FEBRUARY, 2020

Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 11, 2020, 7:00 pm, LLUMC Asbury Hall

www.swswatercolor.org/

Some people would say that watercolor is the perfect medium for expressing romantic feelings, but there are many kinds of love and watercolor is a medium that can express all aspects of human experience. The Arts include aesthetic objects or experiences created with imagination and skill to express beauty or important ideas or feelings, like love. Watercolor is just one of the media that can do that.

Presumably, if you are reading this, you love art and, especially, watercolor. Perhaps you paint and, as a practitioner, you pay attention what other artists are doing. Or perhaps you don’t paint but love to see expressive artworks done by others. In any case, as an art lover, the more you know, the more love grows. That is the objective of an article by the New York Times about how to fall in love with art. https://www.nytimes.com/guides/year-of-living-better/how-to-fall-in-love-with-art. It includes some tips about approaching art so that you will maximize your enjoyment and love it even more. That is a great Valentine message.

In addition, be sure to take advantage of the opportunities provided this spring by the Southwestern Watercolor Society to attend demonstrations, workshops, paint-outs and other experiences. Love is in the air--enjoy it and let it grow.

Love is in the Air

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Lou Bono, SWS President

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Lou Bono2019 - 2020 PresidentSouthwestern Watercolor Society

Greetings!

We are eagerly looking forward to emerging from winter hibernation into warmer spring time activities. Hope you have found time to continue painting!

This month’s photo is in front of the Church of Saint Michele in Foro, in the walled town of Lucca, Italy. “In Foro” indicating it was built over the remains of an ancient Roman forum. Existing at the same site since 795, the current church started in 1143 with addi-tions of intricate marble columns continuing through 1383. At the top of the façade is a statue of Saint Michael slaying a dragon. Mechanical devices once caused his wings to move. The interior of the church was serene and inspiring with beautiful art.

Our January “Artist Throwdown” was entertaining and fun. Thank you again to our participating abstract artists, Jane Jones, Teta Smith, Judith Pafford and Ron Stephens for sharing your talents and original art! We appreciate you! And thanks to Jonesy McCon-nell as Emcee and vendor demo by Jason Stallings. Funds from the Throwdown auction benefit our member’s exhibition in September.

We have an exciting slate of spring guest artists and workshops – thanks to our co-workshop chairs Dalynn Montgomery and Paula Vining. We are finalizing plans for our spring paint out and hope to have details soon.

Please join us as we bring you all these great activities.

ARTIST’S SPOTLIGHT

Rosari Birmingham

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“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he (or she) grows up.” ~ Pablo Picasso

I am a born, raised, schooled, and lifelong resident of northeast Dallas. From my very earliest memory, I was dabbling and painting with the black tin Prang watercolors that my dad sold in our grocery store. My love of art has always been within me. After college, with a B.A. in Interior De-sign from North Texas State University, came marriage, raising children, and, college, again, in mid-life to earn a M.Ed. in Elementary Education. At 40, I began my teaching a career in first and second grades for 22 years in the Dallas ISD, retiring in 2008. I loved teaching and imparting knowledge to my many students over the years. And, I used my love of art to convey many academic concepts across the curriculum.

“Education is a journey, not a race!” ~ Rudolph Steiner

After refocusing my life, I began renewing and pursuing my dream of drawing and painting. For the past 11 years I have been enjoying my journey into the visual art of painting. To begin, in 2008, I took a continu-

ing education class at SMU for a semester, followed by a few one-day workshops. By spring of 2009, I began attending an oil painting art class with Mary Ann Whittle at Ridgewood Park Recreation Center, then, at The Point at C. C. Young. Mary Anne taught me to loosen up, let my inner child come out, and “just go for it.” It is in this class, I met Jacque Wacker, who has become a very good friend and encouraged me to pursue watercolor. She has shared with me many of the tips and techniques that she has learned over the years in her paint-ing journey. And, it is through Jacque, that I met Gaylord O’Con. For almost four years, I have been

attending several classes with Gaylord. He has added so much to my watercolor experience by helping me develop my skills and, to enjoy the magical quality of watercolor.

