THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOUR / LA SOCIETE CANADIENNE DE PEINTURES EN AQUARELLE
Message from the President – Sam Boehner
Where does the time go? It’s whizzing by at light speed. And the old adage, time waits for no one, is ringing true for me.
The Board and many committees continued to work through the summer months.
Beyond the Edge, the Exhibition that our current Past President, Jean Pedersen initiated for the Elected Membership is now behind us. Thank you, Jean. It is my hope that this call for entry will become an annual or bi-annual event and challenge us all to push ourselves beyond the edge.
A big thank you to Deanna Beaujot for Chairing this Call, and to her small but mighty team of volunteers – Norman Choo, Jennifer Annesley, Rayne Tunley, jurors Brian Atyeo and David Harrison to name a few. The On-line Show is an amazing display of the depth and breadth of talent this organization continues to offer the art world. Thank you to all who entered and congratulations to all who were juried in. I would like to extend a special shout out and congratulations to the award winners, and to those who found new homes for their work. The quality of the show is outstanding and achieving this level among some of the world’s best watercolourists is an accomplishment to which only few are privy.
A huge very grateful, thank you, to the sponsors who supplied awards for this call.
The Call, the Jurying, the Awards and the Gallery utilized the new Call for Entry System ‘Art Call’ we implemented this year. A few hiccups along the way, that have been worked out thanks to Deanna Beaujot, and this has paved the way for our biggest event of the year, i.e., Open Water 2021 Call for Entry.
The Open Water 2021 call closed September 15th. Many thanks go to Jennifer Annesley and her small and again mighty team (as above) and volunteers Helen Shideler, Brittney Tough, jurors Rayne Tunley and Wendy Hoffman, and contributions from many more, for all the preliminary and continued work on this project. I extend a sincere ‘Bon Chance’ and thank you to all who entered. Competition is stiff for this call, and I wish you all the best. Again, we could not have done this without the support of volunteers and our Sponsors. Thank you one and all.
By the time you receive this message, the new website will be up. Please visit us at cspwc.ca. Thank you to the Website committee for an amazing job. And a special thank you to Norman Choo, Marlene Madole and Nadine Cole for your contributions. The look and feel of the site are so much more inviting and engaging. Don’t you think? Let us know if you have more suggestions on how it can be improved. Always, more work to be done.
In September, we experienced some website issues when a power-failure took out the whole site for a few weeks. Thank to our loyal and faithful Website Coordinator: Norman Choo, who brought it all to a soft landing. Lots of work behind the scenes on this front, and there’s more to be done, so please be patient.
The Executive Committee met a few times over the summer, as decisions had to be made. The Social Media Committee has met a few times. A fun committee, SM is in need of someone with savvy to oversee this essential work. Keep this in mind and answer the call if you have the skill set required.
The 100th Anniversary Committee met for two brainstorming sessions, and so many ideas are under consideration. The most recent meeting hosted a guest speaker and one of our esteemed Past Presidents, Neville Clarke. He responded to questions on how we may approach a rolling exhibition over the next 4 years, leading up to 2025.
And what about Anita Wood’s Face Book Group Initiative? Brava! I just love this. I encourage you all to sign up, as this will be one way, we can all connect and share what’s happening in our studios.
As has been the case since the beginning of Covid, Poppy Balser 2nd VP has been working with her small, yet Herculean team (more about them coming soon) to continue the excellent programming in the way of demos, workshops and critiques. Poppy recently put out a call for volunteers, and now has four new moderators for this fall. I extend my sincere appreciation on behalf of the board to those who came forward to help with this much sought-after course content (more about them coming soon) .
Your Society needs more of its Members and Associates to step up and work with us on the projects and programming we are creating for you. It really is an exciting time in our society. Please feel free to reach out to other Board Members, Committee Chairs, myself, or to Janet at the office. We welcome your input and involvement.
Kindly yours in service,
Sam L Boehner
The 96th Open Water International Exhibition – NOW OPEN
Open Water / L’Eau Claire is the CSPWC’s most prestigious exhibition and one of the largest in Canada,
It was open to entries from all watercolour artists across the globe. This juried exhibition includes work from eleven countries as well as a broad range of Canadian watercolour painting from across our huge country.
Thank you to all the artists who worked through the ArtCall site and shared their paintings with us.
The 96th Annual online exhibition brings a collection of stunning watercolours to an international audience, furthering the stated aim of the Society upon its founding in 1925 – “To recognize, encourage and nurture excellence of work in the watercolour medium.”
As this year’s show is on-line, you can visit the show as often as you like. We would appreciate your help in attracting visitors to the event. Please share the link to our online gallery: https://cspwc.ca/open-water-21/ or directly to the gallery in ArtCall: CSPWC Art Call Gallery Link with your family, friends and followers. The show runs from October 15th till January 15th.
Membership Committee News – Missy Acker
It’s that time of year again! Our annual Elected Membership application deadline is November 1st, which is fast approaching.
