THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOUR / LA SOCIETE CANADIENNE DE PEINTURES EN AQUARELLE
Greetings Members and Associates,
We are coming up on our Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, and what better way to celebrate than to give thanks to you! All of you who give of your time and energy to the CSPWC/SCPA.
In particular, there are some teams I’d like to recognize. They are working so well together and again this year knocking it out of the park:
These first accolades should come as no surprise. The Education committee continues to provide programming to the membership and the greater watercolour community. Poppy Balser 2nd VP as the Chair, leads this talented group of 9, so masterfully, accomplishing so much. I know the volume of work that goes into this type of programming. It is obvious to me in the line up of demos we are seeing. Poppy has an excellent team and I’m so grateful to each of you. As with any project, more hands make light work. Thank you!
The region of Ontario and Alberta with Anita Wood and Brent Laycock at the helm are killing it with a monthly speaker series. Thank you both!
These monthly meetings are so well received, we have decided to expand these events to the full membership starting in October. Our first event will showcase the work of one of our illustrious Elected Members. Stay tuned as we work out the details: Date, Time and Speaker TBA. If you have ideas for these events going forward, please reach out to Anita or myself.
I would also like to thank, and congratulate Anita’s team who put together the Regional Show Renewal this last spring. Another great success, and they are doing it again for 2023. Anita has asked me to challenge other regions to put on a Spring Show. Any takers on this challenge? Do you like the idea of Regional Spring Exhibitions? I simply love the idea. Keep those ideas coming Anita.
The 100th Anniversary committee headed up by Marlene Madole is looking forward to the next 3 years; she and Neville Clarke among others are creating an amazing line up of exhibitions and other programming to build momentum to the big Gala at the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto in November 2024. The Gala event will include the big reveal of the final 25 paintings that will be juried into the Royal Collection for 2025. Thank You to Marlene and her team!
The BC and the North Region under Alice Bottrill’s leadership. The recent ‘symposium’ the BC Paint Out + was a huge success thanks to Alice’s attention to detail and organisational skills. She and her team of volunteers provided many extras that were greatly appreciated by all who participated. Congratulations, and a huge thank you!
Rayne Tunley, who almost single handedly put on our International Open Water Exhibition this year. Rayne will tell you she relied heavily on our administrator Janet Tovey for assistance. Thank you, Rayne and Janet. Rayne has graciously agreed to do it all again next year. I’m so grateful for your willingness to help, thank you!
I have 7 months left on my tenure and while I’ve asked this question before, I’m hopeful to receive some ideas from you, our Members and Associates, to create some exciting programming to engage you. What are some things you would like to see done in the Society? What direction would you like to see the Society going? Any and all ideas are welcome to be run up the flagpole to see if they fly.
Please reach out to me! Janet has my number and I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.
Yours in service,
Sam L Boehner
Applications are now being accepted for Elected Membership–Deadline is November 1st – by Missy Acker, Membership Chairperson and Elizabeth Gilbert, Membership Jury Chairperson
Hello everyone!
We are pleased to announce that Applications for Elected Membership are now open!
The brand-new Guide to Elected Membership Application and accompanying FAQ are now available for download on the CSPWC’s website. Please read them carefully as you prepare your application.
It has never been easier to apply for Elected Membership: everything can be submitted electronically, and more media than ever is permitted in the Application Portfolio!
Here are some of the other changes we’ve made:
- We have added deadlines to more parts of the process, including when the office must receive the Diploma painting and the various paperwork.
- We have updated the definitions of allowable media in the Application Portfolio; we believe that any painting admissible to any Open Water Exhibition should be permitted in the Portfolio, and the language now reflects this. (Note: The paintings eligible for the Diploma Collection are still restricted to unmounted, unvarnished, unwaxed, unframed paintings on paper)
- We have streamlined and standardized the file naming conventions
- We have formalized that only the paintings eligible for the Diploma Collection must be kept on hand by the applying artist
- We have formalized that only the Diploma Collection painting must be reviewed in person (no longer all six!)
As usual, the deadline is November 1st, which is fast approaching. We would appreciate it if you could spread the word anywhere you think there might be interest.
Come be part of the CSPWC as we gear up to celebrate our 100-year anniversary!
You can find all the information you need on our website under: Become an Elected Member. Should you have additional questions not covered in our website documents please email our office at: info@cspwc.ca.
The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour proudly presents the
97th Annual Open Water / L’Eau Claire Exhibition – An International Juried Online Exhibition of Transparent Watercolour – by Rayne Tunley
Our jurors: Donna Acheson-Juillet, Alan Brain and Laurin McCracken have now completed the difficult, but inspiring, task of jurying the CSPWC’s 97th Annual Open Water Exhibition. There were 374 outstanding submissions which were represented by 12 countries: Canada, China, USA, Australia, France, Chile, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. There was a wide diversity of styles, and the Jurors were impressed by the excellent quality of submissions received.