I enjoy painting landscapes, architectural styled paintings, birds, flowers and often, places where my husband and I have traveled. Nothing beats the sense of fulfillment that comes from completing a painting. Every painting teaches me something about life, so I try to be persistent and patient with myself. I want to continue to learn new techniques, grow and change as an artist. My philosophy

ARTIST’S SPOTLIGHT

is, and has always been, to never stop learning new things every day. I will continue to do so. Two of my goals are to paint plein air and to enter a SWS juried show. And, who knows, one day I could become one of the world’s most famous unknown artists!

“Ancora imparo. (Yet, I am learn-ing.)” ~ Michelangelo

Thank you, Mary Anne, Jacque, Gaylord, members of SWS and all of my “artsy” friends in class, for allowing me to travel with you on this art-filled journey!

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IN MEMORIUM

It is with sadness that we note the passing of Jean McElreath Walling (Aileen Jean McElreath) on November 24, 2019. Ms. Walling was an accomplished artist and a former student of one of our SWS found-ers, Naomi Brotherton. Noted in her obituary as a “true visionary in the field of Special Education”. Jean had earned a master's degree in early childhood development from the University of Texas-Austin, where she also received a bachelor's degree in music and started her career as an educator teaching piano at the Texas State School for the Blind. She made lasting contributions in the field of Special Education. Jean enjoyed travel, painting, and her family and friends.

A memorial service will be held in March; please see her Facebook page and this website for updates and details. https://www.northdal-lasfuneralhome.com/. In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.

SWS RECENT EVENTS

January Membership MeetingFor the third year in a row, on January 14, the first Membership meeting of the new year featured our Member Artist Throwdown. This is a fun, well-attended event in which four esteemed members demonstrate their painting skills under pressure. This year it was emceed by Jonesy McConnell. The four artists were Ron Stephens, Teta Smith, Jane Jones, and Judith Pafford. Each one came in with a drawing on wa-tercolor paper and then had 15 minutes to begin their non-objective paintings before they swaped them to another artist. The paintings were shifted to the right every fifteen minutes and presented a new problem to each recipient artist. Because the artists have unique approaches, the results evolved--and sometimes the paintings were al-most obliterated--after each swap. The artists had 15 minutes with the painting they had originated at the end to tweak the modified results of the collective group thepainting they initiated.

This was the first time the Throw-down focused on non-objective ab-stractions rather than naturalistic paintings with identifiable subject matter. In these paintings, the art-ists were working out the way the colors, shapes, textures and other elements of design interact in the compositions while they painted. When Jonesy called time over, the paintings were signed by all four artists and auctioned to help build the coffers of next year’s member-ship exhibition awards.

As a prelude to the Artist Throw-down, Jason Stallings, represent-ing Chartpak, gave an opening

demonstration of several Chartpak products, including Grumbacher and Schminky watercolor paints and Molotow masking pens with variable size nibs. During the throwdown, members and guests visited Jason Stalling’s table to watch and listen to him continue his demonstration. Door prizes from Jason added to the enjoyment of the evening. The Artist of the Month competition will resume next month.

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Artist Throwdown painters hard at work

Judith Pafford, Jane Jones, Teta, Smith, and Ron Stephens show the completed paintings

DATE ARTIST VENUEFebruary 11 - 13 2020Tuesday - Thursday

(3 DAY)

Dan Marshallhttps://www.DanMarshallArt.com

Teta Smith Studio

$350/$400

March 10 - 12 2020Tuesday - Thursday

(3 DAY)

Michael Reardonhttps://www.mreardon.com

Teta Smith Studio

$350/$400

April 15 - 17 2019Wednesday - Friday

(3 DAY)

Alexis Lavinehttps://www.AlexisLavineArtist.com

Teta Smith Studio

$350/$400

Watercolor workshops are being held from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm at the Teta Smith’s Studio inside the SKYPONY GALLERY, at the Shops at Willow Bend Mall ON SECOND LEVEL, 6121 W Park Blvd, Plano, TX 75093. Park in Neiman’s garage. The mall is just off North Dallas Tollway and George Bush. The venue does not require navigating stairs to get to the workshop location and parking is easyMap: https://www.shopwillowbend.com/directory-map/

To find out more about each of the artists and the workshops, please check out the Workshops page on the SWS website at https://www.swswatercolor.org/workshops.

