Category Archives: Resources for Members

Art News, Call for Entries, Classes/Workshops, Local Events, Member news, Monthly Meetings, Resources for Members, Shows

Central Virginia Watercolor Guild — Spring is Popping!

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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

Tranquil Waters by Peg Sheridan

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

Winter Landscape by Steve Keach

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

Endless Possibilities by 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.

Administration, Art News, Call for Entries, Classes/Workshops, Local Events, Member news, Monthly Meetings, Resources for Members, Shows

Central Virginia Watercolor Guild — Getting Into the Swing of 2023!

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

The painting, above at the top of this post is by member artist Matalie Deane entitled, “Family Love“. ..a perfect topic for this February post! This image only is visible when this post is viewed from our website. So, check out Matalie’s creation!

Member Directory is Updated

A reminder that we publish our Member Directory on this site to allow you, our members, to reach out to others in our Guild. The Directory can be found on this page but, for our mutual safety and security, is locked behind a password. All members should receive the password in a dedicated email from our Webmaster. It will also be announced at our February member meeting. Finally, if forgotten, you can email our Guild Webmaster, Mark Fitzpatrick, at cvwgwebmaster@gmail.com.

Have Yet to Renew or Join?

Please contact CVWG’s Treasurer, Robin Kuzen, for joining or renewing your membership.

February 27 Member Meeting with a Program by Chee Ricketts

CVWG’s next member meeting is set for Monday, February 27. Member artist Chee Kludt Rickets will lead our program, “Interactive YUPO“, an exploration and demonstration of creating water media using the slippery and elusive “plastic paper”. Chee’s programs for us are always interesting so be sure to join us.

CVWG will supply the Yupo, spritz water bottles, and plastic table covers.

Members should bring:

  • Watercolor paint in a small palette
  • Small water container
  • A few brushes
  • A clipboard or other mount to put the paper on
  • Q-tips
  • Paper toweling
  • Imagination and Creativity

While Chee will bring along samples of her own works, she invites all attendees to please bring along any finished Yupo paintings and plan to share your experiences. In Chee’s words,, “This seems like a good opportunity for sharing!”

See the Member News section, below, for insight to Chee’s next workshop offering.

The Challenge! theme for the meeting is “All You Need is Love”.

Meeting Agenda

We meet at 12:30 for social time, start the Member Meeting to review Guild business at 1:00 PM, and start the Program by 1:30 PM. See our Member Meetings & Programs page for details. Contact our Vice President and Director of Programs, Linda Abbey, for questions or comments.

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.

January Meeting with Bill Snow

Here are some photos from our January meeting featuring Bill Snow discussing how to prepare your art for showing.

Opportunities

  • CVWG’s brass hanging system that was used in our Courthouse exhibits is up for grabs. We have a non-CVWG member interested, but if you want it instead, see Karen Schwenzer at the end of the meeting.
  • Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge is still seeking an in-house watercolor art teacher. This is a paid, independent-contractor position. Contact Sherrie Sykes, (434) 972-3248
  • Sentara Martha Jefferson Art Committee is seeking artists to exhibit in one of the three spaces in the hospital for 2 months at a time. Contact Matalie Deane, (434) 981-4232.

Updating Our Member Gallery…A 2023 Focus

Thank you to a number of CVWG members for sending in paintings to refresh our Member Gallery. Due to my personal travel for most of January and February, I am delinquent in getting your images posted. But I will be getting those uploaded in the coming days and will comment in a future post.

In addition to Matalie Deane’s art at the top of this post, here are just 2 of several I have received:

by Jane Matthews
by Patty Richmond

Regardless of whether you already have art displayed there, please send a recent piece so your artist friends can see how you/ve progressed. Send all art to CVWG Webmaster, Mark Fitzpatrick.

Member News

Member artist Chee Kludt Ricketts, in addition to leading our February program, has announced her next workshop(s) on Creating Effective and Exciting Compositions in Watercolor”. See her announcement, below.

crickets_-creating-exciting-and-effective-compositions-in-watercolor-iiDownload

Member artist Peg Sheridan, in addition to leading our March program, has announced a workshop “Plein Air Watercolor Painting Workshop” in western Virginia at the Fort Lewis Lodge. The workshop is June 5-8 but, as I am tardy in getting this announcement out to you, signup is now. To register for the workshop, you must first call Beverley Street Studio School will then make your own reservation at the Fort Lewis Lodge.

psheridan_fort-lewis-lodge-watercolor-workshopDownload

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.

