The Northwest Watercolor Society of today has structured an organization that offers a wealth of opportunities and experiences for the artist, the art patron and all those fascinated by the magical wonder of watercolor.
The President’s Message
September-October 2011 Hot Press Newsletter
“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place; from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” Henri Matisse
As we enter the season of glorious fall colors, we are indeed receptacles of emotions, inspiration, vibrant colors, imaginations gone wild, and innovative images in every direction we turn. From these surroundings we can dream and make magical paintings based on the wonderful area in which each of us live…from the majestic mountains and forests in the Northwest, Northeast and Canada, to the deserts and plains of the Midwest, to the historical East Coast where so much of our original heritage comes from, and to the South with such diversity and gracious living.
Inspiration is found in such different ways in the areas in which we live and enjoy throughout travels locally as well as internationally. Look at things in many, many ways – not just verbatim as it appears initially to us. Take a second or third or who-knows-how-many-times look to revisit images which intrigue us. Look at it as though it were under a magnifying glass…see all those details and different lines and curves. Or take a step back and go for the overall big scene. Paint several scenes in the same location many times, zeroing in and zooming out, and eliminating/closing out an aspect not pleasing to you. Move a little to the left, to the right, or move straight ahead or backwards. Edit to your heart’s content. As artists, we can move objects around without getting a permit and construction company involved. We have that power! Use it.
Our summer “hiatus” has been a time for all of us to look for new inspiration and grab bits of time to get an image down on paper. Then autumn approaches with all its splendor. Live it, see it, breathe it, feel it, sketch it, paint it!
Your Board of Directors (consisting of 5 Officers and 43 Committee Chairs) have been very busy over the summer. Our new Officers and Chairs have been exchanging files and getting briefed on their new jobs. Volunteers are needed for Assistant Treasurer, Grant Writer (this may be done from any area of the country), Webmaster Assistant to send out our bulk emails (may also be done from any area of the country), and an Exhibition Coordinator (see Seattle Design Center below). We are an elite inter-national organization with approximately 900 members. Such a highly-respected group does not operate without multitudes of volunteers—we need your help especially in the above jobs, as well as committee members for all the various committees and exhibitions. Please volunteer to help.
Venues have been increasingly hard to find recently. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of Joy Hagan and Charlette Haugen, we have been able to secure a gallery (2,000+ square feet) in the Seattle Design Center running from October 16, 2011 through June 30, 2012. The Seattle Design Center, south of downtown Seattle, is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9-5 and has showrooms of merchandise for perusal by interior designers. (Interior designers look for artwork for their clientele.) We will be having our Waterworks 2011 Exhibition October 16 – December 30, 2011 and our 2012 Open Exhibition April 21 – May 25, 2012. Around those two major exhibitions, NWWS will be having other exhibitions, such as Volunteers/Board of Directors Exhibitions, possibly Plein Aire Exhibitions, classes, etc. We need a volunteer to be an Exhibition Coordinator. We’re working on utilizing this space to its fullest!
Northwest Watercolor Society has some exciting times ahead of us this year!
Paint with a happy heart!
Cricket Crockett, President
NORTHWEST WATERCOLOR SOCIETY