It is heartening to be surrounded by so many accomplished and talented artists. Amongst our members are incredibly respected artists who are pushing the boundaries of what this versatile medium can do, and I am proud to be included amongst such peers.
While the Society has been in existence for nearly 100 years, we are embracing technology to serve our members in new ways, as our hard-working education committee continues to produce accessible and affordable digital content—a welcome and necessary adaptation in these hard-to-travel times!
As we continue into the future, it is exciting to watch as new artists from infinite backgrounds find the medium and incorporate it into their art in a unique way. Diversity in people, subject, technique and style can only make our Society stronger and better for it. We are excited to see what comes next!
I personally became an Elected Member in 2018, and it has already given me the opportunity to participate in several wonderful experiences I would not have had otherwise. Foremost was the CSPWC/SFA Canada-France Exchange in 2018, very shortly after my acceptance. While I couldn’t make the trip, several of our Elected Members in the show went on an amazing trip to France for the event. The Visions Adjoin show in 2020 was another special event, as the CSPWC celebrated our 95th anniversary in a joint travelling show with the National Watercolor Society for their 100th anniversary. We are already planning the lead up to our 100th anniversary and we hope you will be a part of it!
If you are interested in becoming an Elected Member, you can find both the application form and the relevant information on our website under the “Membership” tab: Become an Elected Member. If possible, it is better to get your application in a few days early so we have time to make sure the application is complete and up to standard before the deadline. Feel free to email info@cspwc.ca if you have any questions beforehand!
Your Membership Chair,
Missy Acker
Education Committee Update – Poppy Balser
Are you looking to sharpen your skills or try something different? The Education Committee has some exciting educational programming covering a variety of topics coming your way. The events for October and November are now open for registration and seats are filling so please book soon if you are interested.
Note: Members and Associates are entitled to discounts on registrations fees. We send out the promo code in our emails that announce our events.
Stream this video and watch as Gord creates this painting and absorb the skills to make beautiful winterscapes of your own.
This video is accessible using a password and only between the dates of October 4 and 31, 2021. You may watch the video as many times as you wish in that time period. Click on the image below for more information:
William Rogers, CSPWC, is known for his exquisite figure paintings which are most often done from life.
In this three-session workshop, Bill will share how to plan the figure composition with an emphasis on drawing, values, and colour. Note if you had tried to register earlier and got a “Sold out” message that was a technology glitch. There are spaces left but do not delay. It runs October 20, 21, and 23. Click on the image below for more information :
Here is the follow-up to Brittney’s successful Watercolour Techniques class that just concluded last week. This workshop is all about colour! Brittney will share her knowledge on how colour temperature, value and individual paint characteristics can help you create vibrant watercolour paintings. This workshop will increase your understanding of the colours on your palette. It will help you to plan and create more harmonious and luminous watercolour paintings. It’s running November 9, 16, 23 and 30. Click on the image below for more information :
Chris will demonstrate how he includes buildings within his landscape paintings. He will review drawing considerations, simplification and where to place elements on a page to make a compelling design. He will show how he uses multiple washes to create light and form and discuss colour mixing. Chris’s demo will show December 9th. Click on the image below for more information:
For more information about these workshops or to pitch your own workshop, please get in touch with us at education@cspwc.ca
Prairies Regional Division Update – Brent Laycock
As the director of the CSPWC Prairies Region, I am pleased to report that our first Zoom get-together on October 5 was a success. Fourteen members joined in to see the presentation by Sherry Charin of Coleman, Alberta. Sherry showed a variety of her remarkable watercolours accompanied by interesting insights into her background, personal influences upon her art and explanations of her painting process. Many of those present were happy with this opportunity to get to know other CSPWC members, and we now feel so much more connected to Sherry. The main goal of these meetings is to focus on becoming more familiar with our CSPWC colleagues and their talents.
We devoted some time to a group discussion about what our Prairies Regional group could accomplish. Here is a list of some of the suggestions and ideas that were brought forward.
*Continue with these informal Zoom get-togethers. We will begin with trying to organize about 4 or 5 sessions each year. Invitations will be made to members to make a presentation of some sort to the group. Presentations can be done in various ways and may include slide shows, demos, talks, remote studio visit and any other imaginative approach.
*Plan some plein air excursions, possibly to the Coutts Western Centre or the Crowsnest Pass and other areas.
*Plan an indoor painting session together during the winter.
*Organize an exhibition of works by CSPWC Prairies artists.
*Call-a-friend-for-a critique: When you would like some critical input on your work, just call a fellow member of the CSPWC.
*Continuing to build relationships within the CSPWC can help reduce the feelings of pandemic isolation for artists.
The casual approach to the meeting seemed to be successful and enjoyable. One hour seemed to be a good length of time for this event, and a Zoom linked recording was available to those who could not attend.
Watch for the invitation to the next CSPWC Prairies Region Get-Together with Nadien Cole in early December.
