Welcome to Spring!  What?  Not yet?  We had how many inches of snow in mid April? I had to cover HOW many peony plants so they could bloom when it warmed again?  And this was the view from our front porch?

We DO live in the Midwest, where weather is likely to change in a moment and then change again shortly after.  I am hoping for warmer temps so I can watch my roses and peonies bloom and plant some herbs and tomatoes–but just not today.

            If you haven’t taken the time to read through the official WSI website lately–watercolorsocietyofindiana.org–I wish you would.  Plans are underway to make the site more interesting and accessible to members–and to give more artists a reason to join WSI.  Hopefully, we will have a place to display and market our work and workshops, and the site itself will be updated more frequently than it is now.  The Facebook page where I post articles of interest and workshops hosted by members of WSI is not meant to be a substitute for full membership in the organization, where we can enter the Member Show (coming up in May) and the Juried Show AND–this year in November–display our work at the Art Gallery of Fishers in a display of our work sponsored by the Fishers Arts Council.  Only paid members will be able to participate in these events.       

            The Daisy at the top of the page is one of the flowers of the month of April.  I love flowers–I love their shapes and the variety of colors and the veining in the leaves and the light that rests on parts of the petals. Someone asked me if I have painted a flower for each month of the year, and I have.  And then I had a good friend arrange them into one print that I could frame and give to a friend.

            Speaking of things beautiful, WSI member and Master Watercolorist Stephen Edwards is presenting a workshop on May 1.  Members get a price break.  I’m taking the workshop because (1) I have SO much to learn, and (2) No one does watercolor better than Stephen.  And if you follow him on Facebook, then you know that he’s also really funny–in a dry, image-filled way.  I’m looking forward to it.

But that’s just my opinion.

Paint beautiful things and enjoy the new birth of spring–even if it is a bit late.

Pat