Monthly Archives: January 2021

Administration, Call for Entries, Local Events, Member news, Shows

A New Look for Our Guild

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A reminder that Central Virginia Watercolor Guild is found online at www.CVWG.art.

Check Out Our New Look!

Many of you might recall that the Guild formed a Publicity Committee last year to review our logo, branding, and other matters and update how our Guild presents itself to our communities. That Publicity Committee was completing its work for our printed media just as COVID-19 took over and forced restrictions.

At the end of 2020, several Directors– representing our Publicity Committee, Website, Membership, and Leadership– restarted the work to modernize our web presence. In the past few weeks, we have built a temporary test website and tested different logos, backdrops, color schemes, etc. In addition, a new streamlined use of menus on our website makes it easier to navigate, especially with mobile devices which are quickly dominating our society.

The resulting header image is shown above and is now “live” on our website. Check it our on http://www.cvwg.art.

A special Thank You! to members Bill Snow for his original art for our logo, Mary Spear for her leadership on the Publicity Committee, Linda Verhagen for her original art used as our backdrop, Rosemary Connelly for her help with redesign of the menus, Donna Koutrakos for her current leadership of the Guild, and our Board and all our members who helped in many ways!

Last Call if You Need Help Using Zoom

This is the last notice that our CVWG Webmaster, Mark Fitzpatrick, is planning to host a “CVWG Test Meeting by Zoom” where you can join, get some pointers, ask your questions, and get any tutoring you might want in using this increasingly popular “app”. This meeting will be set up in coming few days. You have to take the action to send an email to Mark to be included in this special session.

Reminder: Call for Artists– CVWG’s Exhibit at The Center

Member and Past President, Linda Verhagen, is leading our efforts to show members’ artworks at The Center in Charlottesville in May through end of June, 2021. Entry for this show is open so contact Linda to enter your work. Our webpage for that exhibit has been updated so please check out that page for latest details.

Member News

We are glad to see that member-artist Bill Snow is getting recognition beyond our Guild and within the neighboring communities. The Fluvanna Review newspaper published, back in mid-autumn time frame, a very nice article about Bill. You can read the article at this link. A special Thank You! to our ever-alert member Bunny Creasy for seeing this and sending us the notice.

Please Share Your Activities!

We invite you to share any aspect of the artistic “you” with us…activities, muses, workshops, travel, etc. We are also always looking for ways to feature our member artists’ work and invite you to be featured in one of our periodic Featured Member Artist profiles. Simply contact the CVWG Webmaster.

Call for Entries, Classes/Workshops, Local Events, Member news, Resources for Members, Shows

January Challenge Was a Huge Success!!

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A reminder that Central Virginia Watercolor Guild is found online at www.CVWG.art.

A Great First Challenge! of 2021!

CVWG had a fantastic (re)start of our Challenge! program. Nineteen (19) paintings from 18 member-artists were submitted on subjects ranging from figure studies, landscapes, still life studies, and fantasy related to our theme, “A New Year for All”. The image at the top of this page was also part of our Challenge! titled “Celebration” by member Jane Matthews.

Please spend a few minutes to step through a slide show, below, to see what your fellow Guild members accomplished!

On Monday, January 25, at least 29 Guild members joined in on a virtual “CVWG Art Show on Zoom” of these paintings. Each artist was allowed 1-3 minutes to talk about their painting, their muse(s), their approach, the paints and media they used, and any other topic of their choosing.

  • “Election Night” by Deb Prum
  • “Returning to Family Homes” by Linda Verhagen
  • “Lamb Love” by Juliette Swenson
  • “Forging Ahead” by Judy Ely
  • “Walk in the Woods” by Donna Koutrakos
  • by Robin Kuzen
  • “Reflections on Travel” by Mark Fitzpatrick
  • “From Chaos to Hope” by Carol Greene
  • “Celebrate” by Patty Richmond
  • “Brighter Days” by Carol Williams
  • “Experiment!!” by Carolyn Belt
  • “Hope Shines” by Carol Williams
  • “2021 Sunrise” by Harold Hallock
  • “Incredible Lightness of Being 2021” by Phyllis Koch-Sheras
  • “Connelly CLan” by Rosemary Connelly
  • “Freedom” by Marcy Springett
  • “Free Once More” by Patricia Travers
  • “Life After COVID” by Paula Eliasek

Thank you all for the great meeting yesterday. The art work was creative and fun to see. Glad we were able to see some of the members and know we are doing well. Look forward to the next one!

Mary Ann Friedman

The Zoom online video conferencing app somewhat hampered a free discussion but we are working to improve for February. Please plan to join us for the February Challenge! Art Show by Zoom:

  • February’s theme is “Faith“;
    • What does it mean to you?
    • Not (necessarily) religion or religious;
    • Think about all the ways you have faith…families, loved ones, etc.
  • Send a photo of your creation along with title to CVWG’s Webmaster by the entry deadline of Friday, February 19;
  • Join the “Challenge! by Zoom” meeting on Monday, February 22 where the works will be shared in full-screen and the artists will share their “stories”.
  • All Guild members will get an invitation to the Challenge! by Zoom” meeting on Monday morning. Friends and Followers of our Guild are welcome to show your painting and/or attend our Zoom meeting but you must send an email to our CVWG Webmaster to be included.

CVWG’s Challenge! program is discussed further on our Challenge! web page.

Do You Need Help Using Zoom?

Some of our Guild members had difficulties in joining our Zoom meeting, issues with audio, and other matters that (we hope) should be easy to fix. Our CVWG Webmaster (and resident techno-geek) is planning one (or maybe more depending on number of interested members) a “CVWG Test Meeting by Zoom” where you can join, get some pointers, ask your questions, and get any tutoring you might want. This meeting will be set up for early February. You have to take the action to send an email to our CVWG Webmaster to be included in this special session.

