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  • March 13, 2023 10:10 AM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)

    LONGTIME HOUSTON ARTIST AND ART INSTRUCTOR WILL DEMONSTRATE AT APRIL MEETING

    SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2 – 3:30 P.M.

    Patrick Palmer has been teaching painting at the Glassell School of Art since 1992 and has been the dean since 2010. Throughout his 40-plus years of painting, Palmer placed works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and many other museum and university collections. 

    Patrick will demonstrate the age-old aleatory practice dating to Da Vinci and beyond. The aleatory manner uses acrylic based washes on paper, an opaque solution that achieves transparency due to the high ratio of water to pigment, often 95% or more.  Patrick will show how to use this tradition of aleatory mark-making to randomly uncover marks to determine not only the composition but a representational subject matter, in his case, the head.

    ____________________________________

    The Theme for the April Show is "Borders and Fences".

    Click HERE for the Prospectus.

    Register Here:  April Exhibit - Registration

  • March 13, 2023 10:08 AM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)

    Each month, we need a volunteer to staff the Gallery on the 2nd Saturday. The volunteer will greet the public, answer the phone, and ensure the gallery is open to the general public.  The hours are 10 am - 3 pm. If you can help out, please sign up for months when you are available. Sign up by clicking HERE

  • March 13, 2023 10:05 AM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)

    Be a WAS-H Ambassador!

    The Menil Collection’s second annual Neighborhood Community Day will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023.

    WAS-H will participate again this year, but we need volunteers! We will have two tables, paint, paper, and brushes for the public to experience the joy of watercolor.

    If you like to talk about WAS-H, help others use watercolor, and have the patience to also help children try the medium (lots of children attend this event), we could use you!

    About the event:

    Enjoy a fun afternoon of art, music, poetry, and family activities in celebration of the museum’s vibrant neighborhood. 

    Participants include:

    • DACAMERA
    • Houston Ctr Photography 
    • Inprint
    • The Menil Collection 
    • Rothko Chapel
    • Watercolor Art Society Writers in the Schools (WITS)

    To learn more about the event, click: Menil Community Day

     To be a WAS-H Ambassador,

    click HERE

  • March 13, 2023 10:01 AM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)

    IWE Recrating Volunteers Needed

    Friday, March 31

    We can use a few more hands to help with the re-crating of IWE paintings on Friday, March 31. To sign up, click on the link below:

    Sign up HERE

  • March 13, 2023 9:59 AM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)

    New Members Orientation

    Thursday, March 23

    from 10:30 am - Noon

    While this session is designed for new members, everyone is welcome to attend. There is no fee, but online registration is required. 

    Click HERE to register

  • March 13, 2023 9:55 AM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)

    By Karen Stopnicki, WAS-H President

    Dear WAS-H Friends,

    The International Watermedia Exhibition (IWE) is now on display in our gallery – it is truly fabulous! My heart is full with the dedication from the many volunteers, the hard work and talent of the many artists in the exhibition and perseverance of our few members recently awarded Signature and Elite Signature Status. The proverb “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child,” certainly applies to our annual IWE as we have a village making our events happen.


    Our March General Meeting included a wonderful demo with award-winning artist Brenda Swenson, was followed by our IWE Awards Ceremony, and then capped with a beautiful reception to celebrate the IWE. The exhibition will be on display until the end of March. Please make plans to come by and see it in person, it really is spectacular!

    Looking to April, our General Meeting will be on April 2nd. Our election of officers is at that meeting, so it is really important to come and cast your vote. Patrick Palmer, well-known artist and Dean of Glassell Studio School, will be our demo artist. Our Gallery Exhibit theme is Fences and Borders (Real or Metaphorical) with juror Diane Brahm.

    The Awards and Reception will follow our General Meeting. Registration for the April 1st Paint-In with Kat Rodgers is waitlist only.

    We have a number of classes on the schedule for April and May -- see our full class list HERE. Registering for a class is a great way to enjoy the camaraderie of other artists and enhance your artistic skills. Our standard events such as Open Studio, Model Lab and Senior Group are going strong and welcome you to join in. 

