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HANGING THE 2016 EXHIBITION by Jim Camann

Janet Walsh, President Emeritus, and I flew up to New York City on a beautiful Saturday af-ternoon. We settled into our hotel, then proceeded to go for a delightful walk around Times Square and the surrounding theater district. Sunday we woke up to a different New York; a morning of bright sunshine, cold temperatures and very high winds. I thought I was back in Buffalo, NY. Flying up from a warm and sunny South Carolina we were freezing. Thank goodness we had packed in layers. We needed it. Whoops! Forgot a toboggan (southern for a ski hat). We hopped a cab to the Salmagundi Club, grabbed a coffee and were blown up the steps. Once inside, we were greeted by President Antonio Masi and Executive Director John Patt. Antonio, we found out, had come in Saturday afternoon and separated the paintings that had to be carried to the upstairs gallery from the ones that would remain in the lower gallery. This pre-sort saved us hours of carrying paintings up and down the stairs to assemble the exhibi-tion. Volunteers Carol McDermott, Joel Popadics and Frank Herron plus newcomers Richard Weinstein and Tim Saternow began the task of carrying the selected paintings upstairs (not an easy task). Janet and I began to layout the paintings in the lower gallery by leaning each of the larger paintings against the wall on which we hoped to hang them. This is a trial and error process. Arranging all the paintings so there is a cohesive look; taking care to figure out the horizontal painting-to-painting spacing. Once satisfied, Janet, Frank Herron and I grabbed the ladder, hammers, nails, and measuring tape and began to hang the assembled paintings. After all the larger paintings were hung, the process continued by adding the smaller paintings above the larger ones. Joel and Carol came down to help; Joel’s being tall sure helped. We fin-ished around 3pm. Then it was time for Nancy Bercow to place the name and title tags and position the award plaques. We all helped clean, straighten and level all the paintings. Then we did a complete walk around to check that all was ready. The Opening, Tuesday, April 4

th, 6pm

We arrived at 6pm; the galleries looked great; lights were positioned illuminating all the paint-ings. The wine and cheese tables were in place and manned. John Patt had set up the AWS sitter’s table with this year’s beautiful catalogs. There also was a collection of blue ribbons inscribed “Exhibitor” for each participating artist whose painting was in the exhibition. The crowd … wow, I don’t know if it was the cold weather or what, but the crowd was huge! Janet and I cannot remember a larger crowd for an AWS opening. This was great. The large turnout made the opening so much more exciting. Groups of two’s, three’s and four’s talking, drinking wine, discussing their likes and the merits of all the art; just having a wonderful time. This was happening in both upper and lower galleries with many people sit-ting in the bar area visiting with old friends. I found out that two paintings were sold the Mon-day before the official opening. What a great start. 2016 was the topper of all openings.

American Watercolor

Society

Summer 2016

Number 109

Antonio Masi

President

Jim McFarlane Janet Walsh Dale Meyers

Presidents Emeritus

John Patt Executive Director

Susannah Hart Thomer

Editor

Jim Camann Kathleen Cornelius

Robert Fionda LaVonne Tarbox-Crone

Contributors

WATERCOLORS THAT SPARKLE: AN EVENING with JUDI BETTS, AWS, NWS By Kathleen Cornelius

On April 16th, Antonio Masi, President of the American Watercolor Society, introduced Judi Betts, AWS, NWS to an eager gathering of artists at the famed Salmagundi Club. Accompanying Judi was the new man in her life, Dale Nyman, and she happily introduced him to the audience. Mr. Masi shared two quotes from Judi Betts: “Artists should doodle more, and google less!” The second quotation, while less humorous, was more revealing of Judi’s sensitivity to the visual world: “Music is what feelings sound like and paintings are what feelings looks like.” Judi gave a charming account of growing up with her twin sister in LaGrange, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. An art major at Indiana University, she met Tom Betts, whom she married after graduation. Judi credits her hus-band of 53 years with enduring support and unflagging assistance for her career in painting. Sadly, Tom passed away after an illness four years ago, but Judi has found the courage to continue painting. The couple moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, giving Judi opportunity to observe fishing boats, palm trees and wicker porch chairs in strong sunlight. Fascinated with the play of sunlight on these objects, she named the color spaces “magical shapes.” “These are shapes and patterns that have an excitement to them,” states Judi. “See it and simplify it. We live a painting; the colors we paint come from our environment.”

First and foremost a creative artist, Judi is a true professional when it comes to teaching. She states, “I love teaching! I still teach. I am in my 57 th year of teaching!” Beginning the demonstra-tion, she takes out a sheet of 140 lb. d’Arches watercolor paper that has a previously sketched im-age of wicker chairs. She marks the left top corner and lower right corner of the paper with a C and the right top corner and lower left corner with a W. At the bottom of the page she pencils in a W in the left corner, and a C in the right corner. This penciled reminder will keep her focus on color direc-tionality of the wash.

Selecting the transparent triad of Aurelian Yellow, Cobalt Blue and Genuine Rose, Judi drops color into the clear water wash. The color changes from blue, to yellow green, to yellow, to orange, and to red in a light mid-tone wash. This is the BEEAUUTIFUUL wash that she urges her students to paint. Staying true to the sign taped to her table, Judi credits Rex Brandt for the valuable instruction to START LIGHT and SAVE WHITE. Making the necessary choices of color (the trans-parent triad), color dominance (warm), and color direction (diagonal), Judi paints an uninhibited, abstract wash. Millard Sheets taught Judi “not to go an inch without changing color and values as little as a mosquito’s eyelash.” As if conducting an orchestra, Judi’s 3 inch flat brush dances over the paper. She tips the paper slightly and shapes merge in beautiful color variations. Although she requested a chair at the outset of the demo, she has yet to sit down; she wants to move her arm with energy. “Someone said sing and dance a painting,” she quips. “Art is like music: I can hear my paint-ings, the various rhythms made by patterns, the pulsations of shapes and colors.” When the first wash is dry, Judi returns with a 1 inch flat brush to enrich the color shapes. She makes color choices from additional colors on her palette. She mindfully listens to the painting, typically building up as many as ten or twelve layers of paint. Each color layer is allowed to dry before more glazing can be added. To aide in her color choice of glaze, Judi used transparent Pro-Glaze acetate sheets to visualize color before executing the change. Quips the humorous Ms. Betts, “I might ruin it if I glaze with this color, but, no matter: I’ve ruined HUNDREDS of paintings!” Judi called Dale Nyman, Neal Huntley and Michele Izzo forward to act as human easels for her triptych painting of Angel Trumpets. As the audience marveled over the painting, Judi gave a die-cut, folded greeting card to each member of the audience. Antonio Masi drew the winning names for donated copies of the internationally acclaimed book Painting…A Quest toward Xtraordinary, by Judi Betts and Charlotte Huntley, AWS. The pleased recipients were Teresa Cromwell and Jean Bowler. Kathleen Young won Watercolor…Let’s Think About It (fifth printing) by Judi Betts and Joel Gardner. Both books have won awards in major book competitions. For more information about Judi Betts, her books, DVDs, Color Sketch sketchbook, Pro Glaze Acetate Sheets or Work-shops, see judibettsaws.com or email: judibetts@att.net.

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Judi Betts

Antonio Masi and Judi

When does an artist know his or her painting is completed? What constitutes closure and you can utter the words, “That’s it, I’m finished”? That question was recently asked of Skip Law-rence and he succinctly stated, “A painting is never finished. The artist just stops.” Skip’s comment tweaked ArtSpeak’s curiosity, so we interviewed the following 2016 award winning AWS artists for their views on the subject. Their responses are both surprising and insightful.

