Virginia Watercolor Society & Salon De Refuse

I entered this year's Virginia Watercolor Society (VWS) Annual Competition with one goal in mind...to get rejected...let me explain...

I love watercolor...painting with it, watching others paint, reading about it, viewing other's work, talking about it, etc. So I paint, teach, read the books, the magazines, attend shows, everything short of dreaming about watercolor. Though viewing other's work in watercolor and seeing what other artists are doing with the media is important for creative exploration and growth, I have been reluctant to join a regional or national society. My disillusionment came when I discovered the groups exclude watercolor done on any other surface other than paper (i.e. watercolor on canvas, yupo, and MY favorite surface, claybord), but yet will accept acrylic painted on paper as a watercolor medium...dashing my hopes of ever earning "signature" status. After all, they call themselves "Watercolor" societies not "Works on Paper" societies (doesn't quite roll off the tongue).

I digressed...

This year for those applicants who are rejected (ouch...that word comes with such feelings of despair and discouragement) into the "VWS" exhibit, there is the option to exhibit with other rogue works in the "Salon de Refuse." My hope...the works rejected from the juried show will feature contemporary (and hopefully exciting) paintings in watercolor and other various surfaces...and viewers will have the opportunity to see watercolor presented in new ways. It's a gamble...

...but I am proudly exhibiting

Secret Places

Watercolor on 22x30 Aquabord

The Virginia Watercolor Society's "Salon de Refuse"

Crossroads Art Center

Richmond, Virginia

May 14th-July 6th

No Two Alike

Even if I tried...really, really hard, I could not do the same painting twice. Something is always different the second time. This I love when creating...a painting is after all, original to that moment; how the paints mix and dry, how the water is moving that day, how the brush is manipulated, the mood of the creator, etc. All the factors that work to pull it together, will never be exactly the same. Sometimes I like the first version better than the second, but liking the end product is much less important than enjoying the process of doing, developing an idea, and following the direction the painting takes along the way.

The Space Between

Watercolor on Aquabord

16X20

my chair study

Watercolor on Aquabord

6X8

Poppies, In Progress

Reds are in, centers started. Now, what to do with the background? I have painted a few ideas in a sketchbook. I want a background that will maintain the integrity of the painting and contribute to the "mood" of the subject. A little history about the poppy...

The poppy, by nature, is a wildflower. It’s seed will lie stagnant in the ground until it is disturbed. During times of war, soldiers would, inadvertently, churn ground as they marched though fields. The result was a beautiful and overabundant growth of poppy flowers found to flourish in conditions where most other flowers would die.

Poppies

First glazes of warm and cool reds. Using water and gravity to push the paint around, creates movement with the pigment as it dries on the clay surface. I use these controlled "blossoms" create the form and curves of the pedals.

First the Yellow

I have begun the final painting for my show at the Bistro coming up in August. These poppies were growing in my neighbor's yard and at full bloom were stunning. I love their simplicity in shape and form: only 4 pedals to paint. These poppies will be larger-than-life and in full glory on 22X30 aquabord. First, I put in the yellow underpainting, which will be the foundation for a variety of warm and cool reds.

Tulip Triptych

Tulip Triptych
12x12 (3)
Watercolor on Aquabord by Ampersand

"Pink and Red DO match"

I am dedicating this entry to my Kindergarten Art Teacher who crushed my creative spirit when she declared that my construction paper flower with alternating pink and red pedals "did not match". I have never forgotten the disappointment I felt as a 5 year-old who was so proud of the work she had created. Now, pink and red is one of my favorite color combinations. I only wish I could go back and tell her... "Oh yes, pink and red DO match!"

Painting "light"

In most of my paintings, my goal is to achieve a sense of "light" that will add spirit to the subject. For me, good "light" grabs your attention and brings energy into the painting. I am drawn to paintings that use contrast and light to create a mood. In watercolor, the illusion of light is captured by painting around the light. That sense of light comes from achieving a contrast of values within the painting (the lightest value being the white of the surface). Using a range of color temperature contributes to this illusion as well. I also like to paint in a little light using touches of cool yellow (Hansa Yellow Lt) hinting at the idea of sun. I am at the midpoint for building the values in the above triptych (each section 12x12 on Ampersand Aquabord).

Magenta, Watercolor on Claybord, 8X8

"Stop the car" I tell my husband, driving out of our neighborhood enjoying one of first few days of spring with the kids. "Watch you doing, mommy?" asks my 3-yr-old. My six year old answers, "She is going to take pictures of the flowers." And I add, "I just saw my next painting." And so the conversation goes...
I take my camera everywhere. You never know when something will catch your attention and call to be a painting; everyday things that I may not have even noticed the day (or years) before. That day, it was a row of tulips(?); three lined up in a row dancing in the wind and sun, spotted in the landscaping at the corner motel exiting my neighborhood (an unusual place to find beautifully landscaped patches of blossoming tulips I would say). So, these flowers will be the subject for my next painting, a triptych watercolor on aquabord. Above my composition and color study of magenta.

WaterLily Pond, Complete

Flourishing Above the Surface
Pastel on Pastelbord
18X24

WaterLily Pond, Pastel in Progress 3

I am working this painting on pastelbord by Ampersand. And along with Ampersand's other claybord products (I am using Aquabord for watercolor), I love these hardboard panels. Pastelbord is a clay and gesso panel with a sanded dust-like surface. The surface is similar to sanded pastel paper, but much more durable and versatile. Here, I am using soft pastels on the prepared green board (16x20), but the surface will also take wet pastel techniques and acrylic (maybe I will try this on their white panel next). So many options, so little time.