THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOUR / LA SOCIETE CANADIENNE DE PEINTURES EN AQUARELLE
Save the Date for our AGM
CSPWC’s Annual General Meeting will be held in an online Zoom call on May 7th. Elected Members and Associates are invited to join in this meeting.
Our committee chairpeople and board members are submitting budgets and laying out plans for the year(s) ahead. Some will be moving on from their current position opening up opportunities for other members to get involved in the Society.
We’ll also be presenting our newly elected ‘21-‘22 members and showing their work.
More information will be shared in the coming weeks. So save the date of Saturday May 7th and we look forward to seeing you there.
Articles – Shows and Showing
The days are getting longer but for some of us spring is still a long way off.
It’s often hard to get motivated to keep those paint brushes going and get works submitted into art shows. Though how will word of our medium spread if we don’t get out there?
Here are some stories about the challenges that two of our life members and a long time associate have faced when it comes to entering shows. I hope you find them uplifting. Thank you to Neville, Peter and Tiina for their contribution to this article – CSPWC Admin.
REMINISCING – by Neville Carke
“Hello, my name is Neville Clarke, a life member and past president (2001-2003) of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (CSPWC), elected in 1995.
The first show I ever entered was a juried exhibition held at the historic Visual Arts Centre in Bowmanville, Ontario, in 1993. This single event was crucial to my early artistic development as it helped build my confidence as an artist. Over 45 works were on display from a submission of over 300 applicants and included an eclectic mix of drawings, paintings and sculptures. The opening ceremony was filled with anticipation, and I felt honoured to be selected as part of this conglomerate group of local artists. My painting titled: “Janice in Search of Work” – a piece chosen from a series of fifteen watercolours of my wife’s frantic job search – hung proudly and stood in stark contrast to the others as mine was the only figurative work on display. The response from the viewing audience was overwhelmingly positive, and I was awarded the top prize, including a solo exhibition at the Municipality of Clarington in Bowmanville.
At that time in my life, the challenge I faced was that I did not have enough time to dedicate to my craft. Having a young family and working full-time left little to no room for creative artistic endeavours; however, I would make a concerted effort to paint but to no avail. Finally, after attending a seminar on goal setting and time management, I found a balance that allowed me to paint daily. With this new change in productivity, I was able to explore more significant and deeply personal concepts within my artwork. This was how the series of paintings of my wife came about.
This painting was exhibited in the Emancipation Exhibition at the Helson Gallery, Halton Hills, 2021.
Since COVID-19, I participated in the CSPWC’s 96th Annual Open Water Online Exhibition in 2021. This new way of exhibiting artwork has become a significant stable within museums, galleries and art communities around the globe. It will remain a viable means for artists and curatorial practice to reach a greater world audience, and I look forward to what the future of art holds.”
REMINISCING – by Peter Marsh
Peter Marsh was elected to CSPWC in 1997, was President for 2009-2011 and is now a life member.
“It’s a long way back to my first formal experiences with exhibiting my work but the most vivid in my recollection are the one-man shows in the staff room of Wexford Collegiate in the 1960’s and early 70’s. I was nervous about putting my soul on the wall, but the work was obviously vigorous in the abstract acrylic pieces and my first watercolours were also part of those early shows. I knew nothing about the CSPWC/SCPA but, strangely enough I was making contact. To every one of those exhibitions came Victor Brickus, a superb watercolour painter and unknown to me the president of CSPWC/SCPA (1965-67). He always gave me a small and very helpful comment about my watercolours.
Ever since those early days I have exhibited in so many exhibitions it would be impossible to remember them all, but I keep a file and a photo record of every painting. Well, not exactly, because so many of them were painted before the digital era. Its all digital now! And so much easier!
Becoming a member of The Society in the late 90’s has offered me numerous opportunities. Being part of national and international exhibitions gives one a sense of pride, and inclusion in our national history. Meeting superb painters and excellent new friends has been a truly excellent experience.
Our latest “on-line virtual exhibitions” have been a necessity, but they are here to stay even though the pandemic won’t be. Virtual exhibitions allow opening night visitors to listen in on the conversations of artists, allow a huge number of people to attend, and attendance can come literally from all over the world. Lower maintenance costs allow it to run for a much longer period of time. The big difference for me is that the viewing is not the same as seeing the piece “in the flesh”, however, our human existence is constantly being augmented, and increased digital detail along with perhaps a more exact visual description of textures may alleviate some of that reticence. Despite these virtual advantages there is nothing like going to a bricks and mortar gallery and sharing the breadth of a cultural experience found in a watercolour exhibition.
