By Karen Stopnicki, WAS-H President

Dear WAS-H Friends,

It’s hard to believe it is already February and we will be trimming roses and crape myrtles in another week. Personally, I am looking forward to a long season of beautiful Spring blooming plants around Houston, the more vibrant the better.

Our January Paint-In on the 4th with Alison Hendry Hughes is sold out, but if you are interested, please register for the waitlist. Plans change and frequently a last-minute spot will open.

The February General Meeting on the 5th will feature award winning artist and WAS-H teacher Susan Giananntonio. She will be sharing a wonderful technique of collage with water media, for which she has a new class series. Following the meeting and demo, we will have the February Fire and Ice Show awards presentation and reception with juror Dena Woodall. I am excited to enjoy everything going on at WAS-H this Sunday! 

The International Watermedia Exhibition (IWE) is just around the corner, opening reception on March 5th. Please plan to come see the month-long exhibition, as IWE Chair, Donna Van Fleet, has told me she has seen the entries accepted and it is absolutely breathtaking. If you have friends in town, bring them, or if you have a book club or other social group, organize a morning visit, and then have lunch at one of the wonderful Montrose area restaurants. What could be better than sharing art with friends?

In conjunction with the IWE, we will host a workshop taught by Brenda Swenson. The workshop, Negative Painting with Watercolor, is full, and we are currently accepting waitlist registration, HERE.

Our Spring classes are open for registration, and while several are full, we still have availability in many fun classes. 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 busier than ever. Keep an eye on our website for information about other upcoming events in March, April and May.

I was talking with one of our favorite WAS-H teachers, Fred Kingwill, and lamented I haven’t had much time to paint recently. He urged me to visualize painting each day when I couldn’t be in the studio. As he sang the praises of visualizing an activity to stay sharp, maintain readiness and make improvements, I imagined myself putting aside a few minutes every day to mentally paint pictures. Thank you, Fred, I am on it!

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