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