SPRING WORKSHOP SCHEDULEEnrollment is now open for Spring SWS Workshops. To register and find out more about the work-shops, go to https://www.swswatercolor.org/workshops. Fill out the workshop form and make a $100 deposit to hold your seat. This fee and any additional payments made are refundable if the registra-tion is cancelled at least a month before the start of the workshop. The $100 registration fee will not be refunded for cancellations less than a month before the workshop unless a replacement partici-pant is found and paid for. (Members save money and membership information is available online at https://www.swswatercolor.org/join)

Invoices for the final balance will be mailed to workshop participants and are due a month before the workshop start date to continue to hold the seat. Workshop fees vary by instructor with non-members paying $100.00 more than members.

For more information, contact Paula Vining at 817-991-3639 or workshops@swswatercolor.org.

SWS UPCOMING EVENTS

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SWS UPCOMING EVENTS

February Membership Meeting

February Watercolor WorkshopThe February Watercolor Workshop will also feature Daniel Marshall, a landscape painter who curently resides in Denver, Colorado. He is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society and a sought after workshop instructor who shares insights in regard to developing a confi-dent style that infuses paintings with immediacy and freshness. An avid plein air painter, Daniel is inspired by and paints the majority of his works on location.

Participants in the February SWS workshop can expect to be introduced to Marshall’s tonalist approach that eschews bright colors in favor of muted tones and backlit subjects that look moody or dreamy. He is at-tracted to mystery and soft suggested detail rather than having the viewer be hit over the head with a color hammer and precise information. He wants the viewer’s mind to engage and fill in the details. He does this by creating soft, lost edges to suggest subtle details or add atmospheric perspective. Then he adds a bit more detail in the middle ground and the

foreground. His goal is to unify the large shapes while insinuating complexity and and suggestion rather than being so explicit that all questions are answered.

This month’s workshop participants are in for a treat.

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The guest artist for the February meeting of the Southwestern Watercolor Society will be Dan Marshall. A plein air painter who produces atmospheric paintings with a sense of gravitas, he will demonstrate the style that has earned him signature membership status in one of the premier watercolor societies of the United States, the American Watercolor Society. Marshall has been featured in Watercolor Artist Magazine, Southwest Art Maga-zine, American Art Collector and Plein Air Magazine. He is also a regular contributor to publications, writing articles about plein air painting, his experiences and water-color instruction.

As Marshall has said, the first step is choosing subject matter that the artist connects with emotionally or visually and determining a strong composi-tion. Whether he works in the studio or is painting on location, he strives to visualize the finished painting in his mind and then think about the steps and techniques to get to the finished result. By working from the biggest shapes to smallest, from back-ground to foreground, big brushes to little brushes, thin washes to thicker pigment, his smallest details are saved for last. Marshall’s process enables confidently proceed and maximize the probability of success in creating a compelling painting. At the same time, he leaves room for experimentation so that he can improvise and then correct missteps to keep the painting fresh and dynamic.

Please join us on Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00 pm to watch Dan Marshall share the secrets of his success.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Nominations Open for 2020/2021 Board MembersA lot of dedicated people work together to make the Southwestern Watercolor Society the terrific society that it is. Just as we reach the midpoint of the membership year, it is time to begin the search for new leaders and volunteers to continue all the great opportunities we provide for painters and others interested in watermedia. President Lou Bono has announced that nominations are now open for the Board for the 2020/2021 Board year.

There are a number or positions open for the next term. The current 1st Vice President for Programs, Jeff Jenson, will assume the Presidency. Leadership positions that support him include

The incumbents of some of these positions will want to continue in their roles for another year, but the By-Laws limits the number of terms that Officers and Committee Chairs can serve. We always need people who are not currently officers to be willing to assume those positions that will be becoming vacant.