Reminder: Call for Artists– CVWG’s Exhibit at The Center

Member and Past President, Linda Verhagen, is leading our efforts to show members’ artworks at The Center in Charlottesville in May through end of June, 2021. Entry for this show is open so contact Linda to enter your work. Our webpage for that exhibit has been updated so please check out that page for latest details.

Member News

Member Susan Rosen sends the following information about a free workshop:

There is a free workshop with an artist I have studied with for three years.  He is generous and a great teacher and people who study with him advance so much in their art practice.  I have taken his extended 12-week course twice and will take it again this year. The free workshop begins on February 15.  The link below will get you there!
https://share.tellafrienda2l.com/a/a2lworkshop2021/Secbud821

Member Chee Ricketts emailed the following news:

After a long absence from teaching, I began working with adults again last fall through OLLI. Due to concerns about the virus, the class was taught online on Zoom. I hauled all of my equipment from my Greene County studio to the OLLI conference room in Charlottesville and taught there with the technical support  of the two amazing OLLI staff members, Tay Strauss and Steve Bevins.

When the class concluded, several of my students asked me to continue with online teaching. As a result, I have set up a space in my home studio and it seems to be working well. My eight watercolor students are incredibly good-natured and patient with me as I navigate between PowerPoint, screen sharing, and my webcam.  I’ve attached a photograph of my space, complete with my faithful studio cat, Harvey, who insists that my chair is HIS. 

Strathmore Online Workshops Return for 2021

Strathmore, known for their artists papers, is again offering a series of 4 free online workshops this year. The workshops cover a range of topics– watercolor and gouache, mixed media, drawing, and oil painting– so we hope you might find one or two of interest. Follow this web link to their workshops page: https://www.strathmoreartiststudio.com/.

Please Share Your Activities!

We invite you to share any aspect of the artistic “you” with us…activities, muses, workshops, travel, etc. We are also always looking for ways to feature our member artists’ work and invite you to be featured in one of our periodic Featured Member Artist profiles. Simply contact the CVWG Webmaster.

Call for Entries, Local Events, Member news, Monthly Meetings, Resources for Members, Shows

Less Than 1 Week Until Challenge! Returns!

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A reminder that Central Virginia Watercolor Guild is found online at www.CVWG.art.

Challenge! Deadline Is This Friday, Jan 22

One final reminder that your Guild is (re)starting our monthly Challenge! and there is less than a week to get your painting entered. You can read about this activity on our Challenge!2021 webpage including the monthly themes, entry deadlines, and Zoom Meeting dates. Again, a special Thank You to two longtime CVWG members and directors Bunny Creasy and Carolyn Belt, the Challenge! for leading this.

We remind you:

  • January’s theme is “New Year for All“;
  • Send a photo of your creation along with title to CVWG’s Webmaster by the entry deadline this Friday, January 22;
  • We will hold a “Challenge! by Zoom” meeting next Monday, January 25 where the works will be shared in full-screen and the artists will share their “stories”.
  • All Guild members will get an invitation to the Challenge! by Zoom” meeting on Monday morning. Friends and Followers of our Guild are welcome to show your painting and/or attend our Zoom meeting but you must send an email to our CVWG Webmaster to be included.

Call for Artists– CVWG’s Exhibit at The Center

Member and Past President, Linda Verhagen, is leading our efforts to show members’ artworks at The Center in Charlottesville in May through end of June, 2021. Entry for this show is open so contact Linda to enter your work. Our webpage for that exhibit has been updated so please check out that page for latest details.

Member News

Member Karen Schwenzer emails:

For many years I’ve been doing travel journals   And I did one for the only trip I took in 2020 -February in Zanzibar and the Seychelles. I then started a series of sketch books and watercolor journals for the entire year. I always had one or both with me. I attach a selection of what I’ve been doing in my isolation. 

A few images of Karen Schwenzer’s travel journal.

The image at the top of this post is also Karen’s.

Please Share Your Activities!

We invite you to share any aspect of the artistic “you” with us…activities, muses, workshops, travel, etc. We are also always looking for ways to feature our member artists’ work and invite you to be featured in one of our periodic Featured Member Artist profiles. Simply contact the CVWG Webmaster.

Monthly Meetings, Resources for Members

Challenge! Returns…Let’s Get Painting!

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A reminder that Central Virginia Watercolor Guild is found online at www.CVWG.art.

You are Challenge!‘d

With the leadership of longtime CVWG members and directors Bunny Creasy and Carolyn Belt, the Challenge! portion of our monthly meetings is returning in a safe, virtual manner! In short,

  • Artists are invited to paint an original work aligned to a different theme each month;
  • Simply take a photo of your painting and email it to our CVWG Webmaster;
  • Attend a Zoom video conference meeting to discuss your work and to see what your fellow artists have created.
  • Details– including specifics, monthly themes, and dates– are provided on our dedicated webpage at www.cvwg.art/challenge/.

We are planning to hold the Challenge! meetings by Zoom on the same day and time as our monthly meetings would normally fall, the 4th Monday of the month at 1:00 PM. We are asking that you submit your paintings by the Friday before so we can get the images loaded on the web page and get ready for the meeting.

  • In January, our meeting will be 1:00 PM on Monday, January 25
  • Photos of your work are due on Friday, January 22

Please Share Your Activities!

We invite you to share any aspect of the artistic “you” with us…activities, muses, workshops, travel, etc. We are also always looking for ways to feature our member artists’ work and invite you to be featured in one of our periodic Featured Member Artist profiles. Simply contact the CVWG Webmaster.