This is the Archive of the Vermont Watercolor Society online newsletters from the old web site. It is for reference only.

Sunday, September 27, 2009



Quarterly Newsletter
Fall 2009


President's Message
THE PARADOX OF CHANGE

As an organization we are always changing. Our membership is growing and becoming more diverse. Our programming and exhibition venues are always being fined tuned; and our infrastructure is improving to accommodate all the above.

I believe change is a good thing, but only as long as we are able to remember whom we are and why we are here. It is this paradox of changing for the future while remembering the past that we must cultivate. What better way to remember than to celebrate our 15th anniversary this coming year.

Fifteen years ago, we received acceptance from the State of Vermont to operate as a legal non-profit entity under the name, Vermont Watercolor Society. We have enjoyed 15 years of exhibitions, growth opportunities and most importantly lasting friendships.

We have so many reasons to celebrate. There will be opportunities for all to participate in the fun of planning events, exhibition venues and the historical documentation of our society.

We are all creative beings and each of us has much to offer. Imagine what we can do if we all pitch in together. We are now accepting names of those interested in being part of our Anniversary Planning Committee. Give me a call at 802 297 9603, or email me.

See you at the Fall meeting.
Jan

Upcoming VWS Meeting Dates
thatcher brook
Fall meeting date:
Saturday, October 24, 2009 Middlebury Inn.

The agenda is as follows:
10:30 - 11:15 Check-in and vendor visit.
Our vendor for this meeting is Thatcher Brook Printing and Photographic in Waterbury, VT. They are a full service art reproduction studio that produces fine art prints featuring the best papers and archival pigmented inks.
11:15 - 12:00 Business meeting
Board Succession
Volunteer of the Year Award
12:00 - 1:15 Lunch
New website roll-out
Special announcements
Member's Christmas Auction
Workshops & Exhibits
Anniversary Celebration Committee
Member Q&A
1:15 - 1:30 Break and vendor visit
1:30 - 2:45 Panel Presentation "Alternative Surfaces"
2:45 - 3:00 Wrap up and Door Prizes

The meeting registration form will be sent to you on Oct.3.

Spring Meeting date: Sunday April 25th, Quechee Club.
Search for two board positions
There are two Board positions available that will be voted on at our Fall meeting.

Vice President Karen Casper has resigned her position on the Board of Directors. She has been a very dedicated and hard-working board member and we thank her for all her contributions.

The overall responsibilites of the vice president are to fill in for the president as needed, and assist in providing guidance to the Board. If you are interested, please contact Loretta Weitzel.

Secondly, the search is on for Membership Director.The person accepting this new Board position will be responsible for all direct communication with members including new member welcome letters and renewal reminders.

Think about joining a fun group of people while contributing to your organization. If interested, contact Loretta Weitzel.
VWS/Grafton Award Winners
harold Aksdal - grafton best of show
The VWS exhibition in Grafton at the Hunter Gallery of Fine Art and the Phelps Gallery in the Old Tavern was very successful. This was our first awards show and will become an annual VWS event. Fifty-eight artists submitted work and 40 paintings were chosen for the exhibit. There were four sales and three of these were award winners. See the complete list of awards below.

BEST IN SHOW, Vermont Watercolor Society - $500
HARALD AKSDAL
"Bridal Party"
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE, The Hunter Gallery of Fine Arts - $200
LYN DUMOULIN
"Summer Heat"

CHEAP JOE'S, Merchandise Award - $100
JEAN CANNON
"Mangroves"
THE MACUGA AWARD, Henry & Lois Macuga - $50
MARK NIELSON
"Holyoke Canal"
THE FRAMERY AWARD, Merchandise - $50
ROBERT O'BRIEN
"G's Tractor"
VWS MERCHANDISE AWARD
DORIS INGRAM
"Eggemoggin Reach"
HONORABLE MENTION, Merchandise
ANNELEIN BEUKENKAMP
"Walking the Plank"
MARNI MCKITRICK
"Sailors Warning"
Awards Won in Other Exhibits
Marlene Kramer's painting
Marlene Kramer
- The 1st Award of Excellence for her work "Oh Boy! Coy!" at the third annual exhibition at Grafton until September 10.