Volunteering to be a leader benefits SWS, of course, but it also has benefits for the volunteer:• Volunteering at SWS connects you to others who share your interest in watermedia • Volunteering at SWS can give you additional understanding of watermedia and advance your career• Volunteering at SWS gives you a sense of satisfaction because you learn new skills and give back

to the group• Volunteering at SWS is fun

If you would like to be considered for a leadership role by the nominating committee, please contact Jeff at jjensen@hksinc.com. You may also nominate yourself or someone else at the November 12 member meeting by submitting your name and position in the nominations box that will be at the member table. We hope to complete nominations for Officers and Committee Chairs by February, and the membership will-vote by April for installation at our last meeting in May. The SWS year runs from June 1 through May 31.

In addition to leadership roles, we are also looking for committee members, especially for the 2020 Exhibition committee. These volunteers work with the 4th VP Exhibitions. To learn about the Exhibition leadership roles that are available and to volunteer, please contact current 4th VP Exhibitions, Regina Carl at Rmcarl46@gmail.com.

Our leaders will tell you that volunteering made their experience at SWS more valuable. Join the Team today!

OFFICERS1st VP, Programs 2nd VP, Membership3rd VP,Workshops4th VP, ExhibitionsTreasurerRecording SecretaryCorresponding Secretary

COMMITTEE CHAIRSPaint-OutsProfessional Standards/Signature MembershipsPublic RelationsSCENE Newsletter and Website EditorArtist of the MonthSocialPhotographersSWS Café Technical SupportDVD LibraryStepping Stone ScholarshipsEducation CoordinatorPainting of the MonthHistorianWestern FederationFacebookPublic Art

ANNOUNCEMENTS

2020 Western Federation Entries have been sent to exhibition host, the Idaho Watercolor SocietyJones McConnell, SWS delegate to the WFWS, reports that the entries for the South-western Watercolor Society have been received and sent to the hosting Idaho Water-color Society to be juried for the 45th Annual WFWS Membership Show. SWS is one of the eleven watercolor societies in the western part of the country and every year WFWS holds an annual juried show which is hosted by a different regional member society. Those exhibitions showcase works on paper created with a variety of water-based media. Membership in WFWS is automatic for any member of one of the elev-en different regional societies including SWS. The prospectus and call for entries for

the 45TH Western Federation of Watercolor Societies has been available on the SWS website for several months. The entry forms, digital images & entry fee were due to local delegates by Friday January 10, 2020.,Notices of accepted paintings go out to the Delegates and artists on Feb 24th. from IWS. Non-accept-ed Notices will follow shortly after that. Accepted artists and society delegates will receive hospitality information by March 1. Matted but not framed accepted paintings are due to Jones McConnell on April 3rd and he will send them on to the Idaho Watercolor Society.

Read the full prospectus for the 45th Annual WFWS Membership Show on the SWS Website at https://www.swswatercolor.org/exhibitions/45th-western-federation-of-watercolor-societies-exhibition. Read more about the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies at http://wfws.org/.

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The Visual Art League of Lewisville, TX is offering a cold wax and oil abstract workshop taught by Sharon Serrago of Richardson. The dates are Feb 19,20,21st. For more information and to register go to the Visual Art League website. The workshop is open to the public . For more information con-tact Jackie Haugen at waterjourney@verizon.net.

The Watercolor Society of South Texas will be hosting a workshop with Vlad Yeliseyev on April 3-5 at

Port Aransas Art Center 104 N. Alister Street Port Aransas, Texas 78373

Registration and more information is on their website at https://wsstx.org/.

71st Annual Texas Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition call for entriesFebruary 1, 2020 - March 27, 2020Important change for show entries!!!

EMAIL SUBMISSIONS TO: tws2020@csiofsa.comJuror & workshop: Judi Coffey

Opening reception: May 30, 2020Hill Country Arts Foundation

Ingram, Txhttps://texaswatercolorsociety.org/

SWS HAPPENINGS

News of Members

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Hollan Holmes, “Industrial Revolution III

HAPPENINGS are stories about accomplishments earned by SWS Members including selections for juried shows, awards won, speaking engagements, selections for publication, etc. Announce-ments of upcoming workshop offerings, classes, art sales, and other announcements by members about services for a fee are classified as Advertisements, not Happenings. Please submit Happenings, Announcements and Advertisements to the SWS Editor, Kay Byfeld, at SWSNewsEditor@gmail.com.