Kris Parins is a planner. She developed a

handout titled “Planning a Painting” for her work-shops that focuses on the question, “What is your Big Idea?” Following her own advice, Kris is in the habit of filling out one of these handouts before painting. “As I near completion, I like to look back at my Big Idea to see if I have fulfilled my mission. If so, it might be time to stop.” There are times you have to trust your artistic judgment. Kris added, “Another clue is to pay attention to that uneasy feeling of not knowing what to do next. When I’m at that point, I try to resist the urge to fiddle and add unnecessary detail, which results in an overworked painting.” Kris is open to seeking opinions of trusted friends. “Often they will suggest minor adjust-ments. If I agree, a few more minutes of pur-poseful painting can rid me of that uneasy feel-ing and the composition settles down and feels resolved.” Parins concluded with, “Now sign it, it’s done!”

Fredrick C. Graff offered the following story.

“I was painting on location on a very cold winter day in Ohio. The tips of my fingers were numb

(continued on next page)

Angela Barbalace received an Honorable Men-tion in the Philadelphia Watercolor Society 2016 Online Members' Show. Dan Burt won the Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff Award at the Annual Texas Watercolor Society Exhibi-tion in New Braunfels, TX in April, 2016. Joyce Hicks was invited to act as juror for the 2016 Baltimore Watercolor Society Exhibition and selection of Awards June 6, 2016. Ng Woon Lam has recently authored a paper-back publication titled, Practical Applications of Color Theory and Design Concepts. Barbara Nechis was invited to give a talk at the Sebasto-pol Art Center of the AWS travel exhibition in California in January, about the work. Since viewing the AWS opening in New York in April, Barbara was de-lighted to spend more time with the paintings and appreciate how much care went into displaying them beautifully in other venues. In December Barbara attended the 1st International Watercol-our Society India Biennale to exhibit and partici-pate as one of the 13 demonstrators, each from a different country. The Society presented her with a Life Time Achievement Award "for all the contribution as a Watercolor Artist." Ann Pember received the President's Award in the American Artists' Professional League 87th Grand National in November and the Edgar A. Whitney Memorial Award in the Catharine Loril-lard Wolfe Art Club 119th Annual Open Exhibi-tion in December. Pember is included in the 2016 edition of Marquis Who's Who In America. Kris Preslan’s work was accepted, out of over 900 entries worldwide, into the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours Exhibition at Mall Gal-leries in London, April 6-16. Michael Reardon’s new book, Watercolor Tech-niques, has just been released from North Light Books. It is a guidebook to help artists of all skill

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Summer 2016 3

AWS MEMBERS IN THE NEWS levels create watercolors that are imbued with light and mood by working with value and color. In addition to eight step-by-step demonstrations, there are dozens of Michael’s paintings and dia-grams with detailed explanations of his painting techniques and concepts used to create the paintings, including color temperature, comple-mentary colors, spatial composition, perspec-tive, edges, values, and more.

ArtSpeak by Robert Fionda

“Learning to Finish”

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and common sense took over and I decided to finish the painting in comfort of my studio.” Fred continued, “I pulled the painting out of my portfo-lio and placed it under a mat for review. To my surprise, I came to the conclusion that it was fin-ished!” Chuckling, Graff added, “I’d be a wealthy man if I could patent a magic method that would determine when a painting is finished.”

Turning more serious, Fred suggested some valuable advice on helping you arrive at a fin-ished painting. “Don’t continue to work on your painting just because the process didn’t take as long as you originally anticipated.” Quality art-work is not based on a timeline or set schedule.

“Upon completing 75% of the painting, place it under a mat and view it from a distance as well as up close.” He added, “Don’t be afraid to crop your artwork and make necessary readjustment.”

Give your creative self the time to think. Graff cautioned, “I’d rather have a fresh unfin-ished painting than an overworked disaster. Therefore, it might be helpful to put it away for a day or two and look at it again with greater in-sight.”

Fred stresses the use of checkpoints: (a) Do the colors harmonize? (b) Is there a strong domi-nance of either warm or cool colors? and (c) Is there a strong center of interest and does the composition design lead you to it? In other words, think personal signposts or a checklist as a means to “I’m finished!” And like Parins, Fred believes you should be open minded and don’t be afraid to ask a respected artist for their opinion. Graff added, “… and then you can decide whether or not their thoughts or suggestions are valid.”

Sometimes how you start a painting dictates

how a painting ends. Ken Call can attest to that, “When I start out with an idea, I visualize it in my mind; trying to capture the mood and feeling of the initial idea. It took me over a year of painting pieces over twice, just trying to understand and follow the process of visualizing.” It is not un-usual for Ken to mock up an 8x10 painting in color prior to beginning the final piece. It helps him resolve additional issues prior to beginning. Ken continued, “As I work through the painting process, I step back for a better look and if I see my original idea, then I know the painting is done or near completion.” Ken also asks himself this

important question, “If I do this to the painting will it make it better? If the answer is no, then you are done!”

Ken added words of caution, “There are times I struggle with the initial idea, and that’s when you can get lost trying to make changes that lead to an overworked piece of artwork.” Ken laughed, “Quite a few of those pieces ended up in the ‘didn’t work’ pile!”

It’s not unusual for Tim Saternow to carry his

camera around New York City trying to capture moments of contrasting lights and darks. With a background in theater and set design, Tim is acutely aware of the emotional and bold quality of light. Working from preliminary sketches and us-ing a French technique called grisaille, Tim cre-ates a gray toned underpainting that sets his val-ues and readies the painting for color buildup. Tim explained, “I’m looking to establish a sense of unity based on a focal point and strong con-trast. It’s not unusual for me to work on 3-4 paint-ings at a time, I get bored and need to switch things around. That allows me to come back to a painting with a renewed perspective.”

Saternow allows his artwork time to percolate or ferment. “I like to surprise myself and put a near completed painting away somewhere in my home, like the bathroom, and then seeing it unex-pectedly, l can view it with a fresh eye.”

Thoughtfully Tim added, “Actually the painting tells me when to stop…there is a mental click that says done.” However there are times when a painting isn’t working and rather than throw it away, Tim believes, “Now’s the time to FAIL BIG…express yourself and push it! Go for the edge. Experiment, no one is going to see it so use the painting as a learning and growth ex-perience.”

Pat Dews is an intuitive value painter who

pushes for simplicity in her non-objective artwork. Pat believes that the act of stopping involves a series of check points; arranging small, medium, and large shapes, cropping for compositional af-fects, color notes, and identifying good values and strong lines…that’s when Pat’s gut feeling kicks in and says enough! However that was not always the case. Pat shared this story of self-discovery, “Until recently, (continued on next page)

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

loved to start a painting but hated to finish; proba-bly because I was a procrastinator who was afraid of failing and a perfectionist when it comes to my paintings. I was constantly changing and reworking them.”

A good friend and co-painter, AWS member Jada Rowland, helped Pat solve that problem. Dews continues, “Frustrated with my constant knit-picking, Jada grabbed my paintings and hid them in her house out of my reach! When I finally got them back at her discretion, I immediately saw with a fresh eye what needed to be done to complete the painting; usually just a minor adjust-ment or the strategic placement of a line or a sim-ple drip.” Besides her check points during the painting process, now Pat Dews always allows time and space to play a part in the decision.