There were so many beautiful paintings that were submitted and of course it would have been fantastic to be able to exhibit them all. However, sixty (60) paintings were selected. Jury status emails will be sent out to all artists by Friday, September 30, 2022.
Award winners will be notified early October.
It is important for all artists to remember that there is always room for art, and there is always room for artists to create art. As artists are compelled to create through a variety of mediums: poetry, performing arts, paintings, sculpture….
We move elements around like a kaleidoscope offering different perspectives on life. We hope that you will continue to include yourself in future exhibitions, from members’ shows to each year’s themed Open Water International Juried Exhibition. Next year, 2023, will be focused on Water Media.
“An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one” – Charles Horton Cooley
We hope that you will enjoy the exhibition which opens online on October 14, 2022 at https://cspwc.ca/open-water-22/
Warm regards,
Rayne Tunley
Exhibition Chair
Past-President CSPWC
Your participation in World Watercolour Day – November 23rd.
What’s in your studio, on your easel or simply…on your mind! – by Sam Boehner
A Facebook live event for IWD. International Watercolor Day.
Event Date: November 23rd 9 a.m. PDT to
6 p.m. PDT
Deadline for intent to participate: October 28th, 6pm PDT.
First come, first serve for 10 slots. Every hour on the hour. 15-55 minutes each.
Please forward a short summary of what you would like to present, show, or discuss.
This is a fun opportunity to show us what you are working on; show off your small, medium or grand studio, discuss who are your favourite artists, what your favourite colour is…anything really…well maybe not anything…let’s keep it about watercolour art shall we.
A zoom link will be sent to participants on November 16, as well as the day before.
The only two pieces of equipment required are
1) cell phone or webcam of some description,
2) a tripod, without one you may want to recruit a person who can hold the camera while you talk to it.
Looking forward to seeing what you will bring. Let’s have some fun with this!
Send your intent, summary as well as your preferred time to Sam Boehner at: bmas@telus.net.
Are you waiting to be invited? – by Poppy Balser, Education Chairperson
Dear Elected Members,
The CSPWC Education Committee is now assembling our 2023 schedule of demonstrations and other events.
Our goal is to highlight and promote the skills of our Elected Members while providing excellent instruction for watercolour painters at a range of skill levels.
If you are a watercolour instructor and are open to the idea of doing a demonstration for us online via Zoom, or pre-recorded, we invite you to submit your proposal. Please email Poppy Balser (committee chair) at education@cspwc.ca for a proposal form.
Coming soon from the Education Committee – by Poppy Balser, Education Chairperson
We are pleased to bring you three events this fall!
Open for registration now:
Back by popular request, our second online, live CSPWC Critique. Our expert panelists are Margaret Roseman and Edward Shawcross. They will be joined by our moderator of discussion, Jean Pederson.
All painters who register for the critique are invited to submit one image. The panel will choose 10 images to review during the live event. Learn from their insightful comments, whether it is your painting or someone else’s. Click HERE to register.
You can learn to paint rocks and spray with Poppy Balser, in the latest streaming video lesson in our education series. Buy your tickets now to have access to the video for the entire 8-week period: October 1 to November 30th, 2022.
Here are just two of the concepts to learn from in this video: how to reserve whites and soften edges to suggest spray and how to use colour and value to show the 3D form of a rocky coast. Get all the details or register by clicking HERE.
Registration opening soon: Responding to the Landscape with Uma Kelkar, CSPWC
Live Online watercolour demonstration, December 10, 2022, 1 pm EST.
Watch as Uma Kelkar paints a direct watercolour of a landscape. Direct watercolour is the practice of beginning the painting with a brush and paint on white paper with no pencil work underneath. It allows the artist to capture the entire scene quickly and boldly, concentrating on broad shapes and silhouettes and expressive use of paint.
Our BC Paint out in August – What a Week of Watercolor in Harrison Hot Springs! – by Alice Bottrill
One can get endless inspiration from nature around the magnificent Harrison Lake plus nearby sunflower fields, waterfalls, historic Kilby center, and the wetland regional park… One can not go by without noticing the enthusiasm from the instructors and the participants as they were interacting with great energy. One thing that needs to mention is an 80-year-old grandmother that has never painted before came to Leslie Lambert’s Plein Air workshop because her daughter gave her the gift of a watercolor lesson that she has always wanted!! It is never too later to learn!
The CSPWC BC Paint Out Plus had a great start with the event reception well attended on Aug 21. Sam Boehner gave a brief overview of our society and thank the local art council and the local dignitaries for their generous support for giving free space for this event.
The CSPWC member exhibition ” Inspirations” displayed 21 paintings from 8 CSPWC elected members and 5 associates at the Ranger’s Station Gallery.
Instructors Tom Young and Leslie Lambert were both teaching 2-day studio workshops and 2 day Plein air workshops and we were blessed with plenty of sunshine!
David McEown gave an impressive and entertaining presentation about his experience painting polar bears and penguins and everyone just loved the stories he told!!