    I want to extend a special thanks to Donna Van Fleet, our Vice President who graciously agreed to Chair the IWE event, and key volunteer leaders Patty Armstrong, Louise Bateman, Kathleen Church, Darlene Dittoe, Mike Doan, Paula Fowler, Carla Gauthier, Beth Graham, Maureen Lewis, Laura McMahon, Kelly Ann Medrano, Laura Mossman, and Katie Steck. Thank you to everyone else, too many to name, who helped in the days leading up to and the day of the opening.

    I hope you will join with everything going on at WAS-H – thank you for being a part of our wonderful arts community at WAS-H!

     

    Warm Regards,

    Karen Houston Stopnicki

    WAS-H President

  • March 02, 2023 9:35 PM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)


  • February 17, 2023 2:47 PM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)

    by Cissy Geigerman, WAS-H Gallery Co-DIrector

    For our theme this month we chose a variation to the usual Valentine’s Day motifs.  Of course this can be a time of sweet sentiments, but also we may feel a need to be a bit dramatic.  The paintings in this exhibit rise to the challenge with flair, literally!  There are many examples of the colorful contrasts between fire and ice as well as expressive works.  Much appreciation goes to our volunteers Leisa Patin, Paula Fowler, Mansueto Fabugais, Patty Armstrong, Laura Mossman and Reese Geigerman for creating a great display.

    Our judgewas Dena M. Woodall, PhD. Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She oversees a varied collection of drawings, watercolors, prints, artists’ books, and print matrices created between the 12th-21st centuries from around the world. Dena earned her Ph.D. in art history from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to joining the MFAH in 2008, Dr. Woodall served as fellow in the prints & drawings department at the Cleveland Museum of Art and research associate at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.  She is currently working on an exhibition and catalogue of the Stuart Collection, dedicated to British drawings and watercolors from the 18th and 19th centuries. She is an affiliated professor in art history at Rice University. Dena has been a member of the Print Council of America since 2012. In the last few years, she has assisted with editing the PCA Newsletter. 

    Dr. Woodall enjoyed reviewing our entries and was very meticulous about her selections.  She would like to encourage our members to visit the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and particularly remember that many paintings and works may not be on display but are available to view upon request. 


    First Place: Nan Wright “Winter AM”



    DW: The artist has expressed a strong sense of place in this watercolor with intensity and emotionalism and it has a commanding presence.  It is accomplished in its brilliant use of color, varied line work to indicate plant life, and response to cold and heat.  The artist has deftly achieved reflections and there is a good use of textured paper.

    NW: Snow…I love it!  Also snowshoeing, sledding, forest path walks, and downhill skiing.  A “fun fact”, before COVID, I was certified to teach the blind to ski in a national disabled sports program.  I love the quiet flakes drifting down in the moonlight, the energy of a ferocious snowstorm, and obviously the way the morning sun nudges the world awake.  Snow is one of my favorite things to paint.  It’s not merely leaving the original paper unpainted, it’s the subtle shifts of cool violet shadows and warm glows on nature’s white canvas.  I’m honored to have been chosen for the prize.  Thanks so much!

    Cissy Geigerman: I must add my own comment here, Paint what you love! Here is another example of an artist’s ability to convey what is heartfelt.


    Second Place: Fontaine Jacobs “Smoking Stogie”



    DW: I probably shouldn’t encourage smoking, but I was captured by this scene with its restrained color palette to portray a particular moment.  It has strong draftsmanship.  Also, one gets an impression of the weight of the glass, the coldness of the ice, and the wafting smoke in the air.  There is also an excellent sense of depth.  

    FJ: I love working with yupo.  I decided to use a monochrome palette because with this subject, I needed to do some manipulations and extra colors can easily get muddled with yupo.  This paper is fun if you stick with it.


    Third Place: Jackie Liddell “Opposites Attract”



    DW: The theme is almost exact in this image. It is a good close up view capturing the movement of the flames and reflections in both the ice and the fire.  The staccato mark making is also worth noting.  

    JL: The inspiration for this painting came to me as I was sitting near our outdoor fireplace with the flames turned up.  I saw phoenixes, and dragons!  The wine may have helped.  As for the title, I must say that my husband and I have been together since high school and are definitely opposites, still attracted.  


    Honorable Mention: Erik Sprohge “Fire and Ice”


    DW: This abstracted composition evokes an aura of greatness or monumentality with its upward thrust.  It has a good gradation from cool to warm colors.  

