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Watercolor Society of Indiana


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  • Monday, July 19, 2021 5:18 PM | Tanya Roberts (Administrator)


    When I was still teaching high school and operating on a school-year schedule (NORMAL school-year schedule, not pandemic school year schedule), the Fourth of July would roll around, and, inevitably, people would ask me, "Are you ready to go back to school?  Ready to start a new school year?"  I'd get a bit snarly when people asked me that because--Really?--it's July 4 and you want me to go back to school already?  What are you, jealous? Those days, of course, are over, but I am reminded that the warm July days are truly precious times, and we need to take the time to enjoy the  month, whether we have to go back to school or not. 

    The photo above is one I took two days ago from the window of the house we are renting on Lake Michigan in Leland, Michigan.  It's family reunion time for our small immediate family before our son and his wife leave to take a job in England.  We are enjoying our time together because it will be a while before we can do it again.  By this autumn, we will have family members on three continents!  This time is precious to us.

    What are YOU doing to conserve your precious time with people and things you love?  I brought my travel WC paints with me and some photos and some WC paper and a sketch book, and I've started to draw and prepare to paint a watercolor from a photo I took of my husband sitting on a bench on the property and looking at a sunset on the lake. (He doesn't know I took the photo).

     I am constantly impressed by the quality of work produced by our members--and everyone keeps getting better and better.  I've heard great things about the Paul Jackson workshop just completed.  Some of you have posted your paintings from the workshop on our WSI Facebook page, and the paintings are gorgeous.  I know that Jackson specializes in teaching "Dramatic Light & Luminosity in Watercolor," and from what I've seen, those of you who took the workshop learned your lessons well.

    I look forward to seeing the Juried Show, which, I am sure, will be excellent because of the talent of the artists accepted into the show.  I hope to see you there.

    Keep painting and drawing and creating.  Don't be discouraged if you didn't get into a show you entered because the entries are chosen by one judge who has very difficult decisions to make when entries are defined by available space.  I wouldn't have wanted to be Paul Jackson and judge our show!  What a difficult task.

    I wish you a lovely warm July and summer inspirations for your paintings and drawings.  Paint beautiful things that will make you (and maybe someone else) happy.

    But that's just my opinion.

    Pat

  • Tuesday, June 22, 2021 6:22 PM | John O'Connor (Administrator)

    Oops!  It's past the middle of June already, and I'm just getting around to placing my thoughts on paper to share with you.  I bet you wondered, "Where is Pat's blog for this month?  I was hoping to read it."  No?  You didn't even notice?  Well, your homework now is that you have to read it. 

    Continuing with the music from Broadway shows that has been running through my brain these past few months, June really IS "bustin' out all over."  Thank you, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Carousel.  The long winter that we thought would never end finally did.  Spring arrived.  Now summer.  Masks sometimes or not.  Sadly, over 600,000 Americans have so far lost their lives to this pandemic.  I'm grateful that I haven't.  And I know that you haven't, or you wouldn't be reading this, and I'm grateful for that, too. 

    Congratulations to those of you who entered and were accepted into the Juried Show.  I've seen the photos of the paintings online through the WSI home page, and the collection is truly gorgeous.  I can't wait to see the show itself. 

    You know what I wish one of you would do?  I wish someone would come up with a list of juried shows in Indiana and the Midwest that watercolor painters can enter.  Doesn't there have to be a list like that somewhere?  I've googled and searched but haven't found as much information as I had hoped.   

    If you live in Hamilton County, Indiana, here's a juried show you CAN enter, and your entry can be oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel--whatever your fine-art medium is.  Here's the information for you:  Watercolor/acrylic/oil artist Jerry Smith will judge the juried show, and if you'd like to see his work, here are some examples:  

    That's all for now.  I have to dismember the fresh strawberry pie I made today for my sweet husband and lovely granddaughter. 

    As always, paint beautiful things--and think loving thoughts. 

    But that's just my opinion. 

    Pat

  • Wednesday, June 16, 2021 3:11 PM | John O'Connor (Administrator)







    OK, all of you Lerner and Loewe Camelot fans, sing along with me:  “Tra la, it’s May, the lusty month of May–That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray….”  Now that we’ve come through a year and a pandemic that none of us will ever forget, I wish you a “blissfully” wonderful month of May.  Whether it’s lusty or not is really none of my business.