The BC Paint Out Plus ended with a Plein Air Contest where you can see the big smiles from all the winners!!
Here are some pictures from our week of painting together.
The first picture is of our Event Team: Marlene Madole, Sam Boehner, Alice Bottrill, Ken Faulks and instructor Tom Young
Article – The New Normal
Everyday without fail, Robert Sinclair paints an Art Pill. Below are 3 recent ones. He finds that it’s an exercise that’s keeping the doctors away.
As we work our way back to a new normal, I wonder if there are others of you out there who’ve taken on new ways of coping and creating. Our mental health has been challenged during isolation periods, but we lean on our resilient nature and determination to carry on.
Should you have a new practice or ritual that you find useful, we’d be delighted to share it and let others benefit from it. Please reach out to the office at: info@cspwc.ca for article submission guidelines.
The Answer is Always Yes – By Robert Sinclair
Over the years I have steadily evolved my own mindful art workshops. In a way the content is a summary of my life as an artist. It is a shorthand of what I have found useful and valuable for my own work and for my life.
The workshops now combine a process of art making, mindful exercises and soft body movement. They are a synthesis of the various interests that have led me to ‘now’.
I can only pass on to the workshop participants my own experiences (and that which was passed on to me) that has turned out to be tried and true. The participant is always free to take and test the advice present or not within the arising situation.
As a warning and an indicator as to the flavour of my workshops. I always start out the sessions with the same observation. It is this, that no matter what is asked or said to me the answer will always be yes. The examples that are generally used are: If someone asks “what colour should be used? Or “should yellow or green be used?, I will always answer yes. For only in the doing is found the answer.
One needs to build up a visual vocabulary, to have a reservoir of experiences good and not so good, to draw on in order to develop and evolve artistically. No matter what happens in the process of making art, it is all useful.
One should never reject out of hand any of the experiences that occur. It is much more useful to approach and note whatever is happening with curiosity and friendliness. Always note, instead, that “that’s interesting”. Always approach the process and results as an explorer with no judgements.
Negative judgements are particularly sticky. They can usurp the creative process in a multitude of subtle ways. To say “I hate that colour” or “that’s ugly” may never allow the use of that colour or idea when an appropriate circumstance becomes present.
The options get narrower and narrower until little choice is left other than automatic pilot. This is an excellent way to never find out what your own direction and talent are. It’s been my observation that far too many people are prone to these kinds of views. They can manifest in the most overt, diverse and subtle ways imaginable. It takes skill, patience and determination to note them and not allow them to run and undermine the creative process.
Upcoming Workshops
Watercolour Workshop with Nora Gross, CSPWC
Nora Gross is an elected member of the CSPWC. Nora will conduct two ‘Farm Fundraiser’ watercolour classes at the Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum, Dartmouth, N.S. in November. Nov. 5 will be for experienced painters.
Nov. 26 is a beginner class.
Cost per class is $100 payable to Nora.
For more information contact Nora at agross@eastlink.ca
Painting Holiday in Pondichery, India with Donna Acheson – Juillet
Be inspired by India, its atmosphere, its colors, its cultural and culinary wealth in order to explore painting in a different manner.
DATES: 10/01/2023 to 24/01/2023,
$800 CAD Workshop
$1,850 CAD: Half board hotel in a double room, local transportation, excursions, mini-bus with driver, local guide.
Prices may vary according to exchange rate. https://www.donna-achesonjuillet.com/
Member News:
PENTAVISION: This exchange exhibition features noted Canadian and French watercolour painters.
Pentavision Group: Neville Clarke, Linda Kemp, Peter Marsh, Lin Souliere and Rayne Tunley. CSPWC member Donna Acheson-Juillet is a member of the French artists. Helson Gallery, 9 Church Street, Georgetown, ON L7G 2A3
Exhibition Opening: October 30, 2022 (1:00 – 3:00pm)
Exhibition runs from October 27, 2022 to January 15, 2023
From the desk of your Administrator – Janet Tovey
APPLYING FOR ELECTED MEMBERSHIP: As Missy and Elizabeth mention above. We are now accepting applications for Elected Membership. Elected CSPWC Members join a select group of professional water colourists, and gain camaraderie and support from peers. And only Elected Members may use the initials CSPWC after their name on their artwork, resume, biography and such. The deadline for submissions for ’22-’23 is November 1st.
To find out more about becoming an elected member of CSPWC please visit our website under Membership/Becoming an Elected Member.
ASSOCIATE NEWS: Associates please take note – We will be implementing a small price increase to the annual Associate’s fee for 2023.
For more than 15 years we’ve kept the cost of our Associate’s fee at $35. Earlier this year the board reviewed this amount and voted to pass the motion to increase the annual fee for Associates to $40. This will take effect for 2023 dues.
DONATIONS: This year we had many generous people make a donation to CSPWC so we can continue to do what we do. Thank you for your ongoing support!
You should have received a donations receipt for your contribution. If you have not, or you need a copy, please let me know by email at: info@cspwc.ca