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.

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

Join Us at Our July 25 Evening Open House

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

Our July 25 Meeting is an Evening Open House

A reminder that CVWG’s July 25 meeting is an Evening Open House. Instead of our regular meeting time that afternoon, we are gathering between 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM. Please invite your friends, spouse, sibling, family, colleagues or anyone who you think might enjoy our program.

As always, we meet in the Fellowship Hall behind the Church of Our Saviour on Rio Rd in Charlottesville. Our Meetings, Programs, and Challenge! web page has the address and a map to help guide you.

The schedule for our meeting is

  • 5:00 -5:30 PM Set Up
  • 5:30 -6:00 PM Social Time
  • 6:00 – 6:30 PM Business meeting
  • 6:30-7:30 PM Amy Shawley Paquette Watercolor Demonstration
  • 7:30-8:00 PM Q & A
  • 8:00-8:30 PM Break down

July 25 Program

Our program for our July 25 Evening Open House is “A Watercolor Demonstration” by guest artist Amy Shawley Paquette. Amy is an award-winning visual artist whose painting, illustration, and jewelry is inspired by the natural world. Her work incorporates fauna, flora, landscapes, and textures she has experienced during her travels and daily adventures in the countryside. At our Evening Open House, she will demonstrate an avian watercolor. Amy’s professional website can be found at amyshawleypaquette.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. Says CVWG’s Vice President and Director of Programs Karen Schwenzer:

I love doing Program, but I just can’t do Program and take over as President in Jan 2023, as I have promised Donna Koutrakos. If someone else is interested in being President, than I can stay on for Program. The President runs 10 monthly meetings (Jan-Oct), interacts with the wonderful people at COOS, calls and runs Board meetings 3-4 times a year. Most other CVWG work is done by the Board in committees. These are people you see every month at our meetings. I want to see your name on this list next year.

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!

June 27 Program was “Moving water” by Peg Sheridan

The program at our June 27 Member Meeting was “Moving Water” by member artist Peg Sheridan. Peg shared tips on how to paint reflections in a lake and riffles in a river. Her first tip was was to plan your colors and your composition before you paint. Do thumb nail sketches and you will have better results.

Peg will teach a class in August at the Shenandoah Art Center and will take a group to Maine in the fall. Check out her webpage for more detail as well as a listing of her workshops.

CVWG Members in Virginia Watercolor Society at Shenandoah Arts Center

Several CVWG members’ work are on display in the Virginia Watercolor Society (VWS) show currently running at the Shenandoah Valley Arts Center (SVAC) in Waynesboro. From top to bottom, they are by Bill Snow, Chee Ricketts, Marcy Springett, and Peg Sheridan.

In addition, the following members have pictures on display: Chris Rich, Joy Tartter, Don Whitson, Linda Verhagen, Jane Skafte, and Karen Schwartz. A sharp eye also noticed paintings by former CVWG members and friends Trish Crowe, Brenda Hounshell, and Robin Poteet.

Says Rosemary Connelly,

It’s a wonderful show! If you haven’t visited SVAC before, it’s a great introduction to this art space. The VWS exhibit covers two floors and spills over into corridors, staircases and the gift shop. In addition, doors to resident artist studios are open, so you can enjoy those areas as well.

On a personal note, we enjoyed an excellent lunch at Heritage on Main. Also on Main Street there’s the delightful Stella, Bella and Lucy’s fine cafe. You have until September 23 to get over to Waynesboro and see the show. Why not make a day of it?

Annual “Paint the Towne Greene” Event & Show

The Art Guild of Greene is having their annual Plein Air event on Saturday, October 1st. The invitation can be viewed, downloaded, and printed using the link, below.

2022 Paint the Towne Greene BrochureDownload

We hope you can join us or even register to participate. Feel free to share the invitation with your friends.

Our Featured Painting

The painting at the top of this posting is from August 2015. Unfortunately, we have lost the details as to its artist or title. If you know anything about this painting, we’d like to hear from you.

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, Monthly Meetings

A Correction to the 2 Challenge! Themes for June 27 Meeting

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

The Correct Challenge! Themes for June Meeting

Please forgive the errant guidance in our earlier post. The two Challenge! paintings will be May and June’s themes. Member and guests should bring 2 paintings inspired by our themes:

MonthTheme
May Challenge!Shoes
June Challenge!A Faraway Place

We will still have our Challenge! on the theme of “Flowers” at our July evening meeting. Again, our apologies!

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, Member news, Monthly Meetings

A Last Minute Change for Monday’s Meeting!!

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

Two Challenge! Paintings This Month

We apologize for putting this on you at the last minute but we are advancing July’s Challenge! paintings into June. This means that members and guests should plan to bring 2 paintings inspired by our themes:

MonthTheme
June Challenge!A Faraway Place
July Challenge!Favorite Flowers…in a vase

Our July meeting is going to be a bit different (see below) and we feel it is best to bring the Challenge! into this month.