Hollan Holmes’ watercolor painting, “Industrial Revolution III”, was accepted into the 153rd Annual International Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society, to be held at the Salmagundi Club in New York City April 6-25, 2020.

Signature member, Alicia Farris was honored to be accepted into the 99th Annual International Open Exhibition of the Nation-al Watercolor Society, October 2019, with her painting, “Wheth-er or Not”. She was featured in an interview in the October 2019 issue of Missouri Life Magazine and was accepted into the 2020 International Open Exhibition of the Missouri Water-color Society with her painting, “Piazza Parade”, which will take

place in Barcelona, Spain in April.

Tom Brown was awarded first place in the Town and Country Show at the Forest and Ocean Gallery in Laguna Beach. The show included several mediums and will be on display from January 14 to January 27. Check out Tom’s Facebook page for the the announcement and the painting.

Gale Webb's painting, “Watchful Eye “ will be exhibited in the 153rd AWS An-nual International Exhibition. April 6-25,2020 at Salmagundi Club 47 Fifth Ave New York.

Alicia Farris, “Whether or Not”

Gale Webb, “Watchful Eye”

Gaylord O’Con, sws - provided a watercolor demonstration for the Society of Watercolor Artist (SWA) membership meeting in Fort Worth TX on Jan 27, 2020 to a large crowd of SWA members as well as several SWS members attending.

News from the SWS Board of Directors

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FEBRUARY MEMBERship NEwsTotal Number of Members: 451

New Members who joined after October:

Joseph LahitaSusan White

Parvathi NarayananRay Upton

WELCOME TO THE southwestern

watercolor society!

we are glad to have you join us.

PRESIDENTLou Bono, 469-744-7559

1st VP PROGRAM CHAIRJeff Jensen, 214-244-5677

2nd VP - MEMBERSHIP CHAIRIsabel Davis, 903-886-2711

3rd VP - WORKSHOPS CHAIRPaula Vining, (817) 991-3639Dalyn Montgomery, (972) 679-9924

4th VP - EXHIBITIONS CHAIRRegina Carl,

RECORDING SECRETARYNick Kuntz, 214-520-3362

CORRESPONDING SECRETARYSherry Daerr, 214-212-7113

TREASURERPam Wilson, 972-839-1086

PARLIAMENTARIANGaylord O’Con, 214-876-4851

PAINT OUT CHAIRGaylord O’Con, 214-876-4851

SCENE EDITORKay Byfield, 214-532-5559SWSNewsEditor@gmail.com

CONTACTS

ADVERTISEMENTS

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ADVERTISEMENTS

SWS SCENE NEWSLETTER AD RATESNOTE: Rates have changed

$2.00 per square inch with 10 - 12 pt font

Payments for SCENE ads must be re-ceived no later than the 10th of the month prior to publication. Please mail check made out to SWS to pam wilson, SWS Treasurer, 8405 Ardsley Place, McKinney, TX 75070 or pay online using paypal.

Send proofed copy to SCENE editor, Kay Byfield, SWSNewsEditor@gmail.com by the 20th of the month prior to publication.

Reminder:*Asel Art Supply gives SWS members 20% off on purchases.

MEMBER TEACHER LISTINGS

Teacher listings are available to members for a small annual fee of $25. For more information,

contact kaybyfield@gmail.com

LISTINGS ARE FROM JUNE - MAY FOR THE 2019-2020 MEMBER YEAR

Kay Byfield, MFA, SWS- kaybyfield@gmail.com, 214-532-5559, Traditional Watercolor, all levels, Creative Arts Center of Dallas, www.CreativeArtsCenter.org

Marian Hirsch - marianhirsch@live.com; (972) 422-2163, Watercolor, gouache and pastel instruction.

www. MARIANHIRSCH.com

Jane E. Jones, SWS, ACA, TWS, NWS, NOW, WFWS, WCWS – janejonesart@yahoo.com, 972-407-6978.

Watercolor, Acrylics, Design & Color. www.janejonesart.com

Member Teacher Listings Rate: $25 per year for three lines (135 characters)