“To finish, I study my paintings from 4 to 6 feet away on an easel, from every direction, at night before going to bed or before leaving the studio. Like the late Richard Diebenkorn, I spend a lot of time just looking.”

Nancy M. Stark does not start with a per-

ceived idea of what the painting will look like at its conclusion. “I’m more concerned with the proc-ess and what is happening on the canvas.” Nancy focuses on making sure the viewer’s eye moves where she intends it to go. “I know the painting is nearing completion when I add juicy shadows to help define shapes, connect, and es-tablish visual pathways.” Nancy emphasizes, “After setting the shadows, if I add a mark and it detracts from the painting, I immediately wipe it off and know it’s done!”

Laughing, Stark offered this anecdote: “The artist doesn’t finish the painting…it’s the person who comes along and grabs your arm and says, Stop, it’s done!”

Hopefully the comments from these artists have given you some perspectives into laying down the brush and sign your name to a painting. Obviously, this is a subjective topic but there are ideas that repeat, especially about stopping to study and look, look, and then look some more.

ArtSpeak’s next topic, suggested by Tim

Saternow and Pat Dews is, what makes an award winning watercolor painting? Are there any spe-cial, reoccurring or generic characteristics, tech-niques, or artistic approaches that enhance your chances of success? Your observations are wel-

Dear Friends,

At our Annual General Meeting in April, Jim McFarlane, President Emeritus, introduced the new AWS Bylaws to the attending Signature Members. Jim was instrumental in the re-writing of the new By-laws.

The new Bylaws, designed to streamline AWS operations, replace those adopted in 1973. They help AWS remain in compliance with state and federal regulations for non-profits corporations. Some sections of the past Bylaws have been moved to a separate Rules of Operation docu-ment. These Rules govern operational matters of AWS, such as the Annual Exhibition. After some discussion, the Signature Members in attendance unanimously adopted the new Bylaws and Rules of Operations.

Our 149th Annual Awards Dinner was a huge success. An affair like this can’t be pulled off with-out the dedication of many individuals and I know all who attended the ceremony will agree with me that a giant thank you should go to all who pitched in. The Salmagundi Club was as gracious and helpful as ever.

This year we introduced two video monitors at our awards dinner, which continuously displayed the artwork. When it came time to introduce the new Signature Members and award winners, their names were called and they came up to receive their awards and their paintings were simultane-ously displayed on the monitors. Everyone seemed to enjoy this.

Next year our Society will present its 150th Annual International Exhibition in April 2017. We would like to mark this milestone event by pub-lishing a commemorative catalog tracing the his-tory of AWS, the evolution of water media and our 150th Exhibition. At our next Board Meeting, we will be exploring the possibilities of getting Sponsors for this endeavor. If you have any thoughts, sug-gestions or could recommend a sponsor please e-mail or call the AWS office.

Respectfully,

Antonio Masi

comed. Please submit to Robtart2@aol.com. Thank you.

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IN MEMORIAM We are saddened by the loss of these Signature Members, whose great talents added to the long history of the Ameri-can Watercolor Society.

Jean Cole George Robert James Kwan Y. Jung Sandra L. Kinnamon Peggy Pipkin Michael P. Rocco Saraga Phillip Saffer Marilyn Schutzky Don Stone

Jean Cole, AWS, of Denver, CO and a member since 1999, died on March 15, 2015, at the age of 68.

George Robert James, AWS, DF - husband, dad, grandpa, brother, uncle, friend, teacher, mentor, col-league, painter, innovator and visionary - passed away on March 5, 2016 at the age of 84. Born in De-troit, Michigan, George relocated to Costa Mesa, Cali-fornia in 1947. An art class in his senior year at New-port Harbor High School uncovered a natural gift for watercolor. Over the next sixty years he went on to be one of California's premiere artists. He mentored gen-erations of art students at Savannah High School, Or-ange Coast College, Golden West College and Cali-fornia State University, Fullerton, where he joined the faculty in 1968 and retired as Professor Emeritus of Art. His innovative use of the synthetic paper, YUPO, with traditional watercolor media inspired a new movement in the art form which artists now emulate. His award-winning work is featured in magazines, books, videos, workshops, collections and traveling exhibitions throughout the world. His legacy lives on through Isabel, his wife of 57 years; daughter, Anne James, and husband, Michael Polak; son, Joe James and wife, Shannon; grandchildren, Emily, Sam and Thomas; and his brother, Leonard James and sister-in-law, Connie. A memorial service celebrating his re-markable life was held on April 10, 2016 at the Horti-culture Gardens on the Orange Coast College cam-pus in Costa Mesa, California Kwan Y. Jung, AWS, of San Diego, CA passed away on March 1, 2016. Kwan graduated from New Asia College, the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a B.A. degree in painting in 1961. He married Yee Wah Yip also an artist in 1962. They moved to San Diego, California in 1963. At one time, they joined many local art societies such as The San Diego Art Institute, The San Diego Art Guild, The San Diego Watercolor Soci-ety, the Watercolor West, and were active locally. Kwan did post graduate studies in San Diego State

University in 1968-1969. He was a member of The National Watercolor Society (1970), The American Watercolor Society (1976) and was listed in the Who's Who in American Art since 1976. In 1993, he was nominated and elected by his peers in the National Academy of Design and was named a National Aca-demician, one of a few artists who belongs to this prestigious organization in this nation. Kwan is the author of the book Chinese Brush Painting, Step by Step published by the North Light Book, F/W Publica-tions in Ohio. Sandra L. Kinnamon, AWS, of Enon, OH, passed away in her residence Friday morning, March 4, 2016. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl-vania on March 12, 1942, the daughter of the late Alvin A. Al-wine and Julia (Gingrich) Bostich. She is survived by her husband of 50 years, James A. Kinnamon; two daughters, Debra (Todd) Chapman of Gahanna and Heidi Kinnamon (Matthew Dicks) of Columbus; five grandchildren, Al-exandria, McKenzie and Zachary Chapman, Calvin Dicks, and Lily Kinnamon; two sisters, Gale Edwards and Jules (Bruce) Zimmerman; two brothers, Lee Al-wine and Michael Alwine; and many nieces and neph-ews. She was preceded in death by her identical twin sister, Sherrie Railsback. She was a graduate of Clark State Community College and Wright State University with a B.A. in Art. Sandy was an accomplished water-color instructor, author and artist. Along with signa-ture member of the American Watercolor Society, she was a member of Knob Prairie United Church of Christ, president of the Fairborn Art Association, a member of the Enon Community Historical Society and was a beloved member of the Enon community. The funeral service was held at Knob Prairie United Church of Christ, Enon with Pastor Bob Jencks offici-ating. A horse-drawn hearse carried her to the inter-ment at Enon Cemetery. Peggy Pipkin, AWS, a member since 2007, died on November 23, 2015, at the age of 86. She resided in Collierville, TN. She specialized in watercolor land-scapes and portraits. She was a consistent award winner in many national, regional, and local art organi-zations, and her work is included in private and corpo-rate collections throughout the United States. Peggy was a member of Germantown Presbyterian Church. She is survived by her husband, Cy M. Pipkin, her daughter, Susan Pipkin, her son, Lane Pipkin, her granddaughter, Allison Chandler, Allison's husband, Jim Chandler, and her great grandson, Lucas Chan-dler. (continued)

