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Our February Exhibit is “Fire & Ice”. Drama, passion! February is the month for both. Paintings are a way to express our emotions without spoken language. This month, we will try to make a connection with others through this outlet. Member’s submitted paintings can have general subjects and aim to convey an emotional aspect.
The prospectus can be found HERE.
Dear WAS-H Friends,
Happy New Year! I hope you enjoyed good times with family and friends during the holidays and kept warm with our colder than usual temps for December. I am looking forward to 2023 and all the wonderful activities going on at WAS-H.
Our January Paint-In on the 7th with Joanie Hughes is full, but if you are interested, please register for the waitlist. Plans change and frequently a last-minute spot will open.
The January General Meeting on the 8th will feature award winning abstract artist Kim Granhaug. Following the meeting and demo, we will have the January Gallery Experimental Show awards presentation and reception with juror Matt Adams. Come and ring in the New Year with your art family at WAS-H!
Right around the corner is the deadline to enter the International Watermedia Exhibition (IWE) on January 13th. With over $10,000 in awards and acclaimed watercolor artist Brenda Swenson serving as juror and judge, this is THE year to enter. Read the prospectus HERE with complete details.
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 complete listing of classes 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 continuing in the New Year at full force.
Keep an eye on our website for information about other upcoming events. The February Gallery Show theme will be Fire and Ice, the prospectus is HERE. And the Paint-In for February will be with Alison Hendry is open for registration HERE.
Did you know there are color trends each year? Pantone, the company that creates and guides color in many consumer goods announced its 2023 Color of the Year — "Viva Magenta," a bright carmine red. I am wondering if the trend will translate to art-making and more artists will incorporate strong, bright reds in their work this year. Maybe the art supply stores will sell out of Alizarin Crimson and Carmine. Who knows, but I plan to use the color as inspiration for some new work, and hope you do, too.
I hope you will join in more activities at WAS-H, and to see you soon. Thank you for being a part of our wonderful arts community at WAS-H!
Warm Regards,
Karen Houston Stopnicki
WAS-H President
One last seat is available in the Swenson Major Workshop . . .
Did you want to attend the March 2023 Major Workshop with Brenda Swenson but found to your disappointment that the Workshop was fully enrolled? In exchange for serving as Workshop Coordinator, you would be compensated with a complimentary seat in the Workshop.*
The Workshop Coordinator plans and carries out the logistics of the Workshop, which requires time and effort before, during and after the Workshop.
The Workshop Coordinator's first priority is attending to the needs of the classroom, which requires:
Skills, knowledge and experience required:
Experience from having attended a Major Workshop is desirable.
If you are interested in being the Workshop Coordinator, please contact Donna Van Fleet at vicepresident@watercolorhouston.org
*The complimentary seat has a $550 value which the IRS regards as a taxable form of compensation, and WAS-H will provide the Workshop Coordinator with a 1099 Form for tax purposes.
Time's running out to enter the 2023 IWE!
Deadline for entries is January 13, 2023
The 46th International Watermedia Exhibition will showcase paintings by global participants from March 5 – March 30, 2023, at the WAS-H Gallery and winners will be awarded over $10,000 in prizes. Acclaimed watercolor artist, Brenda Swenson, WW, NWWS, SDWS, CWA, will serve as the juror and judge for the event. Swenson's art has been featured in several volumes of "Splash: Best of Watercolor", "Watercolor Artist", "Watercolor Magazine", "Watercolor Highlights", "Plein Air Magazine" and numerous other publications. She is the author of two books and an active participant in the arts community as 1st Vice-President of the California Art Club, as well as having served on the board of directors for the National Watercolor Society and Watercolor West.
Enter the IWE HERE
Find more information HERE or email HERE
"Of all the arts, abstract painting is the most difficult."
~ Wassily Kandinsky
January Members Meeting
Sunday, January 8, 2 p.m.
Kim Granhaug, January 8th's demo artist says, " Non-objective abstract does not have a subject matter to hide behind. As an abstract painter, my challenge is to represent the emotion or essence of an experience. The artwork must convey harmony, discord, pain, joy, love, tension, anxiety, for example the feeling of surviving a flood without painting the flood itself."
"Harvey" by Kim Granhaug
Whether you like abstract art, hate it or just don't understand it, bring your curiosity to the January 8th Membership Meeting, where Kim Granhaug will demonstrate how to communicate an experience through line, shape, color, form and gestural marks.
January PAINT-IN
Joanie Hughes will be the instructor for this month's PAINT-IN on January 7th, 10am-2pm. She is known for her helpful beginner classes and is also a talented artist in realism, Impressionism, and pen & ink. Register HERE.
Theme: FIRE & ICE
Drama, passion! February is the month for both. Paintings are a way to express our emotions without spoken language. This month, we will try to make a connection with others through this outlet. Paintings can have general subjects and aim to convey an emotional aspect.
Find the February Prospectus HERE
Theme: EXPERIMENTAL
Artists are encouraged to use non-traditional ideas and materials for this month’s exhibit. Any surface is allowed but media must be at least 80% water soluble such as watercolor, gouache, acrylic, egg tempura, casein, charcoal or ink.
For more details, here is the JANUARY PROSPECTUS.
Register HERE.
By Karen Stopnicki, WAS-H President
Dear WAS-H Community,
As we come to the close of 2022, I would like to thank you for your support. Whether you participated in our monthly exhibits, signed up for one of the many classes and workshops, dropped in pick-up a piece of local art for a special someone, or volunteered at any of our events, we are grateful to have you in our community.
No matter what brings you to the Watercolor Art Society - Houston, we are happy you're here! Please consider supporting our mission to share the joy of water-media art through teaching programs, demonstrations, outreach and exhibitions. Donations can be made online HERE.
We have an exciting year planned for 2023 and look forward to you and your friends joining us.
Gratefully yours,
Karen Stopnicki,
President of WAS-H
On the morning of Wednesday, December 20th a fire broke out at Winter Street Studios destroying several studios and damaging the building at large. Artists in our community have lost works of art, tools, and other critical pieces of their livelihood and life’s work. Several of the artists impacted are WAS-H members and teachers. Our heartfelt wishes go to everyone impacted by the fire. The Houston Arts Alliance (HAA) has an Emergency Relief Fund. If you would like to contribute, please click HERE.
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