Speaking of Our Meeting on June 27…

A reminder that we are back to our monthly in-person meetings. Our next meeting is on June 27 with a program by member-artist Peg Sheridan entitled “Creating Water Features In Your Paintings” .

We meet at 12:30 PM for social time, start our business meeting by 1:00 PM, begin the program by 1:30 PM, and end around 3:00 PM. Members and guests are welcome!!

You can find details for our entire 2022 lineup along with location details and a map on our Meetings & Programs web page.

… and July 25

A reminder that our July 25 member meeting is going to be something out of the ordinary for our guild. This special event is going to be an evening meeting with artist Amy Shawley Paquette entitled “Summer Evening Soiree“.

Note the special time: 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM. The venue is our usual; we will still meet in the Fellowship Hall at the Church of Our Saviour on Rio Road in Charlottesville. Address and a map to aid you are located on our Meetings and Programs web page.

This event is planned in the evening in hopes that non-member guests and artists might attend. Please invite a guest to meet the Guild.

Member News

Member-artist Susan Crave Rosen sent us her latest news:

I am overjoyed as I just learned I won a Purchase Award for my painting “Puzzle” at the VMRC Annual Art Exhibition. The show will be there for the month at the Park Gables Main Street Gallery, VMRC, 1491 Virginia Avenue, Harrisonburg.

Be sure to congratulate Susan when you have the opportunity.

Our Featured Painting

Apologies to the artist as we have lost the title and credit for the wonderful painting shown at the top of this post. The guild has a number of paintings by our member-artists in our media collection that we like to feature from time to time. If you are the artist who created this, please send an email to our webmaster and we’ll provide credit in a future post.

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, Shows

Here Comes Summer!!

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

With Spring 2022– seemingly a cooler and wetter spring than normal?– mostly behind us, we can now prepare for the coming summer heat!

May’s Workshop was a Success!

Our May 23 member meeting featured a half-day workshop by artist Robin Poteet entitled “Preserving Whites and Demystifying Shadow“. The program was organized by member-artist Karen Schwenzer, our Vice President and Director of Programs.

Two of our member-artists sent in their personal observations and photos:

Having “white” in our art is extremely important when painting with watercolor but it can be difficult to achieve. Robin gave three methods: use the white of the paper, use masking fluid or frisket, or use white gouache. Robin demonstrated all three methods and gave us pointers as she painted using the reference photos.

After the demonstration we had a short lunch break and them we all painted. We could us the pictures Karen sent or any other picture we brought. Robin came around to all the tables and gave pointers to each of us.

The last part of the class was a critique. We spread all the paintings on her table and she critiqued each one, giving us individual pointers as to what we did right or wrong.

Thanks to Karen for organizing this marvelous workshop filled with creativity and camaraderie.

Member-artist Patty Richmond

We had a great workshop in May! Robin Poteet made a good presentation/demonstration on “Saving the Whites” and “Making Dark Darks”. Then she came around to each table, encouraging us to try the different techniques. She ended by reviewing a piece of art from each attendee and asking the questions “What did you learn?” and “What would you do differently next time?”

Member-Artist Rosemary Connelly

Our Next Guild Meeting is June 27

A reminder that we are back to our monthly in-person meetings. Our next meeting is on June 27 with a program by member-artist Peg Sheridan entitled “Creating Water Features In Your Paintings” and our Challenge! theme is “A Faraway Place“. We meet at 12:30 PM for social time, start our business meeting by 1:00 PM, begin the program by 1:30 PM, and end around 3:00 PM. Members and guests are welcome!!

You can find details for our entire 2022 lineup along with location details and a map on our Meetings & Programs web page.

CVWG’s Courthouse Exhibit is Changing on June 20

A reminder that our Courthouse Exhibit team is changing out the paintings on June 20. Drop off/pick up 10 am to 11am on the East Jefferson side of the courthouse. Linda Abbey is one of our Directors for these exhibits; contact her for information. Further guidance is provided on our Ongoing Courthouse Exhibits page.

Louisa Arts Center Exhibition

Nicole Copeland, of the Louisa Arts Center (https://louisaarts.org/) sent us notice of their current exhibit, “In Space and Time“.

Calendar of Events

June 10, 6-8 PM: Opening Reception

July 15: Show Closes

Soon-to-be-Member News

All of you must be busy painting as we have not heard from any member-artists these past few weeks! Please keep feeding us your news.

We have a new artist in our area. Catherine Hillis writes:

Greetings! I’m a nationally awarded watercolorist and recently moved to Locust Grove, VA. I’ve been working in the national plein air circuit for several years and have earned 8 national signatures throughout the country for my studio work.

I’m going to be teaching classes in the Fredericksburg area beginning this summer. I’m offering both online and in person. My website is www.catherinehillis.com and workshop information is at https://www.catherinehillis.com/workshops.

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.

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.

Combining Camaraderie with Creativity