For my near future I will join four other Canadian artists in an exhibition in a French Castle in May! Additionally, I will be shown in the Fabriano virtual Exhibition also opening in May. It won’t be the first or the last virtual exhibition in my story, in fact one piece is included in the upcoming SCA Open International Juried Online Exhibition.”
REMINISCING – by Tiina Price
Tiina Price has been an associate with CSPWC for 10 years now, joining in 2012. She previously was a regional director and secretary of the International Watercolour Society- Canada.
“My first foray into international exhibitions outside of Canada was by invitation. In the fall of 2017 I was asked (out of the blue) by Fabriano in Acquarello’s (F.A.) Canada Country Leader to select a painting to join those in the Canadian contingent to exhibit Fabriano in Acquarello (F.A.) in May 2018. This is a prestigious, major international watercolour festival in Italy. Up until then, my only ventures into large scale shows had been acceptance into CSPWC’s Open Water; in 2014 (Toronto), and in 2015 (Halifax).
After that, embracing the premise of “Nothing ventured; nothing gained”, I started searching Facebook/ social media to see what international exhibitions were on offer, and which ones my artist friends were entering.
Being a member of a Society has opened doors to a multitude of opportunities. The International Watercolor Society (IWS) Global website showcases exhibitions in a number of their country affiliates worldwide. (Consequently, my watercolours have been shown in Finland, Russia, Viet Nam, etc.)
Often at these events, world class artists will be on hand to give demos, and art suppliers and artists abound.”
“Take a chance, you never know until you try! I wish you all good luck” – Tiina Price
Exhibitions Can Be in The Library Too… by Marlene Madole
Beyond the National Gallery of Canada’s stellar permanent and temporary exhibitions – which we try to see when our interests align, their Library, tucked away on the top floor in a corner facing the Ottawa River, also holds its own exhibitions.
100 Years of Documentation Files – Until May 20, 2022
Ephemera, News clippings, Exhibition Notices, Flyers, Posters and Artist’s Information Forms can be viewed HERE
A Century of Artists’ Ephemera (Article, January 29, 2021)
View the article HERE. Illustrating this article is an example of an Information Form – one side filled in by our first women president Paraskeva Clark’s own answers to her Information Form received on March 16, 1943, with the apology “Sorry to have overlooked the answering of this form earlier… “. Sound familiar to any artist?
Member News:
Michael Zarowsky recently had a bouncy live interview with Erin and Ivan at The Petroff Gallery (Toronto, ON) where he covered his experience with paint. Check out his interview on Instagram
Have you subscribed to Gallery X yet?
Peter Marsh has been working with the Board of Directors for The Existential Art Gallery of Scarborough to increase public gallery space in Toronto. The board’s initial success has been the presentation of virtual exhibitions, but its major aim is a substantial new gallery for Scarborough.
Please support this endeavour by subscribing to the gallery and ask other to do the same. Visit the website at www.galleryxscarborough.com It’s free to subscribe and the membership list is growing proof that there is widespread support for this important cultural development. Thank-you. If you are interested in learning more about Gallery X please contact Peter Marsh at: peter.marsh@galleryxscarborough.com
Opportunities
IWM (International Watercolor Masters) is back for a bigger, better and even more exciting contemporary exhibition at Lilleshall Hall, Shropshire, England, May 2022.
The SAA is thrilled to be once again supporting the 2022 International Watercolour Masters Exhibition – a showcase for some of the world’s more renowned watercolourists. There are a range of demonstrations, broadcasts, and lectures available to participate in alongside these remarkable artists. Check out the website HERE
Passings
We’ve received the sad news of the passing of one of our elected members, Ross Monk. Ross was elected to CSPWC in 1998. He volunteered and supported the CSPWC by serving on the board in 2001-2004, spent time as the Chairperson of the CSPWC Diploma Collection as well as Chairperson for our website. His energy and contribution is felt through the society today.
At the age of 91 and despite his final illness over the last year, Ross continued to live life to the fullest. Ross was born in Toronto, lived and died here.
It was in retirement that Ross spread in new directions as a painter and songwriter. One of his watercolours is in Queen Elizabeth’s Permanent Collection (shown here).
He taught painting at Haliburton School of the Arts and at a private gallery in Muskoka; and in his final months his painting style became brighter and more abstract. It was his refuge. If you wish to make a donation in Ross’s memory, kindly consider Sunnybrook Hospital, Odette Cancer Centre, where Ross received superlative care.
