“Spring Rain” by Lynne Gilliatt, 18″x16x1/2″, Gouache on Fabriano paper.

BWS Meeting: February 10

The February meeting of the Bloomington Watercolor Society is Monday, February 10th at 6 p.m. at the First Christian Church, 205 E. Kirkwood Ave.    Details will be sent to the membership via email.  A brief business meeting will open the meeting. Sarah Steffey McQueen will lead the program.

February’s Program: Signature Member Sara Steffey McQueen is going to share her recipes for making ink from locally available plants and other materials. Sara. after 50 years of being an herbalist and naturalist, is on the Board of Artists of Climate Awareness and is excited to share her passions as well as home-made inks which we can try out.

Participants need to bring your own brushes, paper and/or sketchbook. A variety of inks will be provided.

Inside BWS

From the desk of BWS President Laura Brown:

Hello painters! The ice is finally melting so we are ready to get back to our regular schedule!   

Our February Meeting is Monday February 10th at 6pm.   Keep a look out for the meeting reminder with further details.  Sara Steffy McQueen will lead us in an exciting program about natural inks.  

Don’t forget our membership show. “We Paint….Dali & Degas” at Gallery Mortgage.  Drop off is February 4th from 10-noon. The Show will be ready for our Opening Reception February 7th from 5:00-8:00pm.

Executive Board Call Out!

Do you want to be more involved in BWS?  Do you have a specialty with leadership, writing, or numbers?  Good news because BWS needs YOU!

Be the first in line to lead and shape the story that is BWS.  Did you know that every year BWS has five  key members that make everything we do possible?   President, Vice President,Treasurer, Membership Coordinator and Secretary; each of these volunteer positions can be a great fulfilling experience for those that want to take the shaping of BWS a little bit further.   

Interested?  Want to learn more?  Please contact info@bloomingtonwatercolor.org and let us know.  

Not ready for the executive board, but still want to help?  There are many other volunteers needed throughout the year.  Please let us know what your talents are, and we’ll always have something you can do! 

The BWS Winter Benefit Show
Opening Reception FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7
Gallery Walk   5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Awards announced at 6:00

Melting clocks and dancing ballerinas.  Surrealism meets Impressionism.  And BWS artist members have created a very interesting blend for your viewing pleasure. 

We are pleased to announce that the exhibit will also showcase works by the 2024 BWS Art Scholarship winner, Seongwon “Sarah” Park.  Her art is bright, youthful, and very well done. Sarah is an outstanding artist currently studying communication design and marketing at Washington University in St. Louis.

Remember, too, this winter benefit show supports the good works of Teachers Warehouse (TW), an organization that supplies FREE classroom supplies to educators in nine counties!  All sales of fine art, greeting cards and prints share 50% between the artist and TW.

Watch for news about the video tour and online gallery opening FEBRUARY 8!

Cancer Support Center: Linda Meyer-Wright Retrospective

The Opening Reception for the Linda Meyer-Wright Retrospective show was a great success!.  Several framed and many unframed paintings from her estate were sold, raising over $300 for the Cancer Support Community art programs!

If you missed the exhibit or would like to visit again, please call CSCSCI at (812) 233-3286 or email the office, emily@cancersupport.org.

To learn more about the BWS Gallery partnership with the Cancer Support Community South Central Indiana, click here:
https://cancersupportscin.org/gallery-partnership/?fbclid=IwY2xjawILh0FleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXaKaL-DNKfl8hV-JmgaJB4W1DLQ-V3kcZ-IzkGJIsL9oImPJAm1LpdoNg_aem_83wJZRqHKh_f15DjnH1zLw

Outside BWS

Watercolor Society of Indiana

Tim Lewis, WSI president, sent in this list of upcoming events:

The Watercolor Society of Indiana has posted our 2025 calendar on the WSI website at https://www.watercolorsocietyofindiana.org/. Upcoming events:

• WSI Regional Membership Exhibit at Hendricks Live! in Plainfield. Limited to the first 50 from WSI members. The show opens April 16th and runs through May 31st. 
• WSI Annual Membership Exhibition at The Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. Any WSI member may submit one watercolor to this show – not juried. The show opens May 10th and runs through June 14th.
• WSI Annual Membership Luncheon and Special Event at the 2nd Presbyterian Church on North Meridian in Indianapolis. June 28th from 12:00 – 2:00. 
• “The Architecture of Light” workshop with Thomas Schaller, AWS, NWS, TWSA, at the 2nd Presbyterian Church on North Meridian in Indianapolis. August 6th through August 8th.
• 43rd Annual Juried Exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields in Indianapolis. This show opens September 6th and runs through November 1st. This is a juried show with a prize fund setimated to be around $10,000 open to WSI members.
• Beginning Watercolor Class with Anna Roberts, CF, and Cheryl Lowe, CF, at the Jewish Community Center in Indianapolis on September 21st. This class is for adults only and is open to the public.
• “Painting a Figure From a Photo” workshop with Ted Nuttall, AWS, NWS, TWSA, at the 2nd Presbyterian Church on north Meridian in Indianapolis. October 14th through October 17th.

