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

The painting at the top of this post is by artist Eloise Giles, a past member of our Guild who influenced art throughout central Virginia. The Art Guild of Greene is hosting a show of Eloise’s work with donations to benefit Greene County Schools. You can view this painting by Eloise, better, on our website.

Eloise Giles Paintings are Being Offered by Art Guild of Greene with Donations to Benefit Greene County Schools

Eloise Giles’ family has graciously donated several of her paintings to the Art Guild of Greene County. The Guild is planning a showing of Eloise’s art from May 4 to 14 at “The Barn” behind the Greene County Visitor Center, located at 9157 Seminole Trail in Ruckersville, VA 22968 (phone 434-985-6663). Eloise’s paintings will be offered for donations to benefit Greene County Schools.

April Program with Toni Bragg

More than 30 CVWG members and guests attended our April meeting and enjoyed the discussions and watercolor demonstration of Warrenton artist Toni Bragg. Toni repeated what seems to be her personal mantra, “Teaching is a great way to learn!”. Toni creates her art somewhat different from other artists:

• Her preferred paper is a 300 lb hot press;
• She loves texture and seeks out ways to get more of it in her paintings;
• She often paints small areas at a time and calls her approach “fractured”;
• Toni does not use a reference photo;
• Toni praised the work of artist Steven Quiller on his approach to color theory;
• Toni promises to share her color palette with our Guild and we’ll publish it then.

Another of Toni’s sayings, “Order out of chaos”. Thanks, again, to Toni for her program! Some photos of Toni’s art and our program are below.

CVWG Exhibition at The Center in May and June

CVWG’s only planned 2023 exhibition “In The Garden” will be hung at The Center at Belvedere throughout May and June. A reminder for all enrolled artists that drop off is on May 1st 9:30-11:00 AM. CVWG’s leader for this exhibition is Donna Koutrakos.

A Look Ahead at Member Meeting on May 22– A Reception for CVWG’s Exhibition at The Center

A reminder that our member meeting in May will be a reception for our CVWG Exhibition. We meet at our regular time at 12:30 PM on Monday, May 22 at the Center at Belvedere in Charlottesville. As usual, we will hold a brief business meeting followed by a walk around enjoying the art of our fellow Guild members.

Member News

Member artist Peg Sheridan sent us great news:

I have just received notice that I have been awarded signature status with the Baltimore Watercolor Society mid-Atlantic chapter. This means I have met their standards for excellency in watercolor, can participate in shows for only signature members, and can sign my paintings “Peg Sheridan, BWS” in addition to my VWS status.

Be certain to congratulate Peg when you see her next!

Member artist Chee Ricketts is being featured in a solo exhibition of her paintings at Westminster Canterbury in the Pantops area of Charlottesville from May 1 to 31. If you are over in the eastern side of town, stop by to view her works.

We’d Love to Hear From You!

Drop our CVWG Webmaster an email to let everyone know what you are doing and how your artistic journey is progressing.

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

The painting at the top of this post is by artist Steve Mitchell related to Strathmore Papers’ upcoming online Workshop 2, titled “Spontaneous Watercolor Landscapes“, starting on May 1. Steve’s painting and information on Strathmore’s workshop can be viewed on our website.

Last Call for New Members’ Feature

We invite everyone who joined to date in 2023 to send us art for a special post in near future. You can simply take a photo of one of your pieces using your phone or tablet (however, please avoid doing this under fluorescent lights) to CVWG Webmaster, Mark Fitzpatrick. On behalf of our entire Guild, we look forward to seeing your beautiful work! Loook for a dedicated email in coming days.

Join Us on April 24 for Our Program Featuring Artist Toni Bragg

Plan to join us on April 24 for our meeting:

• 12:30 PM – Social Time
• 1:00 PM – Brief Business Meeting
• 1:30 PM – Start of Program with Toni Bragg
• 3:00 PM – Usual end of meeting

Our meeting will feature Warrenton artist Toni Bragg. Says Toni, of her work,

From my very first experience of water and color running freely on paper, I was captivated and exhilarated! And so began the quest of coaxing the medium into expressing my vision and my mood. I can imagine nothing more challenging and fulfilling than continuing to explore the infinite possibilities watercolor offers me. I am most inspired by its brilliant rich pure color and it’s transparent quality that can be enhanced with glazing and layering techniques, building value and luminosity into my paintings.