YOU CAN NOW PAY YOUR AWS DUES ONLINE

$60 for Signature Members $50 for Associate Members

www.americanwatercolorsociety.org

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Michael P. Rocco, AWS, a member since 1978, died on February 13, 2016, at age 90. A resident of Phila-delphia, PA, Michael P. Rocco was an elected signa-ture member of the American Watercolor Society for over thirty five years as well as the Philadelphia Wa-tercolor Society, The Allied Artists of America, The Woodmere Art Museum and many other prestigious art organizations. His strikingly realistic technique is grounded in his schooling at the Pennsylvania Acad-emy of the Fine Arts under such renowned artists as Daniel Garber, John McCoy and Francis Speight, to name a few. After the Second World War, during which he saw action in Italy, Rocco completed his schooling and worked in the commercial art field. But his first love was always watercolor. Throughout his career his philosophy of paint-ing was focused to go beyond the representational and instill an emotional impact upon the viewer. His subject matter is purposely diverse, thus keeping his intensity at a high level with each painting. His work has been reproduced as limited edition fine art prints, calendars, greeting cards and art publications, here and abroad. He enjoyed painting the "feel" of things be it weather, water or stone as expressed in his book Painting Realistic Watercolor Textures. Commis-sioned by North Light Books, the book was released in 1996 and has gone through several printings. Ex-cerpts from the book have been used in other instruc-tional publications including Le Revue Moderne of Paris, France; Splash 1 and Splash 2. Rocco's paintings have consistently received honors in juried exhibitions throughout the nation. Over the years he had more than fifty one-man shows and his work is in many private collections. A critic once wrote of his work: "An amazing illusionistic tour de force." Saraga Philip Saffer, AWS, L.M., Longmeadow, MA, was an AWS member since 1958. He passed away in 2014, at age 87. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1951 with an Arts degree. He and his wife moved to Springfield, MA and proceeded to have some successful local shows. He went to New York to compete at the National Academy of Design and the American Watercolor Society, winning awards and gained full membership in 1957. Two years later he won First Prize at the National Academy, the second youngest to win this prize (Andrew Wyeth was the youngest). He exhibited his work in New York and work purchased by the Museum of Santa Fe and are still exhibited to this day. He showed work at the Bos-ton Guild of Artist, The New England Watercolor Soci-ety, the Cotuit Museum of Art, The Concord Museum of Art, and at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. He also worked in sculpture, geometrics, drawings, por-

traits, watercolor, oil, tempera, and encaustics. He was represented by the G.O.N.E gallery in Palmer, MA." Marilyn Schutzky, AWS, a member since 2012, died on February 27, 2016, at age 79. Born in Soda Springs, Idaho, Marilyn was the eldest of four chil-dren, growing up with a brother and two sisters. After moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, she attended public schools, then attended the University of Utah where she began her formal art education. Later, she stud-ied at the University of California and added depth and insight to her work through workshops with re-nowned artists. She was always learning and per-fecting her visual voice. Schutzky’s dramatic floral and still life paintings had enticing rhythms, shapes and patterns. Unusual lighting and a close up view-point made shadows an important element of her work. Intense colors and surprising subjects were presented with great design, sound composition and her own personal vision of reality. With great skill, she produced a large body of paintings many of which are included in numerous personal and corpo-rate collections across America. In 2003, she proudly achieved her NWS Sig-nature Member Status. In 2012, she was presented with American Watercolor Society Signature Member Status. As a Signature Member of Watercolor West, Northwest Watercolor Society, California Watercolor Association, Arizona Watercolor Association and Contemporary Watercolorists of Arizona, she re-ceived many awards and numerous accolades for her unique watercolor paintings. Her creativity has been exhibited in over 100 major exhibitions and group shows throughout the country. Many solo and two artist exhibitions have included her paintings. Her biographical listing has been included in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the West, Who’s Who of American Women and a long list of publica-tions have featured her work. Don Stone, AWS, D.F., L.M., a member since 1963. Formerly of Rockport, MA, Don died peacefully on Thursday, March 12, 2015, after a brief illness “surrounded by his family, and maintained his humor and wit to the very end. Lots of art societies, lots of family, mention of Monhegan Island, and that he also played banjo, mandolin and fiddle!"

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NEWS OF AWS SUSTAINING ASSOCIATES Sustaining Associate Members (SAMS) should send your news according to guidelines on the back page to LaVonne Tarbox-Crone: 2825 Ione Ave., Eugene, OR 97401 or tarboxcrone@comcast.net.

Florida Associate Carol Z. Brody's article, Creative In-stinct, was published in the March issue of Watercolor Artist Magazine. Her ribbon series has

gone on to win her a sizable list of awards including the Patrons' Award in Watercolor West's 47th Annual Juried Exhibition the end of 2015 for Party Papers, Rib-bons and Red Confetti. Ribbons Number IV in the series garnered her third place in the Palm Beach Watercolor Society's 34th Anniversary Juried Open Exhibition at the Coral Springs Museum in FL in March and Number V was awarded the Jack Richeson Award in the Western Colorado Watercolor So-ciety's Rockies West National 24th Annual Ex-hibition in March-April, in Grand Junction, CO.

West Virginia Associate Laurie Goldstein-Warren’s painting, Sabrina, was awarded First Place in the Northwest Water-color Society’s 76th International Open Exhibition. She also re-ceived the Best of Show Award in the Texas Watercolor Soci-ety’s 67th National Exhibition for

her painting, Pedicab-NYC and will be featured in the upcoming Splash 18 by North Light Books. Associate Jeanne Hyland's Waiting Series, #1 was awarded the Harry Davies Representa-tional Award in the Fallbrook 7th Annual Signa-ture American Water Media Exhibition in Fall-brook, CA. in March. Her Poinsettia Blast was honored with the People’s Choice Award at the closing of the New Mexico Wa-tercolor Society 2105 fall show in Albuquerque, NM.

Austin Texas Associate Betty Jameson’s 2015 awards included an Honor Award in the Georgetown Texas 8th Annual Texas Wide Art Hop, Georgetown Public Library and Art Cen-ter, Georgetown, TX; the Golden Art Materials Merchandise Prize at Pike's Peak Watercolor Society's International Water Media Exhibit in Colorado Springs and a Jack Richeson Mer-chandise Prize at the Texas Watercolor Soci-ety's 66th Annual National Exhibit in San Anto-nio. Marilyn Johansen won First Place award with painting Running Man in The Plantation Art Guild Spring Open Show 2016 judged by na-tionally recognized artist Sally Cooper, NWS. She also won First Place with painting Koi Fan-tasy at the Miami Watercolor Society’s 43rd An-nual Exhibition 2016 at the Coral Gables Mu-seum judged by Eric Wiegardt, AWS DF, NWS. Two paintings were accepted into the Broward Art Guild’s Biennial, Pause to Refresh took Judges Recognition judged by Boca Raton Mu-seum Director Irvin Lippman. Her painting, My Violin won Judges Recognition in Art Explosion Exhibition 2016 judged by Liza Niles Director of Education, Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach. Marilyn’s Painting Soldiers won First Honorable Mention in the Gold Coast Water-color Society’s Member’s Show judged by Nessa Grainger, AWS. Her Soldier Series, War and Remembrance, will be featured at Studio 18 in Pembroke Pines, Florida from June 3 – July 14 and in Sunrise Florida from Oct.8 through Nov. 25. Marilyn also had paintings ac-cepted into Georgia Watercolor Society, Mis-souri Watercolor Society, Pennsylvania Water-color Society and the American Society of Avia-tion Artists for 2016 Exhibitions. She teaches Acrylic and Watercolor at Art Serve in Fort Lauderdale. Dallas Associate Pat Kochan’s Lunch Break received the Mijello Mis-sion Gold Award of ma-terials at the National Watercolor’s 95

th Inter-

national Exhibition and is included in their traveling show. (continued on next page)

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Florida’s Judy Nunno won First Place awards at Weston Art Guild's 7th Annual Decem-ber Juried Show and Palm Beach Watercolor Society's 34th Annual Open Show in March for Lights Out! Her paintings also placed First at Palm Beach Watercolor Society's December Member Show and National League of American Pen Women's Open Show in February. Judy capped off her Florida winnings with Second at the Plantation Art Guild's Open Show and Third at Gold Coast Watercolor Society's Open Show. New Indonesian Associate Ipung Purnomo is a painter now living in Papua, New Guinea. Two of his images will be pub-

lished in International Con-temporary Artists Vol. I by I.C.A publishing. His works are presented in mixed me-dia and acrylic on board portraying Papuan figures.

