VWS Newsletter 4-30-07

Greetings Watercolorists. Looks like a wet in wet day today. Just hold your paper out the window and….


Anyway, it’s time to rev up the engines for our Spring Meeting.. which is wandering into summer. I recall telling several people it was going to be on May 20. Well, we couldn’t get space on that date at the Cortina Inn, so we took the next available date.

The Spring Meeting will be held at the Cortina Inn in Rutland, Vermont on Sunday, June 3, 2007. We will have check-in at 11:30 and a luncheon at 12-12:30. Much of the meeting will be a presentation by Jan Olmstead and the survey team. Last week we went through the results to compile the data and make some sense out of it, so you will be getting a VERY professional overview compliments of Jan, who has made this an extremely generous contribution to VWS. This survey was generated from Jan’s business-Derby Management. (http://www.derbymanagement.com) We are hoping that from this effort we can discuss your interests, meet the needs of the Society, and put us all on firm ground with a 3-year plan.

There will be other discussions and events on the program to be announced. The meeting will end at approximately 4:30. See you there!

Cortina Inn:

http://www.cortinainn.com/

Green Mountain Fine Art Gallery Show:

We had a nice turn-out for the opening of this show, and enjoyed a terrific display of very diverse and professional work. If you haven’t been there yet, please go and have a look. Sandy and Scott Noble, the Gallery owners, went all out to accommodate a large show in a relatively small space, and did so beautifully. Thank you, Sandy and Scott! In addition, 3 artists were doing demos- Sean Callahan , Lisa Beach, and Bob Sydorowich. It was a real treat to watch them paint. Some of our newer members got in this show and I was especially pleased to have the opportunity to get acquainted- thank you all for coming.

By the way- there was one omission on the list of accepted entries. Liza Myers’ painting “Champlain Moon” was also in the show.

Now in case you have gotten lazy with your brushes, it’s time to get busy again. We have 4 more shows this year.

Our next venue is at the Miller Art Center in Springfield, Vermont. This is an OPEN show- (not juried). Each Member can bring ONE painting for the show, which will be from June 30 to August 10. The opening is Saturday, June 30 from 3-5 PM.
You can deliver your work on June 23 from 11 AM to 4 PM. We will be providing some of the refreshments. This could be a possible volunteer opportunity, to help serve refreshments and possibly co-ordinate donations. You will get more specific details about this part of the show in the next newsletter. Framing should be high quality wooden frames, properly affixed with hanging wire. Mats should be white or off-white.

Following this show, we will be included in this year’s Festival of the Arts in the Mad River Valley. This is a very big event, drawing thousands of people. I happened to be at the Vermont Welcome Center on rt. 91 the other day, and found a nice brochure for the event with VWS listed as one of the features1
Some of the details:

SPONSOR: The Artisan's Gallery, Bridge Street, Waitsfield, Vermont
http://www.vtartisansgallery.com/

DATES OF SHOW: August 3 to September 9, 2007
ARTIST'S RECEPTION: August 11, 2007 4:00 to 7:00 pm
DROP OFF: July 29 & 30 10:30 am to 5:00 pm
PICK UP: September 9 & 10 10:30 am to 5:00 pm
ENTRIES: Entries to be juried before hanging
One entry per person
Outside frame dimensions not to exceed 24" in any direction
Neutral colored mats preferred
Wooden frames preferred (metal frames accepted if of good quality)
All work must be wired, ready for hanging and framed to archival standards
Full contact information, title and price to be prominently placed on back of work
ALL WORK MUST BE FOR SALE
ORIGINALITY STATEMENT: all entrants will be asked to sign a document stating that the work is original to the artist and is not, either in whole or a part, copied from another piece of art
UNACCEPTED WORKS: pick up any time during gallery hours (daily from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm) or at the artist's reception
THEME: un-themed (looking for a diverse show)
COMMISSION: 40% with 10% returned to the Vermont Watercolor Society
JUROR: provided by Artisan's Gallery

ALTERNATES: a number of pieces will be held as replacements should pieces be sold. Some pieces not juried into the Artisan’s Gallery may be hung in restaurants, B&Bs, etc. throughout town.

Many thanks to Gary Eckhart for negotiating this wonderful opportunity for us.

Following the show in Waitsfield, we will have another show at the Reed Gallery in September, followed by a juried show in December at the Southern Vermont Arts center. Our annual Meeting is held in November.




Other News:

Painting and workshop opportunities:

Rob O’Brien will give the following workshop at the Great River Arts Institute in Bellows Falls Vermont. Contact Rob for more details:



FLORAL WORKSHOP — ROBERT O ’ BRIEN AWS NWS
2 Day Workshop limited to 10
May 19 – May 20 - 2007, 9:30AM – 4:00 PM
Tuition: $185
Celebrate spring with a floral painting workshop in watercolor with award winning artist, Robert O ’ Brien AWS NWS. Students will learn basic floral painting techniques, with an emphasis on values and composition. One session will focus on painting from photographs of flowers in an artistic setting. The other session will concentrate on painting from life. There will be a critique and class discussion at the end of each day.
ROBERT O ’ BRIEN works primarily with watercolor and pastels. He is a traditional painter of landscape, floral and architectural studies. He has studied with James Whatford, Tony Couch, and the late Marshall Joyce AWS and is a member of: The American Watercolor Society; National Watercolor Society: North East Watercolor Society; New England Watercolor Society; Academic Artists Association; Southern Vermont Artists; Central New York Watercolor Society; Vermont Watercolor Society; Chester Art Guild; Springfield Art and Historical Society.


Robert J. O'Brien
2811 Weathersfield Ctr Road
Perkinsville, VT 05151
802-263-9394
www.robertjobrien.com

VWS Special Opportunity:

Sheryl Trainor, our VWS Secretary and owner of Pegasus Gallery, has offered to sponsor a one day workshop with John Lynch. John comes every year to visit , teach and exhibit at the Pegasus Gallery. He will be having a show there August 10-Sept. 2.
http://www.pegasusgalleryvt.com/

John’s painting classes are always delightful and well-attended. The date will be Sunday, August 12- (the day after our opening at the Artisan’s Gallery). More details to follow.

Reminder: These newsletters are published on out web site under “this just in”.

www.vermontwatercolorsociety.com

NOTE: If you are getting these emails but have not renewed for 2007, this will be your last email. You are welcome to rejoin VWS at any time, but you will need to contact out treasurer to make arrangements. All the information you need is on the web page.

Submitted by Cynthia Crawford
VWS president 2006-2007