Art News, Classes/Workshops, Member news, Monthly Meetings, Resources for Members

Remembering Edith Arbaugh in the Middle of Fall 2022

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

In Memoriam of Edith Arbaugh

It is with heavy hearts, once again, that we learned of the passing of another CVWG member. Edith Arbaugh, pictured at the top of this post, shared the distinction of being one of the founding members of our Central Virginia Watercolor Guild. Along with Marion Hansen and Patricia Travers, she nurtured our Guild into the success it is today.

You can read Edith’s obituary at this link.

Our October 24 Meeting, Program, & Challenge!

Our next meeting is Monday, October 24 at our usual time and location as posted on our Members, Meetings, & Programs page. We gather for social time at 12:30 PM, start the meeting by 1:00 PM, and usually end by 3:00 PM.

Member Artist Linda Abbey has graciously agreed to lead our Program on the practice of Drawing Portraits. As Linda says,

I will be showing how to draw a portrait. People should bring a sketching pencil and/or charcoal to draw with. That’s all the materials you need to bring with you.

I will supply paper for each artist, and an eraser, some additional pencils/charcoal, paper towels, and cleaning supplies at each table. Unfortunately, we will not have time for painting watercolor at this meeting so, please leave those supplies at home.

I look forward to our drawing together.

The Challenge! topic for this meeting is Children. Bring your art in any media to share begore the meeting and when called during the meeting.

Slate of Officers for 2023

At the meeting on October 24, we will be voting to elect our CVWG officers for 2023. The following member artists have agreed to serve:

President – Karen Schwenzer
VP/Programs – Linda Abbey
Secretary – Jane Williamson
Treasurer – Robin Kusen
Past President – Donna Koutrakos

The Guild still needs members to get involved for our committees for next year. 2023 program year. Please consider what you can do to help the officers, above, provide interesting content and meetings in 2023.

Strathmore Online Workshop #4 Starts Nov 7

.Strathmore, known for their broad offering of quality art papers, is soon wrapping up their 2023 online workshops. Their Workshop #4, entitled “Art Journaling 101”, kicks off on November 7.

Astute CVWG members should recall that CVWG hosted Rhonda Roebuck at our March 2022 meeting where she demonstrated Art Journaling. Also, our August program featured member artist John Hancock demonstrating similar techniques in his program, Urban Sketching.

You can read all about Strathmore’s workshop including the materials list and how to register at this link. The workshop is free but requires you to open an account using your email address.

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.

Art News, Call for Entries, Classes/Workshops, Member news, Monthly Meetings, Resources for Members, Shows

Remembering While Looking Forward

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

In Memoriam of Marion Hansen

It is with heavy hearts that we learned of the passing of Marion Hansen, pictured at the top of this post, on August 2. Marion was one of the founders of Central Virginia Watercolor Guild as recalled by member-artist, Pam Roland,

The year was 1991 when three bold artists– Marion Hansen, Edith Arbaugh, and Patricia Travers– sitting in a little room at the McGuffey Art Center wanted to create a way for people living in central Virginia to study, learn and grow in the skills of watercolor. The new group wanted to support the Virginia Watercolor Society, established in 1979 as a state-wide organization, but to focus on education and growth of artists in the Charlottesville area. The Central Virginia Watercolor Guild (CVWG) was born. The group would operate as an educational non-profit, meet monthly, (except December). Six people signed up right away.

With our present membership count at 74, CVWG has enjoyed great success from such humble beginnings. Thank you, Marion– and Edith and Patricia– for your vision and leadership!

You can read Marion’s obituary at this link.

August 22 Program

Our meeting on Monday, August 22, returns to our usual time as posted on our Members, Meetings, & Programs page. Our Challenge! topic for the month is Surprise!— bring your art in any media– while our program will feature member-artist John Hancock focusing on Urban Sketching. So, bring your sketch books, sketching pencils and pens, and portable watercolors to learn from John. You can find John’s professional website and workshop offerings at johnahancock.com.

Looking for Volunteers!

CVWG, YOUR Guild, still needs a few members to get involved for our 2023 program year. There are a number of opportunities for you to apply your talents. There are a few long termers that can help you transition into a role. Our 2022 Guild Leaders page lists our CVWG Board positions and our Directors for the current year. Several of these leaders cannot continue into 2023. Please consider what you can do and reach out to one of our current Directors!

