomingtonWatercolor.org

Include all the information needed for the gallery:

• Title
• Medium
• Price
• Framed Size

“We Paint … Carnival” Calendar

Jan. 10 Send scanned or digital image of artwork to Jeanne Dutton at Chocolate@BloomingtonWatercolor.org.

Feb. 2 Deliver painting to The Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 121 E. Sixth St., Bloomington between 10 a.m. and noon.

Feb. 5 Virtual Opening Reception and Awards

Feb. 5 – March 28 Exhibition at the Vault at Gallery Mortgage.

March 29 Pick up paintings between 10 a.m. and noon at The Vault.

Member News

Irina Shishova and Katya Alexeeva are proud to announce that Viridian Moon Art Gallery opens its doors Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. The address is 1600 W. Bloomfield Road, Bloomington. The venue is characterized by a strong presence of watercolor artworks. Our current exhibition features several current members of BWS – Jacki Frey, Henry Leck, Nancy Davis Metz, and Carol Rhodes, as well as former BWS members Anne-Karine Bley and Donna Whitsitt. More information is available at https://www.viridianmoon.art. 

• 

• 

Andy Roberts sent in two paintings using pen and ink drawings with watercolor overlay of vintage trucks that have taken on unique character with age. “This a technique that I have been using with several of my art endeavors this past year and hope to continue honing those skills in 2021,” Andy writes. “I hope everyone can continue their own 2021 art adventure with an expectation that we can again socialize without any undue fears. Happy New Year to BWS members.”

Beyond BWS

Friends of TC Steele Member Art Show has extended its registration deadline to Jan. 13. The show will hang at Brown County Art Gallery in Nashville, Ind., Feb. 6 – 27. The show will be judged and a $1,000 first place prize awarded.

“We need watercolor paintings,” said Betty Wagoner, show coordinator. Registration of artworks is free to Friends members. Non-members may register with payment of a membership.

For more information go to https://tcsteele.org/member-art-show-registration. You can also contact Betty at bwagoner@tsteele.org.

Kentucky Watercolor Society announces the opening for submissions for Aquaventure 2021, which will run online from March 15 to April 30. You can enter your work starting now through Feb. 8.

Click on https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtOuLGKhlCkAC2xf_iBMRKok3ZSO7pYM6GiU0yOIV0LC3tCA/viewform.

You can make your full entry online, including your painting image(s). Thorough instructions guide you through the entire process. If you wish to submit via mail, you’ll find the instructions for mail entries on the prospectus as well.

Upland invites BWS members to attend some winter Tuesday programs this winter. Anyone who is interested and wants to be added to its mailing list, please contact Babette Ballinger or Kitty Garlock.

My Favorite Technique

This month is a double feature: Tricia Wente and Penny Lulich both shared techniques that involve revisiting previous works.

Tricia Wente

I thought I would share my recent experience with using several of my older and favored watercolors as reference material. Here are two examples of my most recent works with final artwork being much larger acrylic paintings. When deciding a subject, I choose an older plein air watercolor painting and just go from there. Using the watercolor only as a spring board as a quick reference, I was never attempting an exact reproduction.

The “Catnap” painting is of my son-in-law, and it was fun to add his pet cats for interest. I love the spontaneity of the watercolors, but the larger works make a much bigger statement. Many years ago, artists produced watercolors as reference for their studio paintings, and I was doing the same!

• 

• 

• 

• 

Penny Lulich

I think the best technique that I practice is perseverance. If I paint a piece over and over again, I’m going to learn something from it. When I begin a new piece, I make it more like a sketch or a study. This is where I work out how much white I need to leave on the paper and where to leave it. I also work out what colors look best in the painting and what kind of mood I would like to create with those colors. I set the values in the sketch and figure out where to work out the light and the dark, and also the cool and the warm.  I paint the sketch on the same brand and weight/texture of watercolor paper I’ll use for the final painting so that I can see exactly how all the paint will work on the paper.  In the end, I’m not looking for perfection. I am looking for emotion. The painting has to tell a good story. If it doesn’t tell a good story then either I have the wrong idea for a painting, or I have to rework the painting so that it tells the story I wanted to tell.

One of the most important things I learn by being persistent is resilience as an artist. A painting can come out just terrible, and I’ll be very disappointed, but I’ll get back up in that saddle, so to speak. I get a new piece of paper, grab my brush, get some clean water, and go at it again and again until I am satisfied. There are times when I’m not satisfied even after painting a scene several times, and in those situations, I will put the paintings in a drawer to pull out and work on again at another time – perhaps when I have learned from other paintings and can then come back with more knowledge and understanding.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I don’t want to ever give up. Telling stories through painting is just too enjoyable and enticing for me. Below are some examples of paintings I’ve been satisfied with after several working attempts. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you will never give up on the kind of artwork that you want to do.

“My Favorite Technique” is on its way to being a regular feature of Brushstrokes. Let’s keep it rolling. The next time there is a Call for Brushstrokes News, share some watercolor technique you like to use. Break down the process into steps and photograph each one. Cell phone photos will suffice for most everything; describe what you do in each step. Keep it short and simple: Three to eight steps and photos. We all have something to share. Think of it as if you were at an in-person meeting and someone asked, “How did you do that?”   

Calendar

Jan. 10 Deadline for submitting digital images to Chocolate@BloomingtonWatercolor.org

Jan. 11 BWS Meeting on Zoom, 6 p.m. Link will be sent via email.

Jan. 11 Deadline for voting on BWS bylaws amendments

Jan. 13 Registration deadline for Friends f T.C. Steele Member Art Show

Jan. 21 Viridian Moon Art Gallery opening, 2 p.m., 1600 W. Bloomfield Rd., Bloomington

Feb. 2 Deliver “We Paint … Carnival” paintings to The Vault at Gallery Mortgage, 10 a.m. to noon, 121 E. Sixth St., Bloomington

Feb. 5 – March 28 “We Paint … Carnival!” show at The Vault

Feb. 6 – 27 Friends of T.C. Steele Members Art Show, Brown County Art Gallery

Feb. 8 Deadline for entering Kentucky Watercolor Society Aquaventure

March 29 Pick up “We Paint … Carnival!” paintings, 10 a.m. to noon, The Vault