Robert Sydorowich
- Honorable Mention for Watercolors at the Monadnock Area Artists Association "Art in the Park" in Keene.September 5 - 6.

Robert O'Brien
- the Philadelphia Watercolor Society Award for his painting "New York Central" at the 89th National Watercolor Society exhibit opening October 10, in Brea, California.
j bates business card 2009
Visit Black Horse Fine Art Supply
The Southern Vermont Art Center Show

You've all received the perspectus for the Southern Vermont Art Center Exhibit along with the entry form and labels. Below see some key dates.

- Deadline for submission of CD/slides is October 5th (postmark)
- Delivery for accepted work is Wednesday, October 28th from 10am to 1pm
- Opening reception will happen on Saturday, October 31st from 2 - 4pm
- Pick up accepted work Tuesday, December 1st from 10am to 12pm
VWS Sponsors Fall Workshop
VWS will sponsor a one day fall landscape painting workshop taught by Rob O'Brien at the North Chapel Universalist Society in Woodstock. The church is located on Rt 4 just west of the village green. The date is Saturday October 3rd from 9:30am - 3:30pm. Cost is $75. All levels welcome. Go to rjoartist@yahoo.com or beuken@yahoo.com to register. Send your check to Lois Macuga at PO Box 338, Quechee, VT 05059.
Artist's Profile - Nancy Stone
nancy stone
Williston artist and teacher Nancy Stone has lived a creative life and remembers "selling paintings of a black horse jumping over a fence in third grade for $1.00 each." Her supportive mother "always provided me with supplies and encouragement, so I was an artist long before I dared to call myself such an elevated title! Art projects or posters came first, then homework."
nancy stone 2

This supportive atmosphere combined with a naturally curious mind laid the groundwork for Nancy's dual careers of professional artist and teacher. In college, Nancy majored in ceramics but took classes in drawing, printmaking, wood tetonic design, and oil painting. This served her well in her first teaching job in Minnesota where she taught art in five schools to children in kindergarten through high school. She thrived on the challenge of teaching young children as well as more sophisticated teenagers, some of whom were on their way to art school. She credits her 25+ years of teaching as the "breeding ground for the diversity in my work today."

Nancy describes her foray into watercolor as an "epiphany" that came on a canoe trip with her husband. "I dipped my brush into the river water and painted the waterscape as it evolved over time, while riding upon the water. Wow!" Like so many other watercolor artists, she cites portability as an attraction, but then includes the challenge of the medium as well.

She said, "It provides diverse painting experiences, from multiple veiling of glazes on hot press paper to frolicking textures on Yupo paper."

Since taking up watercolor, Nancy has taken numerous classes with artists such as Frank Webb who taught her what she considers to "have been the biggest lesson I ever had" about the importance of value in painting. "Now, when I teach watercolor, I say, 'You need salt and pepper, you need the spiciness of lights and darks."

In addition to watercolor, Nancy studied acrylics and creative bookbinding and has made many fine art books using her acrylic paintings and collage as content on the pages, never watercolor because they cannot take the handling. One book that stands out documents the early years of the family golden retriever. She co-founded the Book Arts Guild of Vermont and continues as its co-chair and editor. Her books have been shown around Vermont in venues such as the T. W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier and Studio Place Arts in Barre. In 2006, one of her books won the juror's award at the Shelburne Arts Center Book Arts Guild show.

Nancy first learned of the Vermont Watercolor Society from a brochure she saw at Black Horse Art Supply. She was impressed by the venues for juried shows and the community offered by VWS. It wasn't long before she became a signature member.

Though she has retired from full time teaching, Nancy remains active in the field, teaching adults at the Community College of Vermont and mentoring children. "Teaching part-time offers income, but also allows me time to be an artist. The diverse ideas of young and adult students inform my own aesthetic." Her retirement has been anything but a slowing down. Among her regular activities, Nancy counts singing in a choir, ushering at the Flynn Center and St. Michael's Playhouse as well as her work in the Book Arts Guild. Her involvement in the Kids4Peace Project combines four of her passions: "children, art, peace and book arts."