    For the first time in quite a while, I did not attend the Membership show and luncheon, but people who did attend tell me they had a wonderful time.  I love that Tanya sent the Juried Show entry images to all of us so we can see the work submitted even if we couldn’t be there.  What beautiful paintings from so many talented members!  Congratulations to everyone who submitted their art for taking the time during difficult times to produce such lovely work.

    There are some things that provide comfort for me during difficult times.  One of them is a loving family.  It’s nice to see when one’s children are grown that all the hard parenting work was worth it.  This parent stuff, I think, is both the most important and most difficult job I’ve ever had, and I am grateful for it. 

    My dog comforts me.  He’s a stinker sometimes, but I am the most important person in his life.  Everyone needs to be adored by someone or something, and I have my dog–and on really good days, I have my sweet husband, too. 

    And I have my room where I can go and paint.  I have everything I need there–paper, paint, space to move around, and doors that I can close when I don’t want anyone to see the mess.  I put my headphones on and listen to music or to a Podcast, and I think and work, and I enjoy the solitude.  I have a bird feeder outside my studio window, and hungry creatures take advantage of the seeds I leave for them.  If anyone tells you that you “eat like a bird,” it’s not a compliment.  Those birds at the feeder eat constantly, and I watch them as I ponder what to paint next. 

    Even in difficult times the arts bring joy to our lives–music, art, a really great movie, a wonderful book, amazing theater–all have the power to help us get through tough times, and to appreciate the good times.

    Thanks for spending a few minutes with me on this blissful May day.  Now go paint beautiful things–and know that all of this is just…

    In My Opinion

    Pat

  • Wednesday, April 14, 2021 3:14 PM | John O'Connor (Administrator)

    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

  • Monday, March 15, 2021 8:49 AM | Tanya Roberts (Administrator)


    Those of you who know me pretty well already know that I am an English major--two degrees in English I love it so much.  I'm clearly not an art major, which is one reason why I respect to a great degree the knowledge and beautiful artistry of those of you who have studied art your entire lives.

    I have to say, though, that I've always loved the process of creating art and of learning new things, and I've also included both art and music in the teaching of literature and writing in my classroom.  I included as many of the arts as I could because I think they're all related--and maybe sometime we can have coffee or tea or a glass of wine, and I can tell you how and why I think they're all related.

    This pandemic year presented me with an interesting opportunity.  I received a call from a former student living in Maryland who said he was looking for a writing teacher to work with his daughter since they were teaching and learning at home, and his daughter--who is ten--loves to write.  My student asked if I would work with her this school year.  I was intrigued. I really like kids, and I miss working with them, so I said "yes."

    My student--Ashley is her name--is really remarkably bright.  Her grandmother is an artist, her mother is a musician, and Ashley plays piano beautifully, and she also composes music.  I've heard her play.  She is amazing.  Pretty good writer, too, for a ten-year-old.

    You're probably wondering why--if this is my blog post--I've placed a photo of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" at the top of this page.  It's because "Starry Night" is our latest writing assignment.  I say "our" because when I assign a written piece to Ashley, I write, too.  "Starry Night" is one of Ashley's favorite paintings, so for the last week or so (I meet with her on Zoom twice a week for about 30 minutes each time), we've been writing about our personal responses to the Van Gogh painting.  This week we shared what we wrote and talked about how each sharing was different from the others (her mother joins us, too, in the reading and writing).  It was interesting and fun.  We decided that we would stay with our responses to the painting one more time, BUT the second sharing had to be different from the first.  The first time I wrote about what I see as the sadness and turmoil in the painting, Ashley wrote about color and movement, and her mother wrote about losing herself as she moved into a closer study of the painting.

    My written contribution this time is a poem--and I tried to write it as a painter.  I don't share my poems very often, but I'll share this one because I think you'll "get it."

    But that's just my opinion.  Paint beautiful things.

    Pat

    An Artist's Choices

     

    Cobalt, Cerulean, Quinacridone Gold

    Van Gogh's favorite colors are a joy to behold.

    Aureolin, Alizarin, Titanium White

    Are all colors he uses to capture the night.

     

    The mountains he covers in Ultramarine.

    The lower hills--Cobalt--complete the scene.

    The cedar that fills the left of the view

    Is painted in Sepia, Turquoise, deep blue.

     

    The stars and the moon, they first catch the eye.