Maryland Associate April Rimpo has two paintings selected to be included in North Light’s best of acrylics book Acrylic Works 3: Celebrating Textures. Moving Up and Struggles in the Southwest are featured with a synopsis of Rimpo’s textural techniques used

in these paintings. The book was released in April and will be available through North Light Books and Amazon.

Panama City Florida Associate Don Taylor's painting Gators has been selected as the cover art for the May 1, 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA). This has become a highly competitive venue for animal art. Don has been awarded the highest possible recognition of Fellow Maxima Cum Laude by the American Artists Professional League.

The American Watercolor So-ciety is always looking for vol-unteers to help us in a variety of areas. If you have computer skills, a sense of humor and are com-

fortable in a small (cluttered) office environment you might find it interesting to help on “the busi-ness side” of AWS for a few hours a week. We are located inside the Salmagundi Club, a Greenwich Village Landmark brownstone. Drop us a line at info@americanwatercolorsociety.org.

Attendees at the 2016 AWS EXHIBITION

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Ingrid E. Albrecht resides in Chicago, Illinois, and she has a BS and MA from Southern Illinois Univer-sity.. She attended workshops with Al Brouillette, Frank Webb and Cheng Khee Chee and studied with Irving Shapiro for two years at the American Academy of Art in Chicago while working towards her Fine Arts degree. Ingrid states, “I am motivated to continue my journey of experimentation in my work to leave space for imagination and emotion for the viewer.” Ingrid has two personal goals: “Using what I have learned in my craft through successes, trials and failures. I want to teach those, from my experiences, how to create that ‘WOW’ painting filled with emotion.” She adds, “I would like to be recognized by mem-bers of my craft as an international and national painter of note and to eventually have international exhi-bitions.” Her grandmother, Deguisne, “introduced me to art when I was 4 years old and planted the seed,

even though I chose a different career of teaching. All of these wonderful experiences led me back to art as my second career.” Ingrid is a signature member of Illinois Watercolor Society and has won many important awards for her work, in-cluding The Anne Williams Glushien Award, AWS 146th International Watercolor Exhibition. Her work was honored at the International BoldBrush Painting Competition, with BEST of Show, Outstanding Abstract Award and Outstanding Water-color Award. Anna Bellenger, is married and has 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Anna is a graduate of South-ern Seminary with a degree in art and some of her mentors include Cy Twombly, Jim Windram, and the Howard Pyle Studio Group. She says, “I love to get up early, walk the dogs, listen to the birds, see the light on the trees, watch the fog lifting off the ground, pick weeds and wildflowers, come home for coffee and get lost in painting. All my most recent works are birds – I always loved my parents’ old Audubon book, going through it for hours – my hope is that people will enjoy my paintings as well. Anna’s work was awarded Best in Show at the Pen Women National Biannual, The Founder’s Award at Philadelphia Water Color Society (PWCS) and Best in Show in PWCS’ Members’ Show. She is a signature member of PWCS and Pennsylvania Watercolor Society (PWS). Her publications include her work titled “Speaking for Themselves”/ the artists of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 100 Artists of the Brandywine Valley, and her work titled “Outside In,” with poetry by Carol Hixon in 2015.

Elaine Bowers and her partner, Bob Thompson, are from Sacramento, CA. Elaine has a BA in Psy-chology and MS in Art Therapy and Counseling from California State University. Elaine also has an AA, in Graphic Design and is a licensed marriage family therapist (MFT) and registered art therapist (ATR-BC). Even as a child, Elaine was introduced to Andrew Wyeth’s art and has “admired his art and strived to achieve the same realism, while piquing the viewer’s interest regarding the details and story behind the image.” Elaine contributes her inspiration “by the beautiful rivers, delta and farm-lands in northern California. All are endangered due to changes of the environment and our current drought. Seen from an aerial perspective, I hope to bring an awareness to the viewer about the land-scapes; beauty and fragility, and our obligation to protect it. Becoming the best I can as an artist and achieving signature status are key goals! Elaine received the Bronze Medal of Honor in the AWS In-

ternational Exhibition and Traveling show in 2013 and is an NWS member. Elaine’s artwork was used for the cover art of the Inside Sacramento issue of Inside Publications 8 times, the book cover by author Elia Wise, For Children Who Were Broken, and as an illustration by Lois Harman titled Castle on the Prairie. Cindy Brabec-King resides in Palisade, Colorado and has an AA from CNCC.”My motivation is always the challenge to try to capture realism while also keeping a balance of painterly. Working a complex puzzle with a complex medium to cre-ate unique pieces. My goals are to continue. Continue to teach, help others to reach their artistic goals, land work on creating original, and hopefully quality pieces.” Cindy also notes that she never tires of the Masters, John Singer-Sargent, Manet, Monet and the Wyeths. In 2015 Cindy was awarded the Artists Magazine Award at TWSA; 2014 she won the ISEA Award from NWS and Best of Show at ERAAA; in 2013, she was awarded Best Colorado Artist at WCWS and was awarded 3

rd Place in Wa-

tercolor Magazine Artists Competition, and 2006, Ones To Watch, Watercolor Magic. Her work has been published in Artist Magazine, Sept. 2003; Watercolor Magazine, June, 2006; Watercolor Artist, June 2013; American Artist Watercolor, Summer 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012. Cindy has also been in the Splash Series Books 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, Watercolor Secrets by North Light Books. She is a signa-ture member of NWS, TWSA, WCWS – Master Status, Co.W.S. and is married to husband, Matt King.

NEW SIGNATURE MEMBERS

We welcome and present profiles of our new signature members. Congratulations for this significant artistic accomplishment

Chung-Wei Chien resides in New Taipei City in Taiwan and has a Master of Fine Art from the National Taiwan Normal University. After becoming a teacher, Chung-Wei says “I reproduced mater’s works for teaching. Over the past ten years, I have introduced my students the works from various genius painters in art history, and I have also demonstrated how to learn from repro-ducing these great works. At the end, I am the one who benefitted most from it.” “The ultimate happiness of a creator often comes from the search for self-fulfillment. For me, Art is not abstruse at all. I paint what I really want to paint, I do not fool others or myself, and I do not aim too high more than I can achieve; I ask myself to widen my horizons and strive for excellence… This is my way of pursing art.” In 2015-2016, Chung-Wei received The Honorable Mention Award of Shenzhen International Watercolor Biennial, and last year the Alan R. Chiara Memorial Award in the 148

th Annual International Exhibition of AWS. He is a signature member of the National Wa-

tercolor Society (NWS). Both he and his wife, Jasmine H.H. Huang are watercolorists. Publica-tions include “The Intrigue of Form in 2014 and in 2006, “Learning Watercolors from Demonstrations.”’ Linda Erfle, Placerville, CA, attended Yuba College, SJSU & Cosumnes River College. Linda took workshops from Anita Wolff, Jill Figler, Ken Potter, Dale Laitinen, Jan Kunz Judi Betts, Cheng-Khee Chee, Jane Hofstetter, Alvaro Castagnet and Jeannie McGuire. Although possessing a long time inter-est in art, Linda has focused on her painting since the early ‘90s. She states that “she explores the es-sence of her subjects through the unifying elements of value, shape, edges and color - striving to con-vey how truly extraordinary the ordinary is which surrounds us.” Recent awards include the Watercolor West award from the National Watercolor Society 86

th Annual and the ColArt Americas, Inc. award from

California Watercolor Association National 45th Annual and she is a signature member of NWS and