ARTICLE: It Is In The Giving That We Receive – Sam L. Boehner
When we decided to highlight a few of our volunteers, I wanted to get a good definition for volunteerism. I found this one on HRZone.com. I am paraphrasing somewhat.
‘Volunteerism is the practice of providing time, skills and/or talents for the benefit of other people out of the goodness in one’s heart rather than for financial or personal gain.’
The CSPWC runs on volunteerism. There are others I could highlight of course, because as is the case in many organizations, it’s those peoples that do a lot of jobs. I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all those who volunteer for our Society, no matter what your role, big or small.
It is my hope to recognize two tor three folks each issue. In this issue, there are three people, in particular I want to recognize. Each has given very freely of their time and talent.
The first is Norman Choo, our Website Coordinator. Like many of our Members, Norman maintains a home-life, works full time, teaches art classes, paints, and finds time to help wherever his talents are needed.
Norman has, not only, provided from time to time, Figure Drawing to Members and Associates, gratis; his work with our website is endless. At the end of Jean Pederson’s tenure, I was working with Norman and a bigger team to update our website. Norman led the charge of creating the pages and filling in content. He guided us through the whole process.
Recently, we experienced a two-week, storm-induced outage of the CSPWC website; said storms completely knocked out the servers for thousands of websites. Norman worked closely and tirelessly getting our site back up during a critical period with Open Water 2021.
Thank you, Norman, for the gifts of your time and talent to our Society. You deserve a medal.
The second person I want to highlight is Deanna Beaujot. Deanna is a fairly new member to our Society. Jean Pederson recruited Deanna as a Member at Large to the Board of Directors in 2019. Since the beginning of my tenure, Deanna has also taken on the position of Chair for the Beyond the Edge Call and Exhibition. She has made herself available to coordinate all the social media work done with Facebook and Instagram for all our announcements. In the midst of all of this she has been dealing with some medical issues. Deanna, your contributions to our Society are greatly appreciated and have increased the Society’s presence globally, we all join in thanking you.
Last, and certainly not least, is our Jennifer Annesley. Another recruit that Jean Pederson brought on board to Chair our Open Water Call and Exhibition for 2021. Jennifer not only maintains her homelife, but a full time Art Career, and she puts on a huge solo exhibition every year, and still, she finds time to give back to us.
Jennifer and her small team have successfully increased our entries for Open Water to nearly 360 entries. The best of these best paintings will be online very soon. Jennifer, your work with Open Water is so greatly appreciated. You’ve done an amazing job with a very small crew. Thank you.
Of course, as always, any amount of help is appreciated. We will never say no to a lending hand. I want to encourage everyone to give back to your society, “For it is in giving that we receive.” The benefits I’ve gained since getting involved (the biggest is the camaraderie), far outweighs any commitment.
Stay tuned in future issues for more highlights of members and associates working for you.
Kindly yours in service,
Sam L Boehner
Member News
Susan Garrington’s painting, A Moment to Treasure, has been selected to be exhibited as part of “Breath, Heart, Spirit”, at the Glenhyrst Art Gallery in Brantford from October 2nd to November 28th. The exhibition is the first of the OSA 150th anniversary celebration year.
Jennifer Annesley holds her 28th Annual Exhibit on November 6th. Since 1994, Jennifer’s annual exhibition has showcased her latest architectural, landscape and still life paintings.This new body of work will be presented in-person and online, and is informed by Jennifer’s travels throughout Europe and the Western Canadian wilderness.
It opens in Edmonton at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, Thursday November 4, 5:00 p.m. MDT and opens online on Saturday, November 6, 2:00 p.m. MDT
More information and a selected preview and can be found at https://annesleystudio.com/preview-2021
Zhou Tianya (Shenzhen China) watercolour paintings won 3 awards recently : Gold Award in the 5th Watercolor International in Thessaloniki Greece. Best in Show in the WASA’s (Watercolor Arts Southern Africa) International Watermedia Competition “Expressions of Hope”, and Cad Scarlet Award in Pittsburgh Watercolor Society’s 47th International Exhibition in USA.
Also, paintings were selected for the San Diego Watercolor Society 41st International Exhibition and the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society 42nd International Juried Exhibition.
Upcoming Workshops
Create a travel log in Morocco!
Presented by: Donna Acheson Juillet, CSPWC, SFA
“Have fun discovering Essaouira, Morocco and creating your own travel log with Donna Acheson Juillet.”
Dates: June 5 – 12, 2022
Subject: Painting Holiday – Creation of a Travel Log
Location: Essaouira, Morocco
Price: 900 euros which includes workshop, lodging, food, local transport, Moroccan guide. Not included: alcoholic drinks, drinks at lunchtime, tip, plane transport, visa if needed.
For more information please follow the link (English documents available on demand).
Contact info: donna.juillet@orange.fr – FB:@DonnaAchesonJuillet – IG:@achesonjuilletart – Website: https://www.donna-achesonjuillet.com/