Call for Artists– Louisa Arts Center (LAC) Purcell Gallery

The Louisa Art Center Purcell Gallery invites us to participate in their upcoming open show.  LAC’s Show of Shows will be curated by the talented artist, Armand Cabrera. This is a wonderful opportunity to share your artwork in the gallery and meet other creatives in the community. All submissions are due on September 17th from 9am-11am. Please note the recent changes to our submission guidelines. We request that all art that is for sale, be photographed prior to submitting. For this show only- no floral work will be accepted.

Our contact at LAC’s Purcell Gallery is Heather Mechler-Fickes, Show Manager at email: louisaartscentergallery@gmail.com.

LAC’s application for submissions is provided, below, for you to download, complete, and submit

.

lac-gallery-showofshowsflyer_acbioDownload

Member News

Member-artist Don Whitson emails us:

I’m honored to say that I’ve been juried into the Southwestern Watercolor Societies 2022 Exhibition to be held at Art Gallery Pure in Dallas, Texas. September 5 – October 1. Many thanks to juror Ted Nuttall for choosing my painting. They received 299 entries from 16 states with 82 selected.

Don’s website is donwhitson-art.com.

Other Art News and Announcements

CVWG friend and supporter, Catherine Hillis sent us breaking news involving her:

I’ve been working with some very nice folks out of Luray, VA on a spring 2023 workshop, Painting the Blue Ridge, a Field Guide to Plein Air Painting in collaboration with the Shenandoah Creates arts community. Says Catherine,

The workshop will be held at a beautiful ranch in the heart of the Shenandoah that serves as a wedding venue/ we’ll have our own private chef/ all rooms, food and tuition are included and the price is reasonable/ just 3 days of nothing but painting/ and getting into the hot tub every evening overlooking the mountains and the stars/learn how to paint mountains, rivers and broad landscapes/ there’s nothing out there but mountains, the farm, the animals and the Shenandoah River – I know I can’t wait!

Please check out the website and reserve your place. Again, space is limited.

Catherine is finally moving into her studio space at 1517 Princess Anne St, Fredericksburg, VA 22401. You can check out Catherine’s paintings, classes, and workshops at her professional site at catherinehillis.com.

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.

Art News, Classes/Workshops, Local Events, Member news, Monthly Meetings, Resources for Members

A New Art Venue and Meetings in April & May

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

A New Art Venue in Charlottesville

The proprietress of Atlas Coffee, Mimi Fitzpatrick (yes, there is a connection to CVWG’s webmaster!), tells us she has wall space for ~9 paintings for monthly shows featuring our member-artists. Mimi has many artists wanting to show in the shop but wanted to reach out to CVWG members.

Mimi is open to single or multi-artist shows. Mimi’s asks that you not have eyelet screws projecting from the rear of the frame that might mar the walls. But, otherwise, you are free to frame, glaze, and hang as you want. She will work with you along the way.

Atlas Coffee is located in Charlottesville’s southwestern Fontaine neighborhood near the intersection of Fontaine and Jefferson Park Avenues just south of the UVA football stadium; see the website for a map and driving directions. This area of Charlottesville is heavily travelled by UVA students and their families whom are frequent customers. Email Mimi if interested.

Guild Meetings

A reminder that we are back to our monthly in-person meetings. GVWG’s Vice President and Programs Director, Karen Schwenzer, says:

I am very excited about our upcoming CVWG programs at our monthly meeting at the Church of Our Savior. My enthusiasm is shared by the guest artists coming to CVWG.

You can find details for our entire 2022 lineup on our Meetings & Programs web page.

April 25 Meeting

We welcome back water media artist Karen K. Rosasco of Waynesboro, Virginia. Karen is a juried member of the American Watercolor Society, a generous art educator, and a successful, awarded, collected, and published artist. In her current series of work, Karen is using a variety of watermedia in layers to achieve a highly textural and dynamic presentation. But don’t let all of her accolades deter you from participating in April’s program. Please bring one unfinished watermedia painting for Karen to critique.

The Challenge! topic for April is “Memories”.

May 23 Half-Day Workshop (No Meeting!)

The May 23 Meeting is special in that there will NOT be a regular CVWG meeting. Instead, artist Robin Poteet, of Salem Virginia, will lead a half-day workshop. The workshop starts at 11:00 AM and requires pre-enrollment and a special fee to help cover the Guild’s costs. Robin will start with a demonstration then transition later to table-by-table guidance and discussions.

Space for this workshop is limited and there may not be any remaining openings. That said, if you are interested in attending just the demonstration, plan to arrive by 11:00 for Robin’s demonstration exploring darks, shadows, and whites in watercolor painting.

Note, again, that we will not hold the traditional CVWG meeting in May.