Watercolor West. Linda’s work has been published in Splash 11, 14, 15, 16 and 17; Watercolor Maga-zine, winter 2007; A Painters Guide to Design and Composition (Margot Schulzke, 2006); 100 Ways to Paint Still Lifes and Florals, International Artists Magazine, 2005; The Best of Flower Painting, 1997; and Watercolor Artists Magazine’s Creativity Workshop column, Dec., 2015. Linda has been married for 42 years and has 2 daughter and 3 grandchildren.

Joyce Green, Meridian, Idaho, has a BS from the University of Minnesota, Duluth and an MED from the University of Arizona. Her influences include the 10,000 Hour Rule and workshops from several artists including Frank Webb, Don Andrews, Christopher Schink, Stephen Quiller, Jeanne Dobie, Judi Betts and Linda Doll. “I am drawn to classic realism. I paint images and experiences I want to share; that speak to my heart; that present a challenge; that are metaphors for life. I strive for excellence in tech-nique and design through the medium of watercolor because it suits me.” Joyce was awarded the Bill Perggrin Award from Watercolor West in 2011, and is a signature member of National Watercolor Soci-ety, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Watercolor West, and Idaho watercolor Society. Joyce is married to Robert W. Green.

Lane Hall, from Medford, Oregon, has a BFA from Southern Oregon State College, and feels that most of his learning and development came from “good old hard work particularly that of painting weekly in plein air and making a vow to myself of completing at least one drawing a day.” He attrib-utes Andrew Wyeth’s work as a primary influence and adds that, “much of my subject matter comes from that of nature, especially if it involves stark value contrasts on varying textures. Within each painting I endeavor to present a balance of tightly and loosely rendered areas. Presently, I am trying to gain more presentation for my work so that it may become more lucrative on a yearly basis.” His work has been published in Southwest Art Magazine, Watercolor Artists Magazine and “Strokes of Genius II: The Best of Drawing Light and Shadow” and awards include the Francis Nell Storer Memo-rial Award at AWS 148

th International Exhibition and the Kanuca Watermedia Workshops Award at the

NWS 95th International Exhibition, where he is a signature member. Myrtle Hooker, Roanoke, VA, is a registered Nurse from the University of Tenn, VA Western CC. Her art training includes the Studio School, in Roanoke and numerous art workshops. She studied with Ruth Hamilton, landscape instructor and credits artists Vera Dickeson and Fred Graff as being influential in her artwork. Myrtle is motivated “from a life-long desire to create art. My goal in my art is to give the viewer a sense of place and evoke or create a memory.” Myrtle was awarded the Alan R. Chiara Memorial Award in AWS International Show in 2012 and her work was included in the Travel Show. Her work was in Expressions Martinsville 2014, 2015 showcase of Arts in Roa-noke, 2012, 2014, 2015 and she is a signature member of the VA Water Color Society and associ-ate artist of Winston Salem, NC. Myrtle is married and has 2 children and 2 grandchildren.

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Jack Johnson of Templeton, California, studied at University of Michigan for one year in Architecture and has a BPA , from Art Center College. His diverse background work influenced his artistry. Jack worked 12 years in the advertising industry in Markets, layouts and Design “A great learning experience as art director and head art director working with all trades. 3 years as freelancer learning to survive!” he adds. In the Film industry, Jack worked 27 years as conceptual illustrator and art director working for all studios. Gouache was the working medium for all paintings, charcoal for the major sketches. “I was very lucky to get paid well for doing what I enjoyed! I have painted watercolor, gouache and oil for 45 years.” His response to personal goals, “I really have had no personal goals as an artist. I am generally motivated by strong light and shadow, contrasts and scale. I have run out of children and the last grandchild is 7. I now paint more landscapes and vineyards . I would say Andrew Wyeth (you can make a living as a realist!) and the Impressionists (Degas and Van Gogh in particu-

lar)” were some of his influences. Jack is a signature member of NWS, CA. Art Club, Academy of Motion Pictures (Designers Division) and member of the Museum of the Moving Image. Jack has a brother, Michael, his good friend and ex-wife, Michaella, Linden (ex-wife and best friend), children Shelly, John, Davie and Mark. His publications include American Artist (ancient), Arts for the Parks (not as ancient) and various newspapers and magazines in the LA, NY and Paso Robles areas. Steven Lush of North Andover, Massachusetts, has a BS in Marine Engineering from the Mas-sachusetts Maritime Academy. Steven’s significant mentors are his mother and wife. “My mother was an accomplished artist who taught me the mechanics of drawing and painting when I was very young. My wife, Nella, is also an accomplished contemporary artist who continually inspires my work and palette.” As for his motivation and personal goals, Steven says, “I am moved by images that I see which have a compelling first impression. The effects of light and shade and color dynamics are ingredients I try to capture in my work. I wish to convey my emo-tional attachment to viewers with all of my work. Recent awards include the Winslow Homer Special Merit Award, 2013 TWSA Lehmann Memorial Award, 2010 TWSA, Museum Purchase (Awards) 2008 and 2013 Annual International Maritime Art Exhibitions, Mystic Seaport, CT. He is a signature member of the American Society of Marine Artists and New England Watercolor Society. His work was included in the July/August 2014 issue of Sea Power Magazine, and also in Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, Jan/Feb 2012. Several images of his work were published in the book titled, War of 1812, The Forgotten War, by the ASMA (Charles Robinson). Along with his wife, Steven’s family includes daughter Alexandra, also an artist, and sons Zack and Tristan.

Daniel Marshall, of Denver, Colorado attended the Connecticut Institute of Art in Greenwich and for the past 20 years has been a professional tattoo artist. “Creating custom art daily has honed my drawing ability and primarily working in black and grey has trained my eye tonally. I have been working in watercolor for four years and have studied with Joseph Zbukvic and consider him my mentor.” Daniel’s motivation comes from painting nearly every day and he regards most of his work done in plein air. “I am drawn to a more classical approach to painting and strive for an ele-gance and sophistication to each piece I create. I am absolutely obsessed with watercolor and love to expose as many people as I can to the beauty of the medium. As my technical abilities grow, I have enjoyed starting to teach workshops and seminars, sharing what I have learned. His work was accepted in AWS, in 2014 and 2015, CWA in 2015 and in RIWS regional and national shows in 2014, and won the Fuji Wright Memorial Award in 2015.