Details, entry instructions, etc on thee events are available on the WSI website. Note that Class and Workshops may have limitations on the number of attendees.

Upland Plein Air — Silverpoint Workshop

In late January, members of the Upland Plein Air group participated in a mini workshop, exploring the silverpoint medium. Upland is an offshoot of the Bloomington Watercolor Society, and the groups share many members in common.

The graphite pencil was introduced in 1565. Previously, artists drew with charcoal, ink, colored clay and metal wire in a stylus. For the latter, they used lead, copper and gold, but arguably their favorite metal was silver. Many drawings by Leonardo, Raphael, Dürer and other old masters that look like pencil are, in fact, silverpoint. Because graphite is erasable, it quickly displaced metal. Beginning with the pre-Raphaelites in the mid 1800s, there has been a revival of silverpoint. Contemporary artists are pushing the boundaries of the medium, using it in exciting new ways. 

Silverpoint is an extremely responsive medium that produces images of great delicacy. It requires a surface prepared with a ground that has an abrasive. Pulling a piece of silver wire over this ground leaves a mark. Many drawing techniques used with mediums like charcoal, chalk and graphite, translate, but there is one major difference. With those mediums, if you want a darker tone, you simply press harder. Pressing hard with silverpoint risks gouging into the ground. Instead, to get darker values, you draw many lines, over and over. This makes silverpoint primarily a hatching medium.

BWS and Upland member Claude Cookman led the group in getting familiar with the medium and drawing a still life.

Andy Roberts and Barbara Coffman work on preparatory studies before drawing their still life in silverpoint.

Kitty Garlock chose a sea shell as the motif for her silverpoint still life.

Claude Cookman • Pears • Silverpoint • 5 x 7 inches • 2025

Upland’s Plein Air Show at Lennie’s

Barbara Coffman reports: We had a wonderful selection of paintings/drawings delivered to Lennie’s for the first round of our show in January. The reception was crowded, and four paintings have been sold. I stopped by recently, and both the owner and manager told me that they had heard many positive comments about our work from customers. Kudos to all our talented Upland members! 

Lennie’s has invited Upland to extend the show through March.

New drop off date for the second half of the show is Tuesday, February 11, 3:00-5:00 pm.

New reception date is Thursday, February 13, 5:00-7:00 pm.  

Membership News

Tim Lewis. My solo show, “Radical Reality,” at the Jewish Community Center Art Gallery in Indianapolis runs through February 22nd and is open to the public during normal business hours. I have 37 of my favorite watercolors in this show.

Gail Fairfield. I am teaching an “Astrology & Alcohol Ink” workshop at Second Story Studio in Nashville, on February 22, 1-3 PM.

https://www.secondstorystudio.art/event-details/astrology-alcohol-ink-workshop

Alcohol Ink Painting by Gail Fairfield

Phyllis Taylor, who is a member afar: Phyllis Taylor has two large watercolors selected for an exhibition entitled, “Lost in Blue”; the show opens Feb. 7th at the Cannon Beach (OR) Arts Association Gallery and runs for a month. 

Tricia Wente, who is another voice we miss from afar: I have been fine, continuing  to stay busy with  painting, and raising a new puppy.   Several commissions in acrylics  were recently completed and I have offered watercolor horse portraits in auctions  this past year for people supporting our granddaughter Naomi’s Benton County rodeo queen duties.  

 This coming year, she will be the Canby Fair & Rodeo Queen. Her coronation is this March.  We never would have thought she would become so interested in riding and competing, but that’s what has happened. It keeps us running.   

I continue to show regularly in the Elsinore  Gallery in Salem, OR., and I paint weekly with a few artists working in watercolors to socialize and keep the brushes wet.   

 I miss everyone. When I read Brushstrokes I get homesick for B-ton.  It is hard being so far away.

Calendar

Now to February 22: Tim Lewis’ Show at Jewish Community Ctr in Indianapolis.

Now to April: Linda Meyer-Wright’s Retrospective Show, Cancer Support Center, Bloomington.

February 4: Drop-off, “We Paint….2D: Dali & Degas” paintings at Gallery Mortgage, Bgtn.

February 7: Reception, “We Paint….2D: Dali & Degas” Show, 5-7 p.m., Gallery Montgage, Btgm.

February 10: BWS Meeting at First Christian Church, 6-8 p.m., Bloomington.

February 13: Reception for Upland Plein Air’s Show at Lennie’s, Bloomington.

February 22: Gail Fairfield’s “Astrology & Alcohol Ink” Workshop, 1-3 p.m., 2nd Story Studio.