    The swirls and the whites make us wonder why

    He chose so much movement and so much light

    Perhaps the night sky needed more bright.

     

    The point of it all, or so it seems

    Is to capture the night sky in yellow and creams

    And blues and purples and all colors true

    Which show to the viewer night's beautiful view.

  • Thursday, February 18, 2021 8:48 AM | Tanya Roberts (Administrator)


    T.S.Eliot, in his poem, "The Wasteland," says that April is the cruelest month.  I say, NO WAY, T.S.  February is the cruelest month, and February, 2021, proves it in terms of the weather.  The good thing about February, though, is that it's also the shortest month.  Soon it will be onto March and some early spring days, and we may even be warm again.  Someday.

    I see by the art shows to which many of our members have been accepted that at least some of you have been painting your way through the pandemic.  Good for you!!  From your photos posted on various FB sites, it looks to me like you've produced gorgeous and intriguing work.  Congratulations.

    I want to remind those of you who attended Dale Popovich's first workshop that Dale presents the second of his online workshops on February 27.  If you attended the first workshop, bring your work back for the second workshop where Dale will critique the work you have done. For more information, go here:

    https://www.watercolorsocietyofindiana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Dale-Popovich-Workshop-Flyer-2.pdf

    Another bit of news for WSI artist members:  We have been invited by the Fishers Arts Council to exhibit our work at the Gallery at City Hall in Fishers during the month of November, 2021.  This is not a Juried Exhibit, but it is an opportunity to showcase our organization and the extremely talented artists who belong to our organization.  The exhibit will open on November 4 and close on November 27, and your work may be for sale.  You will hear more about entering work in this November exhibit in further information you will receive from WSI.

    I'm tired of looking at snow, so I think I will gather the brightest paint colors I have and create something that reminds me of spring.  I'll let you know if I'm successful.

    As the year continues, I wish you health and happiness.  Get the vaccine.  Wear a mask.  Keep a safe distance.  Enjoy being with people who love you.  And know that, sooner or later, we WILL be able to meet and talk and hug again.

    But that's just my opinion.

    Paint beautiful things.

    Pat

  • Tuesday, January 12, 2021 8:46 AM | Tanya Roberts (Administrator)


    Happy New Year!!!!  I posted a Bitmoji instead of a painting this time because it's winter, and I don't paint "winter" (because I really don't like winter), and I figured it was too early for a beach painting.  But maybe not.  Maybe a beach painting next month.

    Speaking of painting--I would love to see what you--fellow painters--have been working on during this long, long, long pandemic.  Have you created a masterpiece?  I'd share mine, but I don't have one.  Yet.  But I'm thinking about it.  You can't post your work as yet on the WSI website (although that is something planned for the future), but I can post your masterpiece for you on the FB page if you post there.  Or you can send me one of your masterpieces via email.  You have my email.  It's in the membership book. 

    In addition, have you made any new art discoveries during this time?  New paints?  Paper?  Canvases?  New organizations?  I'd love to hear about them, and I'm sure everyone else would, too.  I belong to a Facebook group called "Watercolor Techniques and Tips," which my friend John DeCoursey recommended, and I enjoy hearing from other painters and seeing what they're doing.  It's a closed group, (like our FB page) and you have to be approved to join, but it's fun to hear about what others are creating.  There are over 20,000 members from all over the world!!  Look it up on Facebook.

    Speaking of joining, have you checked out Dale Popovich's two-day February Zoom workshop?  The fee is reasonable, and his work is gorgeous.  Here is the link:

    https://www.watercolorsocietyofindiana.org/event/dale-popovich-virtual-workshop-day-1-via-zoom/

    $100 (for members; $150 for non-members) for a two-day Zoom workshop with Dale sounds like a really good deal to me.  Even if we can't GO to a workshop we can still learn from the best. 

    Another "bestie" artist who has done workshops here in Indy for WSI is Don Andrews.  He's offering a three-hour webinar on January 26, and the webinar will remain available for one month so people can go back and work at their own pace.  The cost?  $35.  I signed up.  I've taken classes with Andrews before, and really enjoyed them, so I decided that I'd spend three+ more hours with him.  Here's a link:

    https://www.donandrewsstudio.com/skyscapes-zoom.html/

    Just my thoughts as we begin a new year, which I certainly hope will be SO much better than the previous year.  I wish you health, happiness, and masterpieces in 2021.

    But that's just my opinion.

    Pat

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