Oct. 2
BWS Member Show Drop Off
Artwork for the 2019 BWS Member Show, “We Paint … the Past, Present, and for the Future,” must be delivered Oct. 2 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Untitled Light at the Mill (642 N. Madison St., Bloomington, IN 47404). Members can stop by any time within those two hours to drop off their artwork, make three labels for their pieces, and sign a release form.
Any member unable to make it during those hours should find a friend to drop off the paintings. Jessica McKinney, show chair, says all who have given their intent to show two paintings will be able to do so.
The Member Show Opening Reception will be during First Friday Oct. 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. Come out to the Untitled Light Gallery at the Mill to view member artwork and have a good time! Bring friends.
BWS Paintout Finale
Festival on Fairfax
All Saints Orthodox Christian Church
6004 S. Fairfax Rd.
Saturday, Oct. 5
Painters will meet in the parking lot at 10 a.m., and the Festival activities, music and food will open at 11 a.m. Priest Father Peter will give the BWS group a tour of the inside of the church. The church property offers many pretty painting locations, including flooded limestone quarries, ruins, forest, and a building. For more information, contact program chair Katya Alexeeva. You may also be interested in checking the festival website https://www.allsaintsbloomington.org/festival-on-fairfax/.
Oct. 14 meeting
Double feature: Show and Share
plus Pet Portraits
This month’s meeting will follow a slightly altered schedule in an effort to include the Show and Share program from the September meeting, which had to be canceled. Those who wish to share their artwork from the summer and to view what others have done are welcome to come any time after 5 p.m.
Following the 6 p.m. business meeting, Jane Matranga will present a lesson on painting animals in watercolor working from photographs . She will show pictures of pets and other animals she has painted and describe the process and techniques she uses, including laying in an underwash, negative painting, and drybrush.
Please bring a photo of a pet to paint, watercolors, paper, and a pencil or colored pencil for sketching and mapping lights and darks.
Presidential Message
by Patty Uffman
With our first meeting of the year delayed until October, BWS may be off to a slow start, but we are definitely off and running! The opening reception for our Membership Show Oct. 4 will be history by the time we hold our upcoming meeting. And, of course, more activities are on the horizon. You can be sure that if you miss one event, another will be around the corner!
You may notice that some members active in plein air painting are MIA. Life constantly offers us choices, and we all prioritize our time — meaning it’s hard to do everything all the time. We know that our friends who are remaining solely in the plein air group will continue to enjoy the camaraderie and the chance to use other media. On the other side of the equation, for those of us in BWS who want to continue pursuing plein air or to see what it’s about, we have formed another group, simply called “The Paint-Out Group.” Betty Wagoner, one of our signature members, is leading this effort. You’ll hear more about what’s in store soon, but with the thought of allowing more members to participate, paint-outs are being planned for Saturdays, starting next year.
Thanks again to Jerry Harste for teaming up with Nancy Metz to become co-editor or Brushstrokes! What a goldmine of information comes our way every month! Please don’t expect us to repeat the information at our business meetings because we have pledged to do our best to keep them succinct and on target.
Our officers and committee members are a dedicated group, and I would like to thank all of them for unselfishly volunteering their time and energy. To our entire membership, we’re so glad to be experiencing another year of creativity together! Let’s enjoy it!
In memoriam
Sande Nitti
BWS and Upland are saddened by the unexpected death of Sande Nitti the last week of September. She hosted many Upland paintouts and had agreed to co-chair BWS’s Paintout Group with Betty Wagoner. Sande created beautiful paintings and friendships. She will be missed.
Member News
Joanne Shank is now exhibiting her paintings at the Hoosier Artist Gallery, 45 S. Jefferson St., Nashville, IN, where Carolyn Rogers Richard is also a member and exhibits her work.
BWS swept the watercolor awards at the 2019 T.C. Steele Great Outdoor Art Contest. Jacki Frey won 1st, Andy Roberts placed 2nd, Bob Burris got 3rd, and Betty Wagoner received an honorable mention.
MarySue and Bill Schwab invites everyone to the opening of their art show Friday, Oct. 4, to 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, 2120 N. Fee Lane, Bloomington. Come for wine and refreshments. The show features a variety of work, and the reception will include a question-and-answer session with the artists. The show will be up all of October.
The Venue has selected Rose Brenner to participate in Ekphrasis IV. She will choose one of her paintings to display in the show, and The Venue will invite a group of talented poets, each of whom will select one painting to inspire their writing a poem. The selected painters and their paired poets will be divided into two groups. On two Sundays, Oct. 6 and Oct. 20, at 5:30 p.m., at The Venue, half of the selected artists will present their paintings with an explanation of the paintings’ inspiration, and the paired poets will read their poems and explain what about the paintings inspired their poem. The public will be invited and refreshments will be served.
Lynne Gilliatt‘s Side Door Studio group is having a show at Bloomington Playwrights Project during the month of October. This work includes watercolor, tempera, encaustic, and pastel. Bloomington Playwrights Project is located at 107 W, Ninth St., Bloomington.. At least six of her group will be showing their work. There is also a textile artist showing her work.
MarySue Schwab received an honorable mention for her oil painting, “Secluded Pool” at the Hoosier Salon Gallery in New Harmony. The show hangs until Oct. 6.
Several BWS members exhibited work at the Mitchell Persimmon Festival Art Exhibit. Meri Reinhold placed 2nd for “Blue Dream” and Rose Brenner received honorable mention for “Abstract Peonies” in the Abstract/Non-objective/Fantasy division. Honorable mentions in the Landscapes & Waterscapes division went to Linda Endris for “Open Spaces” and to Nancy Metz for “Cannon Beach.”
Beyond BWS
Former member Susan Williams tipped us off to an online course offered by the Cornell Bird Lab that might interest several of our members. Don’t be fooled by the title; the course is not limited to birds. Here is the link: https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/product/nature-journaling-and-field-sketching/
IU’s Eskenazi Museum of Art will celebrate its reopening after a multi-year renovation with Museum Fest that starts Nov. 7. The public is invited to explore seven galleries of art, including new works; a new art-making studio; and new Centers for Education, Conservation, and Prints, Drawings, and Photographs from 4 to 8 p.m. Guided tours will be given Nov. 8, 9, and 10.
IMO
Social media users recognize IMO as an abbreviation for “In My Opinion,” and each month we close by giving you the chance to share your opinion on a specific question.
Question for November Brushstrokes:
What is your favorite book about watercolor? Please identify the title and author and explain why you think it is so good.
Send your 1- to 3-sentence response to Jerry Harste by Oct. 21. Please use IMO as the subject line of your email.
