Monthly Meeting

June 12, 2017   6:00pm

First Christian Church, corner of Kirkwood and Washington

Beautiful downtown Bloomington

Note to you:  BWS does not meet during the summer months, but will resume September 11.  That’s Show-and-Share month, so plan to bring your summer masterpieces.

Annual Dues for Bloomington Watercolor Society are due by June 30.  
Pay via Paypal or send check to BWS, P.O. Box 5236, Bloomington, IN, 47407.
Or bring your check to the meeting on June 12.

June’s Program

Painting with Watercolor and Pastels, presented by Sande Nitti.

“Pastels and watercolor are a perfect combination when painting; the possibilities are endless using these complimenting mediums together. I don’t think there is anything more beautiful than a spontaneous wash and the mingling of watercolor paint; I have found the opaque nature of pastel shimmers over the soft luminosity of watercolor creating a beautiful effect.

“There are many ways to approach a pastel painting. I will demonstrate a landscape using one of my favorite techniques by setting the foundation and mood of the painting with a watercolor under painting then layering soft pastels to create depth and texture.”

You do not need to bring any supplies for this program.

Meet Your New President and Executive Board

May elections provided BWS with some new, and some solid “old,” leaders.  BWS is a vibrant, well-run organization, thanks to the coordinated efforts and dedication of your executive board and the committee chairs.  A hearty “Thank You!” to all those officers and committee chairs  who continue to work hard to make BWS what it is today.

Jane Matranga

Meet the new president, Jane Matranga.  You may not know her face, but you certainly know her art as it was featured on the cover of this year’s Art of Chocolate program and in the publicity for last year’s.  Jane has a B.F.A. in Drawing and Painting from the University of Cincinnati and a Master’s in Fashion Design from Drexel University in Philadelphia.

She combines her apparel design and art backgrounds to design original hand painted garments.

Jane currently teaches fashion design at Indiana University.

Charlotte Griffin

Nancy Davis-Metz

Patty Uffman

Charlotte Griffin moves to the 1st VP position, and Nancy Davis Metz to 2nd VP.  Patty Uffman continues as treasurer and we welcome another new officer, Secretary Erin Duff.

Erin Duff

Erin is a full time medical illustrator and brand new to the professional fine arts scene.  Erin says, “Painting has become a powerful outlet for my creativity and allows self-expression beyond my daily work which is focused purely on anatomy of the human body. My current series studies the form and realism of flowers found in my local community. Focusing on the subtle change of color gradients, texture and imperfections throughout each leaf and petal has become a form of practicing mindfulness and meditation.

“I’m not sure which I enjoy more, mixing paint to match the vast array of colors that I interpret or dragging my brush across the canvas to create tiny shapes and blending them together to create a sense of harmony.”

Table Sale

With many thanks to members and non-members, as well, for their donations to the table sale.  Over $300 was raised and 100% goes directly into the BWS Scholarship Fund at the Foundation for Monroe County Community Schools.  And wasn’t that fun?  Keep the table sale in mind as you clean, re-organize, and sort through your supplies.  Remember:  One artist’s junk is another artist’s masterpiece!

MEMBER ACTIVITIES

The Signature Member exhibit at Meadowood was well received and opened with a lovely reception.  Here are photos of their works of art.

Congratulations to Jerry Harste.  One of his famous goats was accepted into the juried show, “Figures of Speech,” sponsored by the Anderson Center for the Arts, Anderson, Indiana.  The pen and ink drawing is titled “Thinking Out of the Box.”

White Winter, Robin Edmundson

Congratulations also to Robin Edmundson.  Her painting, “White Winter,” was selected to hang in the Lt Governor’s office this year as part of the Hoosier Women Artist’s competition.   In 2018, it will move on to the Haan Museum of Indiana Art in Lafayette for another special exhibit of the HWA.  (On a side note, the Haan Museum has a very interesting and unexpected history.  See more about it at haanmuseum.org/Mansion.aspx.)