Strathmore Online Workshop 2 is Starting May 2

Strathmore continues to offer free online workshops for water media arts. Their next workshop in 2022 starts on May 2 and is entitled “Joyful Watercolor – Finding Your Style” by instructor Shayda Campbell. Disclaimer: Attending a Strathmore online workshop is free but requires you to register your name and email address and you may receive their email solicitations.

Member News

Member-artist Juliette Swenson let us know that she has paintings being shown at Jefferson/Madison Regional Library’s Northside Library. If you happen to find yourself on the north side of Charlottesville around the Rio Rd corridor, stop by and view her works.

Member-artist Don Whitson emails us:

I have recently been blessed in my artistic pursuits:

I have been juried into the Virginia Watercolor Society Exhibition to be held at the Shenandoah Valley Art Center in Waynesboro. Also, I’ve been juried into the Georgia Watercolor Society National Exhibition. Plus, I received notification that I won an award at the Southern Watercolor Society Exhibition.

You can catch up with Don on his website at www.donwhitson-art.com. We continue to wish the best possible success for Don and for all our CVWG artists.


Member-artist Linda Suomi Bethke writes:

Artist Nance Stamper and I are having a three-month show at Cunningham Creek Winery. We hope you can come see the show and enjoy a wonderful Virginia spring day with good wine and art!

Note that the painting at the top of this blog is one of Linda’s original watercolors.

We’d Love to Hear From You!

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

Administration, Art News, Classes/Workshops, Member news, Monthly Meetings, Resources for Members

CVWG is Sorry to Cancel Jan 24 Member Meeting

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

Cancelled– CVWG Member Meeting on January 24

As previewed in our last posting, the COVID-19 virus and its variants continue to exhibit high infection rates. Our CVWG Board of Directors, out of an abundance of caution, have decided to cancel the January 24 CVWG member meeting. CVWG President, Donna Koutrakos, notified our members in an email earlier this week.

Next Member Meeting on February 28 at 12:30 PM

The nexct member meeting will be on February 28. This is still being planned for in-person at our usual time– 12:30 pm gathering and social time followed by the meeting at 1:00 pm– and place– the Fellowship Hall behind Church of Our Savior on Rio Rd in Charlottesville. See our Meetings page for more information.

The monthly Challenge! theme is “Wind, rain, snow…all are one”. We have been fortunate to be able to reschedule member-artist Jane Skaftke, Jane will be addressing a common problem area for so many of us, Negative Painting Techniques. You can view the full year of meetings, programs, and Challenge! topics on our Meetings page.

ArtTutor.com Site May Be Shutting Down

Member and Membership Chair, Rosemary Connelly, writes:

I just got an email saying the online UK art site, Art Tutor.com, has to shut down at the end of March. That’s too bad!

A quick visit to the site doesn’t give any insight or outlook. Having visited and been a student of the site many times, I agree with Rosemary, they will be missed!

Member News

We received wonderful news from a long time friend and member, Donna Brune:

I have rejoined CVWG. I have enjoyed the newsletters and decided I missed being a member. Living in Northern Va, I won’t be able to attend many meetings but I hope to come to a few when the days get longer.

If anyone cares to see what I have been doing in the past few years, here is a link to my page on the Rappahannock fall art tour. https://fallarttour.org/studios/donna-brune/. This tour is held each year on the first weekend in Nov., usually. Each artist submits a dozen images of their work to go on their page of the website. All of the paintings shown on my page were completed in 2021.

The tour in 2021 was very successful for most artists. Quite a lot of art was sold throughout the 2 days of the tour. People were so happy to get out in the country and we had a large attendance both days.

Given our recent heavy snows and cold weather, Donna’s painting on her website, entitled “Afternoon Delight“, shown at the top of this post, seemed like a good omen to share.

Apologies to member-artist Jane Matthews for getting the following news out later than we’d hoped:

Several of my paintings will be hanging in the Northside Library for the month of January.

We still have the final week of January to swing by that branch, located on Rio Rd just to the west of US Rt2 29 north of Charlottesville.

It has been awhile since we heard from member-artist Susan Crave Rosen but she seems to have kept busy and sends the following:

I am teaching a two day workshop at Beverley Street Studio School in March on the 26th and 27th. It will be an introduction to Gel Plate Printing, which I use to make collage papers for my mixed media work. I am team teaching with Chris Watts who is a painter and printmaker and uses the gel plate to work towards finished monoprints. Go to the website www.bssschool.org to see a full description of the workshop.

We’d Love to Hear From You!

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