Joe Miller of Boone, North Carolina has a BS in Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina. He has taken many workshops, “many wonderful teachers and fun, fun, fun painting!” Joe‘s per-sonal goals are to “enjoy the process and to pass it on to others. To encourage by telling ‘want to be” artists that I began at 50 and that anyone can enjoy art if they really want to.” Joe is a signa-ture member of WSNC and received the Dolphin Medal AWS Arts and Humanities Award at NWS in 2015. He has had 2 books published from his journals, titled Old Watercolorist Never Die, They Just Wet Their Sheets and One Night, Two Moons. He and his wife, Lynda, have a son Joseph, 4

grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Kris Parins, has a BS, Relative Art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and lives in Sarasota, Florida. Kris took post-graduate courses in graphic design at University of Wisconsin, and watercolor studies with Nita Engle, Jean Grastorf, John Salminen among others. “My technique is a progression from early work in fabric design: silkscreen, batik, and block print. My influences are WPA posters, Japanese woodcuts and the generous artist who share their knowledge through books and workshops.. I continue to be fascinated by transparent watercolor because I am energized by the randomness and spontaneity it provides: the swirl of color mixing on the paper, creating its own nuanced atmosphere is a source of inspiration. I strive to communicate my joy of experience, both of observation and of creation.

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When I succeed, the viewer sees a small part of the work in a new light.” Kris’ recent honors include the Winslow Homer Award, from Florida Watercolor Society in 2015: Societies; Award 2013; Watercolor West, Martin/Weber Award in 2014; and Jerry’s Artarama Award from the National Watercolor Society in 2012. Kris is a member of National Watercolor Society, Florida Watercolor Society, Southern Watercolor Society, Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society (Master Signature Status). She is married to Richard and children Katrina Gray and Robert Parins. Her work has been published in Splash, The Best of Watercolor, in Vols. 9, 14, 15, and 16; on the cover and a 12 page article in the Spring 2012 edition of American Artist Water-color Magazine, the cover of Watercolor Artist Magazine, Dec. 2011 and featured in “Ones to Watch” and authored “From Pixels to Paper,” Dec. 2010. Kris Preslan has a BA and MLS from the University of Wisconsin and lives in Lake Osego, Oregon. Her mentors include workshop artists Thomas Schaller, Michael Reardon, Judy Morris, Jean Grastorf, Linda Baker, John Lovett, David Taylor, Iain Stewart, John Salminen, Harold Allanson, Ted Nuttall, Donna Jill Witty and many other watercolor masters. Kris says, “My goal is to have my next painting be my best one ever. I am motivated and driven toward that end.” Her work received the TWSA Indira Das Memo-rial Award; International Artist Grand Prize Award; WSO Award; NWS Roger Armstrong Memorial Award; NW Watercolor Society First Place Award and she is a member of National Watercolor Society, Trans-parent Watercolor Society of America, Northwest Watercolor Society, Watercolor West, and Watercolor Art Society – Houston. Her work can be seen in the International Artist Magazine Feature Article, Ameri-can Art Collector; Who’s Who in Art; Who’s Who in America; Splash Publications #12,14,15,16 and 17; Splash Retrospective.

George M. Schoonover, Yachats, Oregon..George has a BA.MA from University of California at Long Beach and post graduate studies in Advanced Painting at the University at Irvine and Pepperdine University. He also studied at Bob Jackson’s studio in studio figure drawing and painting, for six years along with David Salminen, George James and Roger Armstrong. George’s goals are simple, “I draw, paint and create on a daily basis. It is an inner drive that has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. Never stop learning.” His latest awards include Second Place MOWs International Award of Excellence; Red River National; Sharon A Thomas Award. Along with his wife, Robbie, he has 3 children and 3 grandsons. His work was published in Watercolor Magazine, “One to Watch segment and he has obtained signature

status from Transparent WCS, Kansas WCS, North East WCS, North West WCS, Pennsylvania WCS, Texas WCS, San Diego WCS Missouri WCS, Pittsburgh WCS and National WCS. Siv Spurgeon is from Swarthmore, Pennsylvania and holds a BS degree in Structural Engineering from the Stockholms Stads Tekniska Aftonskola, in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1993, Siv started paint-ing with watercolors at local art centers along with several drawing classes at Pennsylvania Acad-emy of Fine Arts (PAFA), in Philadelphia. She extended her education with workshops from nation-ally recognized watercolorists such as Jean Grastorf and Judy Morris. She became very active in the local art community as a former president of the Philadelphia Water Color Society and elected member of the Howard Pyle Studio Group. “When I started to paint I realized that I had finally learned to see. I now marvel over things that I had ever paid attention to before. Light, color pattern, depth, contrast, texture. This is what I love to paint. I strive for strong composition and I’m drawn to very complex and detailed subjects. I paint for the challenge of it, for the mastering of the medium.” Siv has won over a hundred awards including the Violet Oakley Prize at Woodmere Art Museum, in Philadelphia, the Richard Greenwood and Frank Nofer Memorial Awards at the Philadelphia Water Color Society’s Anniversary International Exhibi-tions of Works on Paper, and Silver Medal at Baltimore Watercolor Society (BWS)’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibi-tion. She is a signature member of PWCS, PWS, BWS and National Watercolor Society. Siv grew up in Sweden and is mar-ried to an architect and has one daughter and one granddaughter. Her work has been published in Splash 12 – Celebrating Artistic Vision, North Light Books 2011; Watercolor Magic 2003 Yearbook, “The Ones to Watch;” Splash 6 – The Magic of

Texture, North Light Books, 2000; and Consol Group States of Color, 1998 and 2000 Calendars. Robert Steedman, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. While Robert has no formal training in watercolor, he has worked in the medium since the early seventies. He considers himself primarily a studio painter and has taught group lessons for over 20 years, conducts workshops and does demonstra-tions. He was awarded Best in Show from the Hilton Head Art League, Hudson Valley Art Associa-tion and Honor Award from the Academic Artists Association. His work has been published in the International Artist Magazine, Master Painters of the USA and Two Books in One-Watercolor, Dow-den, Sterling Press. He is a member of the New England Watercolor Society, American Artists Pro-fessional League, Hudson Valley Art Association and Northshore Arts Association.

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Iain Stewart, Opelika, Alabama attended Auburn University where he received a BFA in Architecture. Significant mentors in his life were his father, Muir Stewart, a watercolorist, Sargent, A. Melville, Row-land Hilder, Cotman Bonnington and C.R. Mackintosh. “I am motivated to paint as a record of my life. My style is evolving as I do personally. My work takes me back to those specific moments in time which I find to be a pleasure beyond compare. My goals are simple – continue to paint, be both an observer and recorder of my experiences, but most of all, to enjoy the process.” Iain’s work was honored with 2

nd

Place, MS Grand National in 2015,the Dorothy Brown Award, NWS Members Show, 2014, and Peoples Choice Award, American Signature Watercolor Exhibition. He is a signature member of NWS, WSA, LWS. Iain’s work was featured, including the cover, in the June 2014 issue of Watercolor Artist, “Art of Watercolor No 20, “Following in Sargent’s Footsteps;” and also featured in The Art of Watercolor, No 10. He was published in Splash 15 and 16, and has a 3 DVD set, “From Photos to Fantastic,” North Light Books. Iain is married to Noelle and they have a son, Noah.