Toni’s website is tonibragg.com/.

Meeting details, maps, times, etc. are listed on our Meetings & Programs page.

CVWG Board Meeting

CVWG President Karen Schwenzer is calling a Board of Directors Meeting ahead of the April 24 meeting. Directors, please send any agenda items to Karen ahead of the meeting and plan to arrive before the 11:00 AM start time.

We Enjoyed a Great Half-Day Workshop with Peg Sheridan at March’s Meeting

I have to start this article somewhat in reverse…Our member artist Peg Sheridan sent in the following message to CVWG members:

Thank you to CVWG for hosting my workshop “Designing Better Watercolors: Tips on Composition” on March 27. It was a joy to work with all of you. A special thanks to those of you who worked so hard to make this workshop possible. It was fun to see the wonderful work you all did.

Peg Sheridan

Peg’s excellent workshop was reviewed by member artist Patty Richmond:

Peg handed out a list of pointers to get us started. In Peg’s experience, it is of special importance to think about composition and Value. She gave us suggestions for nine possible compositions to try.

We went back to our tables and painted the examples of different compositions using light, medium, and dark values. Peg stressed experimenting; making up your own pallets of color. She likes sedimentary colors in her landscapes which she uses often.

In the afternoon Peg did a demonstration of a barn she sees often which is close to her home. She has painted it often each time from a different angles.

Peg’s calm, helpful manner kept us all mesmerized.

Peg’s presentation was well attended by >40 members and guests. Peg’s website is at www.pegsheridan.com.

CVWG Exhibition at The Center in May and June

CVWG’s only planned 2023 exhibition “In The Garden” will be hung at The Center at Belvedere throughout May and June. A reminder for all enrolled artists that drop off is on May 1st 9:30-11:00 AM. CVWG’s leader for this exhibition is Donna Koutrakos.

Donna, her team of volunteers, and the artists have worked very hard to contribute to this non-judged, non-juried show. All Guild members should show up to this meeting to support this part of our Guild.

If you are interested in working future shows, see Karen Schwenzer or Donna Koutrakos.

A Look Ahead at Member Meeting in May– A Reception for CVWG’s Exhibition at The Center

A reminder that our member meeting in May will be a reception for our CVWG Exhibition. We meet at our regular time at 12:30 PM on Monday, May 22 at the Center. As usual, we will hold a brief business meeting followed by a walk around enjoying the art of our fellow Guild members.

Strathmore’s Workshop #2 is Starting May 1

Strathmore’s second online workshop of 2023, “”Spontaneous Watercolor Landscapes” is getting organized to start in a couple of week on May 1. See the painting at the top of this post to get a better idea as to what will be covered. Details are at this Strathmore web page. Note that you might be required to sign up using an email address but, otherwise, the workshops are free.

1st Annual Juried Show at The Arts Center at Montross

Janice, at The Arts Center at Montross— in the “northern neck” area of the state in Montross, VA,– sent us notice of an arts show they are hosting. Details for this juried show, “Animal Love“, can be viewed at their link: theartscenterofmontross.com/animal-love. Their deadline for submissions is Saturday, May 6.

Member News

Member artist Don Whitson shares more great news!

I love getting up in the morning to surprising news. “Congratulations Don, your painting “Venice Canal”, has been juried into the Society of Watercolor Artists 2023 International Exhibition. April 16 – May 21 held in Fort Worth, Texas

Don’s website is www.donwhitson-art.com.

Remember to check out our Member Gallery as new paintings have been added from member artists Carolyn Ratcliffe and others!

We’d Love to Hear From You!

Drop our CVWG Webmaster an email to let everyone know what you are doing and how your artistic journey is progressing.

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

The painting at the top of this post is by Warrenton artist Toni Bragg who will lead CVWG’s April program. Toni’s image, above, is only visible when viewed from our website.

Reminder: No Member Meeting on March 27…Workshop Only

This is a reminder that CVWG is not holding a member meeting this month. Instead, we have a special half-day workshop led by member artist Peg Sheridan. If you have a confirmed seat, you are reminded to bring your lunch and a drink as CVWG will not be providing hospitality at this workshop other than coffee, tea and water. Also bring your usual watercolor supplies for this workshop.