    ES: I had an existing watercolor that was close to the theme but not quite.  I decided to paint over the whole thing with acrylics, I hoped this would be “legal”.  What to name it?  “Fire and Ice” seemed the only way to go!


    Honorable Mention: Irene Sheytman “Lake Bled”



    DW: This work seems to aspire to the landscape paintings of the German Romantic Caspar David Friedrich.  It seeks contemplation of nature in the presence of structures made by humans and the dramatic sky encourages it.  It has a believable sense of space and there is an interesting play of color in the icy waters, the sky, the rocky mountain and the theme is carried out in the hues of the two buildings.

    IS: I do like painting architecture and tried to incorporate some into the theme.  I imagined wintertime mountains with castles on top and icy waters below, creating a dramatic sky to complete the mood.



    Honorable Mention: Mary Klug “Tuskawanta Waits”


    DW: I appreciate the defining elements of the composition from foreground, to middle ground, to background.  The play of light and shadow has a desired outcome over the snow and I think it is always good to utilize the exposed, bare paper.  

    MK: This is a painting of Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island, NY. Legend has it that every year, the Indian Princess claims the life of one male in search of her true love. (I've lived there for 32 years, and just about every year, a young man has drowned in this spring fed lake.) So it seemed appropo that Princess Tuskawanta would be anxiously awaiting the Spring thaw on this early morning in late winter, when I took this photo. 


  • February 17, 2023 2:31 PM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)


    Since 1967, Les McDonald, Jr. has resided in Houston, Texas. He received a BS degree from Sam Houston State University majoring in commercial art with a minor in photography. He worked in advertising and owned an advertising agency until 1986. Following that career, Les determined to become a full-time fine artist. Switching from painting in oils to working in watercolors, he became a member of WAS-H. Les says that watercolors are his favorite media because he can experiment more with watercolor than any other media combined. With watercolors Les like to paint, drool, scratch, dab, mop, salt and incorporate a wide variety of other skills. 


    Les believes that nature presents us with a never-ending source of memorable images. With his paintings, he captures these moments and freezes them in time. As an artist who paints in a highly realistic style, he captures the detail, the mood, and the essence of the subjects that he paints. One collector of Les’ works says that he can feel the salt air on his neck when he looks at Les’ painting depicting birds hitching a ride on the Bolivar ferry.  Another collector said that when he looks at a Les McDonald painting, he knows that Les has been there as he captures the scene so realistically. People frequently mistake Les’ paintings for photographs.  


    Les is frequently asked, “How are you able to paint with such high detail?” Because of his keen desire to share his knowledge with students, Les has responded to these questions by offering to instruct students. In 2014 he began teaching watercolor workshops at the Watercolor Art Society in Houston. Through classes at WAS-H and other venues, he demonstrates and teaches techniques that bring paintings from a highly detailed drawing to a finished painting. Students comment that they appreciate his patience, knowledge, of materials, methods, and encouragement.


    Les began entering WAS-H competitions in the 1990’s and was encouraged when he was first accepted in the International Show. Since then, he has been accepted in nine International Shows and numerous Membership Shows. In 2013, Les achieved Elite Signature status at WAS-H. He also achieved signature status in the Society of Watercolor Artists and the South Western Watercolor Artists Association. Les’ paintings have been selected for many awards. His painting “Dining Out” won a first-place award in the 2021 WAS-H Membership Show. He is especially excited about having this painting accepted in the 2023 American Watercolor Society International Show in New York City. Les has featured paintings published in the Splash 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions. Les  continuously takes his inspiration for his paintings from nature which generates his desire to paint. When he is not hunting or fishing, Les can be reached at his Houston studio.

    Les’ next class will be March 25th/26th, painting the following image, Strawberries and Blueberries.



  • February 14, 2023 11:07 AM | Nancy Moody (Administrator)


    Volunteers NEEDED!!

    To put on a world-class IWE show, we need your help!

    Click HERE to sign-up and let us know how you'd like to participate.

    Dates: Friday, March 3, Saturday, March 4, 

    Sunday, March 5, or Friday, March 31

    We need un-craters, curators, servers, sales assistance, set-up crews and clean-up crews, and re-craters.




1601 West Alabama Houston TX 77006
Gallery: 713-942-9966
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admin@watercolorhouston.org

HOURS: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am - 3 pm

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