Tan Suz Chiang resides in Skudai, Johor, Malaysia and has a Diploma in Fine Art from the Central Academy of Art in Malaysia. He majored in oil painting at the Academy but also took watercolor. He says, “My graduation artwork was a creation that blended oil painting and watercolor technique. During my initial stint at the art academy, I was an associate lecturer in watercolour, which had a great influence in my interest and understanding in the various watercolour technique effects and abilities. I sincerely hope that my artistic journey would bring me to world stage and my works will be appreciated and recog-nized by the international art collectors.” His work was recently awarded the NWWS Diamond Award – First Place at the 75

th Annual International Open Exhibition, the Helene H. Ross Award and The People

Choice Award at the 6th Annual Signature American Watermedia Exhibition, the Bronze Prize at the Nan-

jing International Art Festival and First Prize at the Lushan International Art Festival, China. He is a member of the National Watercolor Society (NWS), Contemporary Malaysia Watercolour Association, Malaysian Watercol-our Society, Singapore Watercolour Society, Penang Watercolour Society. In 2015, his work was published in Watercolor Artist Magazine, (Aug issue), Splash 17 and in The Art of Watercolor, France, issue 17 (Jan-Apr). In 2014, his work ap-peared in Art Investment, China, Asian Art News, Hong Kong (Sept-Oct), The Art of Watercolour, France issue 16 and Art Malaysia Magazine issue 27. Tan Suz Chiang and his wife, Joyce Ooi, have a daughter and 2 sons. Gerry Thompson, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada received a diploma from the University of the Fraser Valley, majoring in painting and printmaking. She also received additional training in letter-ing and illustration from the University of Western Washington, in Bellingham, WA and an Associate, piano solo performer (ARCT) from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario. Gerry says that “painting and music are my lifelong loves. My passion for painting has never diminished since the d ay I first picked up the brush. My motivation is to paint my life, with continued excellence wherever I am and whatever the circumstance. For me, life is filled with light and beauty.” Gerry’s most recent awards include the Bronze Medal from the Federation of Canadian Artists, the Doris McCarthy Award (1

st Place) from the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Color and the Inspiration Award from the

Northwest Watercolor Society. She is a signature member of the Federation of Canadian Artists (SFCA). Gerry and her husband, Dennis Kiselbach, have three children and 2 grandchildren. Gerry’s work has been published in the International Artist Magazine, Dec/Jan 2015 issue, “From Abstract to Realism,” and “My Art in the Making – Venezia”, and in the American Art Collector, July 2014 issue, titled “Light & Shadow” and in 2013. In Inter-national Art Magazine, Gerry was a finalist in the Oct/Nov 2013 issue and won third prize in June 2014.

Susan Webb Tregay of Hendersonville, NC has a BS, MS from Wheelock College, Buffalo State University of NY. She has studied with Margaret Martin, AWS and other watercolorists and Jane Filer in acrylics from Raleigh, NC. She also attributes Folk Art and Toulouse-Lautrec posters as influencing her art. Susan says, “My goal is to take ach painting beyond the visual information that one might present and into through processes of the viewer.” Her work was awarded the Joan Ashley Rothermel Memorial Award, AWS and NWS awards in 2014 and 2 awards in Watercolor USA in 2011. She is a signature member of NWS, TWSA, Honorary Life Member Niagra Frontier Watercolor Society in Buffalo and Watercolor Honor Society of SCUSA. Publications include “Master Disaster, 5 Ways to Rescue Desperate Watercolors, Northlight, 2007; Palette Magazine

article, June-July, 2011, Splash 15 and cover art, Hendersonville Magazine, 2015-16. Susan Weintraub of Brooklyn, New York has a BA and MFA from Brooklyn College. “Since 2004,” she states, “I have studied with Frederick Wong at the Art Students League in NYC, in both his figure class and weekly plein air sessions. For the past three years I have also studied with Paul Ching-Bor at the League. And I have taken workshops with Mel Stabin, Joel Popadics, Tony Van Hasselt, Bill Vrszak and Antonio Masi. Since my first visit to an AWS Annual Exhibition many years ago, achieving signature membership in this prestigious organization has been a cherished dream. With this validation and en-couragement I will be even more eager to perfect the numerous skills and techniques required of a wa-

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tercolor artist and to continue to explore the endless possibilities of this exciting and challenging medium.” In 2015, Susan was honored with the AWS High Winds Medal and was also the NYC Bryant Park Painter-in-Residence. She has also won awards from the North East Watercolor Society, Philadelphia Water Color Society and Adirondacks National Exhibition and is a signature member of North East Watercolor Society, Philadelphia Water Color Society and an elected member of the Hudson Valley Art Association. In the February 2016 issue of Watercolor Artist, there was a featured arti-cle about Susan’s work. She and her husband William, have a son and daughter and two grandchildren. Barbara Yoerg lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and has a BS in Fine Arts and an MA in Fine Arts and Photography from the

University of Wisconsin. Her mentors include AWS members Carla O’Connor, Stephen Quiller, Mary Ann Beckwith, Edward Minchin, Mary Todd Bean, Carole Barnes, Elaine Daily-Birnbaum, Linda Baker and Betsy Dillard Stroud. Barbara has traveled extensively around the world. Her art encompasses the essence of this worldwide environment, as well as the heart and soul of many diverse locations. “It is these images from life and imagination,” Barbara states, “that are captured and enhanced through creativity. I capture an often complex style using natural pigments that has won me numerous awards throughout the Country.” Her work has been and is on display and is

included in museums, art galleries, corporate and private collections. She has had more than ten one-woman exhibitions. Among many awards, Barbara received the Giannini Family Award at the Signature American Watermedia Exhibition in 2015 and Award of Merit from the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies. In 2013, she was awarded the AWS Alan R. Chiara Memorial Award and the Bradley Barnard Award from the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Water-colors. Barbara’s work has been published in Splash 13, North Light Books, 2012; “Let’s Be Creative,” April 2011; Las Vegas Around the Clock, About the Town, February 16, 2010; Daniel Smith Spring 2009 InkSmith, “Negative Space Painting;” Summerline View, “Out with the old – New Direction,” 2008; Summerline Magazine, “A Colorful Work-of-Art,” 2008 and Summerline View, “Local Artist runs Gamut from Alleys to Explosions,” 2007. Barbara is married to David Wehner.

2016 ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS! MEET DEADLINES!

MATERIAL FOR THE NEXT ISSUE MUST REACH THE EDITOR BY October 1, 2016 SIGNATURE MEMBERS SEND MATERIAL DIRECTLY TO THE EDITOR, Susannah Hart Thomer, AWS Newsletter Editor, aws_editor@yahoo.com or to 29 E. Church Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462.

SUSTAINING ASSOCIATES may send their material to Lavonne Tarbox-Crone, tarboxcrone@ comcast.net or to 2825 Ione Ave., Eugene, OR 97401.

Please indicate your membership status: Signature or Sustaining Associate

All events must be dated by month and year. Events prior to April 1, 2016 will not be recorded. Editing may not include all information but is important for publishing information.

News which may be printed includes: AWARDS, PUBLICATIONS, SOLO OR SMALL GROUP SHOWS, SOME INVITATIONALS, SERVING ON JURIES, ADDITIONS TO PERMANENT COLLECTIONS, WORKS IN PRINT, SOME UNUSUAL ART ADVENTURES. WORKSHOPS ARE NOT INCLUDED. ADMISSION OF ENTRIES TO JURIED EXHIBITIONS NOT INCLUDED. INCLUSION IN ART BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLICATIONS NOT USUALLY INCLUDED.

We have a talented group of Signature and Associate Members and we are proud of all of you. Election to membership in other art groups is not published in our Newsletter, but may be put on file in the AWS office. Congratulations to all our artists and to all who have received special recognition. Articles of interest by members are considered for use and are welcome, even though a limited number may be used. Please e-mail our AWS office at info@americanwatercolorsociety.org with questions about AWS. Copyright, 2016 American Watercolor Society

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AMERICAN WATERCOLOR SOCIETY INCORPORATED

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10003-4303 USA