Great American Artworks Road Trip

BWS members visited the Great American Artworks Pastel operation in Cincinnati in mid-May. Babette Ballinger, Jo Baum, Sande Nitti and Claude Cookman heard founder and owner Bob Strohsahl share his wisdom about pastels and got to watch him make a batch of deep purple sticks. His associate, Diane Schear, gave a tour of the facility and helped pick out sticks for purchase at discount. Afterward, they visited the Cincinnati Museum of Art.

Sandy Hall, associate member from Greenfield IN, attended the Kanuga Watermedia workshops in Hendersonville NC, April 22-28, 2017.   Paul Jackson, known for his reflections and glassware paintings, led the week long workshop that Sandy attended.  Evening sessions included a demonstration night, a critique night, a special guest night and a tour to view the works by other students.

Over 350 artists participated, four from Indiana, with over a dozen instructors. Dates in 2018 are April 7-13 and registration starts June 1.  Every year they have a new list of instructors, nationally known and well versed in all watermedia techniques. Check out the website at kanugawatermediaworkshops.com
For registration or workshop/class information, contact the directors, Chris and Barbara Hutchison, at either KanugaWW@gmail.com or 615-202-0281.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Watercolor Workshop: Painting at Starve Hollow Lake

  Saturday, June 10, 2017, 9:30 – noon

  

  Starve Hollow, by Betty Wagoner

  Betty Wagoner, Instructor.

  After the workshop from 1:00-4:00, Betty will conduct demos using watercolor pencils and visitors are encouraged to experiment.

  To register, contact Betty.

  This program will be repeated on August 12.

• BWS Upland Plein Air Activities

  All BWS members are welcome to join in any of the paint outs. Activities typically take place on Tuesday mornings from 9 to noon; however, this occasionally changes. For details, just send an email to upland@bloomingtonwatercolor.org.

  If you are interested in participating in Upland activities, you are invited to attend the organizational meeting and pitch-in lunch social on June 6 from 10:30 am – 1 pm.

  At this meeting, plans will be made for the remainder of 2017.  Each participating artist is expected to host at least one painting event per year.

  Tuesday, June 6, Organization meeting, Babette Ballinger & Kristen Stamper
  Tuesday, June 13, Horse Farm near Morgantown, Eric Brock

  *Saturday, Sunday, Bloomington Garden Walk, Coordinated by Charlotte Griffin, info@bloomingtonwatercolor.org
  Tuesday, June 20, Artful Blooms, Kitty Garlock
  Tuesday, July 11, Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, Jacki Frey

  Tuesday, July 18, Starve Hollow State Park, Betty Wagoner

  *Monday, July 24, Harvest Moon Farm, Kristen Stamper

• West Baden Paint Out

Artists are invited to “paint out” and sell their work commission free at an afternoon sale on the veranda. Artists are free to paint anywhere on the grounds and may sell paintings from their easels or to invitees at the reception. Previous work is allowed. Each artist is responsible for their own sales and displays, which must be in character with the hotel. For more information call Brown County Art Gallery at 812-988-4609.

• Portrait Painting
  

  Portrait by Deborah Rush

All artists interested in life drawing or painting are invited to join a portrait group from 1 to 3 pm on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.

Sessions for June are:
June 8, Amira Sabbagh, a local actress, dancer, singer, and fabric artist.
June 22, Kelvin Burzon, a Filipino-American who just completed his MFA in art photography at IU. Mr. Burzon is also a modern jazz dancer with an expressive face.
Cost to pay the model varies from $3 to $5 per person per session. We attempt to schedule models who are as diverse as possible ​in age, gender, and ethnic heritage.  For complete information about these and future sessions, please email Claude Cookman.

• 100+ Tips for Artists

Full of wisdom and fine advice, this article from Strathmore papers is a must-read.  You’ll be glad you did!   strathmoreartist.com/blog-reader/the-best-pieces-of-art-advice

• The Art and Soul of Bloomington

Don’t forget – the Early Bird Deadline for application is June 10.  The final deadline is June 24.  Find all the details and contact information at http://www.thevenuebloomington.com/Jurried.html