Currently Nancy's watercolor on Yupo, "In a Time Before Names," is touring New England with a group show of Vermont artists as part of the state's 2009 celebration of Lake Champlain's quadricentennial. It began years ago as a drawing she did of an ancient whale skeleton housed at the University of Vermont, "a fossil uncovered during early railway construction that attests to the ancient history of Lake Champlain as an inland sea." The piece is a beautiful example of Nancy's process as an artist: "Manipulating the paint, pouring the color, losing control and then getting some back using lost and found edges, and of course, having fun. This is true no matter what medium I am working in. I like to push the medium to places I haven't yet been to throw myself off balance. I don't want to ever stop learning."

boutilliers
VWS Sponsor Offers Fall Workshops
sponsor logo InView Center for the Arts at The Landgrove Inn, Vermont's premier workshop destination, proudly presents
September in Watercolors featuring 2 nationally recognized watercolor instructors:
Frank Francese, NWS, September 21st thru 25th: 5-day workshop
There are tuition discounts for VWS members.
Paul Leveille, is scheduled to teach a watercolor portrait workshop from October 27 through the 29th.
Tuition discounts for VWS members.

Call The Landgrove Inn for details at 802-824-6673 or
800-669-8466, To reserve go to: www.landgroveinn.com vtinn@sover.net
VWS Upgrades to FileMakerPro
The VWS recently acquired the latest FM10 software with support from an anonymous donation.
Our new database gives us an essential functions and greater efficiencies.

We have Karen Casper to thank for making this database conversion possible. Her contribution has been invaluable.
Member Exhibits and Workshops
Kathleen Berry Bergeron will teach eight-week Adult Watercolor classes in Jericho and St.Albans beginning in September.
Call 802 899-4628 for more info. Space is limited.

Diane Bell
Director of Communications
Vermont Watercolor Society


In This Issue

Off the Easel - a VWS OFFICIAL Fundraiser


On Saturday, August 15th, seven members of the Vermont Watercolor Society met at the Burlington Waterfront for a day of painting beautiful Lake Champlain for the Quadricentennial.

The paintings created, and any inspired by the vistas, will be auctioned off as a fundraiser to equally benefit the society (1/3), Dragonheart Vermont, a breast cancer charity, (1/3) and the artists (1/3).


We painted for several hours in the morning and gathered around for lunch chatting about various art related topics. Visitors were plentiful and we handed out cards with the new blog address (vwshowsonline.blogspot.com) to interested individuals.

Participants were: Kathy Berry Bergeron, Annelein Beukenkamp, Caren D. Calafati, Karen Casper, Larry Coffin, Diana D. Dunn and Donna Koutrakos. The day was perfect, as was the weather and we had a wonderfully shady spot overlooking all the happenings by the Burlington Boathouse.

We would like to extend an invitation to all members to put a lake/pond/body of water inspired painting in the upcoming fundraiser auction. We will place the images on our new blog with a link to an auction site for interested patrons to place their bids. We are gearing this auction to take place around the holidays. Anyone interested should contact Annelein Beukenkamp.

Some of the work created on site at the Waterfront will be on display at the Fall meeting at the Middlebury Inn. Thank you to all who were there on the 15th and thanks to all who will put in a watercolor for our fundraiser!
Annelein Beukenkamp
beukwin@comcast.net

New VWS Members
Debbie Peate - Williston, VT
Don Dalton - Chester, VT
Beverly Montiel - Swanton, VT
Coralie Curran - S. Portland, ME
Ellie Ernst - Walpole, NH
Harald Aksdal - Fairfax, VT
Joan Harlowe - East Burke, VT
Dale Goldhaber - Burlington, VT

Welcome everyone!

artists medium logo

Artists Mediums: staffed by artists, for artists. We offer a wide selection of reasonably priced art supplies and custom picture framing, in addition to events and workshops. Stop by or check out our website at http//www.artistsmediums.com

Artists' Mediums
300 Cornerstone Drive
Williston, VT 05489
(802) 879-1236
(800) 255-1290


Our VWS Sponsor
sponsor logo
See all the 2009 workshops
Landgrove Inn and the InView Center for the Arts



Artist Tips
- Use incidence of color change on a shape for greater interest
- Temperature is important for the GREATEST contrast
- When you want to push something back, use soft colors and soft edges
- To fix foreground issues, remember the thirds and use oblique shapes and lines

Send any tips you may like to share to:
dgbell_adelphia1@comcast.net.