The workshop is fully reserved but you can contact Linda Abbey for a spot on the wait list. If you have not reserved a seat in the workshop, you can still take a seat along the outer perimeter to listen to Peg’s guidance. The workshop convenes at 10:00 AM and should end by 3:00 PM. Peg’s website is pegsheridan.com.

Attention New Members: Send Us Your Art for Our Next Post

CVWG is blessed with several new members so far in 2022. We’d like to feature your art in our next post. New member artist Steve Keach sent us this fine creation. You can simply take a photo of one of your pieces using your phone or tablet (however, please avoid doing this under fluorescent lights) to CVWG Webmaster, Mark Fitzpatrick. On behalf of our entire Guild, we look forward to seeing your beautiful work!

Looking Ahead to April’s Meeting with Artist Toni Bragg

Our next CVWG member meeting is April 24 when we’ll feature Warrenton artist Toni Bragg. Says Toni, of her work,

From my very first experience of water and color running freely on paper, I was captivated and exhilarated! And so began the quest of coaxing the medium into expressing my vision and my mood. I can imagine nothing more challenging and fulfilling than continuing to explore the infinite possibilities watercolor offers me. I am most inspired by its brilliant rich pure color and it’s transparent quality that can be enhanced with glazing and layering techniques, building value and luminosity into my paintings.

Plan to join us as we resume our regular meetings on April 24 at 12:30 PM. Look for more information in the next post. Toni’s website is tonibragg.com/.

Meeting details, maps, times, etc. are listed on our Meetings & Programs page.

We Enjoyed a Great Program by Chee Ricketts in February

Member-artist Chee Ricketts led a wonderful program at our member meeting in February. Chee’s focus was using water media on Yupo “paper”. Chee’s observations included:

• Yupo, being a plastic sheet, is non-absorbant
• It lends itself to feature more textures
• It is easy to erase mistakes…but
• It is easy to (inadvertently) erase your intended art
• You must be patient and allow your paints to dry
• It can be difficult to get detail…patience!

Chee’s presentation was well attended by >40 members and guests. Chee’s website is at cheekludtricketts.com/.

CVWG Exhibition at The Center in May and June

A reminder that CVWG is holding a member art exhibition at The Center in Charlottesville during May and June. Our Guild Exhibits page has been updated with information including entry form and labels to be placed on front and back of all submitted art. Donna Koutrakos is leading our efforts.

West Virginia Watercolor Society National Juried Exhibition: Aqueous 2023

The West Virginia Watercolor Society invites artists working in water-based media to enter its annual national juried watercolor exhibition, Aqueous 2023, May 15 – June 29, at the Chuck Mathena Center in Princeton, W.Va. Juror is Nancy Stark, AWS, NWS. At least $2,300 in awards available. West Virginia Watercolor Society members $20 per painting entry; non members $25 per painting entry. No more than two paintings may be entered per artist. Entered works must have been completed since January 2021. Entry deadline is midnight March 31, 2023. Find the show prospectus and online entry at www.wvwatercolorsociety.org/.

Strathmore’s 2023 Online Workshops Have Started

Strathmore’s first online workshop of 2023, “Drawing What You See AND Don’t See” started this past week. But, it is not too late to engage and you should be able to easily catch up with the workshop. Details are at this Strathmore web page. Note that you might be required to sign up using an email address but, otherwise, the workshops are free.

Member News

Member artist Janice “Bunny” Creasy emailed us with recommendations for our members to visit the Louisa Arts Center for the paintings by Barbara Powderly in their Gallery. Bunny also reminds us that the Louisa Arts Center is a valuable resource in our area offering several classes and workshops. Bunny is signed up for 2 of their workshops coming this March:

March 18th 2-5 PM (Saturday) $45.00 MOUNTAIN FARM IN WATERCOLOR
“Spend an afternoon exploring watercolor to create a mountain farm scene. Students will learn the basics of atmospheric perspective, creating a mood, color mixing, and mark making with watercolor. Have trouble with clouds ??? Barbara will demonstrate some techniques for them too. Work from your own photo or from one provided by Barbara.

March 25th 3-5 PM ( SATURDAY) $30- Instructor Kateryna Smith
MIMIC THE MASTERS: KLIMT PAINTING CLASS

Learn about artist Gustav Klimt, then get instruction on how to create a painting in his style. All materials provided.

We’d Love to Hear From You!

Drop our CVWG Webmaster an email to let everyone know what you are doing and how your artistic journey is progressing.