Note: The above Upcoming Events summary only displays the start date for each event. For full details please click on the event, or visit the Events page.

Introductions

We would like to introduce you to Janice Hendra who has taken over the position of Membership Chair from April Rimpo.  Janice is now the person who will send out our dues notices, keep all our statistics and surveys and answer all your membership queries. She, like many of our members, is a person who has juggled various careers in their life and has perfectly melded both her “left and right brain talents” to BWS’s advantage. 

I grew up in Detroit, Michigan and from elementary school through high school I had the chance to attend select art classes at regional schools and at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Every Saturday the DIA was my playground and being surrounded by Diego Rivera murals and European masterworks instilled a reverence for painting and painters that to this day fills me with awe. My absolute favorite painter is Peter Bruegel.  

​I received a BA in Fine Arts (Ceramics) and Art History from Michigan State University and worked as a studio potter for ten years until my life took a sharp turn. I discovered that computers and programming fascinated me and for the next 30 years my creative outlet was designing IT solutions for the General Assembly of Maryland as a programmer/systems analyst.​

Now, retired from that career I have immersed myself fully in the visual arts with paint being my expressive tool of choice. I have been painting in watercolor since 2014. I enjoy randomly choosing painting subjects and styles, and do not have my own style, even after nine years of trying to come up with one.

I love working on Yupo paper. It is a challenge, but it lets me get some pretty vivid and unusual effects that aren't possible with "real" watercolor paper.

A friend introduced me to the term horror vacui or the fear of empty space. It refers to an artist's need to fill the entire surface of a space or an artwork with detail. In physics, it reflects Aristotle's idea that "nature abhors an empty space." Some folks would say my work exhibits horror vacui, hopefully in a good way. Probably comes from my favorite painter...Bruegel.

I am also a member of the Annapolis Watercolor Club, The West River Artists, and the Maryland Federation of Art, and have exhibited in many local, state and regional galleries.

Newsletter Editor Needed

It has been my pleasure to serve as your Newsletter Editor on the Baltimore Watercolor Society Board for the past nine years. However, I must focus on other career and life demands, and it's time for me to start training a new volunteer for this position.

The main responsibility of the Newsletter Editor is to produce 10 issues per year of the BWS Highlights newsletter. News items are provided mostly ready to publish by each Board Chairperson and by our members. Your job is to lightly edit this content and arrange it into the newsletter format for digital distribution via e-mail, after final proofing and approval of the issue by the President.

Our newsletter currently takes the form of a page on our website, with layout done online in Wild Apricot/Personify, our membership service. You do not need prior experience using Wild Apricot, I will train you in this simple drag and drop web design interface.

Programming skills or advanced graphic design skills are not needed, just general comfort with technology, an eye for detail and organization, and an ability to proofread for basic grammar and typos. Associate and Signature Members are both eligible for this Board position.

If this sounds like you, please e-mail me at joanna@joannabarnum.com!

Joanna Barnum, Newsletter Editor

An Advertisement from Hahnemühle, a Mid-Atlantic Award Donor:

Hahnemühle's Collection Watercolor Paper

Look for a sample kit of The Collection Watercolor paper inside this year's mailing of the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Exhibition Catalog! 

This prized cotton paper has a very durable surface, and the fibers will not lift, rub off or loosen, even when applying multiple layers of color when using masking fluids and tapes.

Features:

• 300gsm/140lb and 640gsm/300lb
• Available in cold-press, hot-press, and rough.
• Premium quality, mould-made watercolor paper.
• Vegan, age-resistant, and acid-free.

Annual Member Meeting & Luncheon

Painting the Patapsco!
Come join us for our BWS Annual Member Meeting/Luncheon!
A beautiful Spring Day outdoors socializing and painting en plein air with artists and friends!

Gardens, vistas, and the Patapsco River await us! Check-in at the tent on the property of The Historic Elkridge Furnace Inn, Thursday, May 19, 2022 (pre-registration online by May 10 is required). Come no earlier than 9:45am and bring your painting supplies to paint en plein-air. The event will start at 10am and continue until 3:45pm.

If you’d rather not paint, at least come in time for our chef prepared, farm to table, box lunch served at 12:30 in the tent. It has been such a long time since we’ve had the chance to socialize and enjoy each other in person. It’s a great opportunity to meet and get to know your BWS Board Members.

You do not have to paint. If you prefer, bring a lawn chair, pencil, and sketch pad--or a camera to take photos for later. You can just walk around and visit with friends.

The cost is just $35 each for members and their guests. Stay all or part of the day. Details, menu, and directions are available on our website. Register and pay online at bws.wildapricot.org. Registration closes May 10. We hope to see all of you there.

Questions or help with registration: karenschuster@verizon.net

Welcome New Signature Member

New Signature Memberships are announced only after dues are paid and members are considered in good standing. Additional new Signature Memberships will be announced next month.

Ann Greene, Newton, NJ

Welcome New Associates

Deborah McFarlin, Easton, MD

Barbara Collins, Columbia, MD

Nancy Flack, Severna Park, MD

Sandy Hohne, Westminster, MD

Jody McKinley, Elkridge, MD

Member News

BWS members may submit a 60-word announcement gratis to be listed under the heading "Member News." Images will be included as space allows. Submissions are due by the 15th of the month preceding publication date, and may be edited for length or clarity. Please e-mail your submissions to the Newsletter Editor at joanna@joannabarnum.com.

Boxed off featured ads are available for $25 and may include up to 100 words and one image. Contact the Newsletter Editor at joanna@joannabarnum.com for details.

April Rimpo’s watercolor "Shipping Port" (below) was awarded Best of Show by the Awards Juror, Linda Doll, in the Missouri Watercolor Society’s Member Show, held at the MOWS Gallery, 3526 Washington Blvd., St. Louis, MO.

Lily Kak's watercolor painting "Seeing Eye to Eye" received the Third Place award in the Watercolor category at the Art Show organized by the Women's Club of Chevy Chase on April 1-3, 2022. She will host an art exhibition on Mothers Day weekend, May 7 and 8, 12-5pm, at the Yellow Barn Gallery in Glen Echo, MD. Her show will include a series of mother-baby animal dyads to celebrate Mother's Day.

Annie Strack had paintings juried into the Illinois Watercolor Society 38th National Exhibit, Arizona Watercolor Society Juried Exhibit, and Northwest Watercolor Society Members Exhibit.

Theodora T. Tilton will offer a workshop that explores the natural world through painting in the Shenandoah Mountains. Choosing oil or watercolor, students of all levels will paint "en plein aire" (painting outdoors) in the beautiful mountains surrounding his­toric Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, Virginia. Students will start with the basics and work through the process of creating a painting with each day taking you to a new location. Accommodations are provided by Shrine Mont. Please go to https://shrinemont.com/event/painting-creation-22/ to sign up.

Peg Sheridan is offering classes "Rocks and Water in Watercolor" April 13-14, "Beginning Watercolors" April 30, and "Plein Air Painting in Watercolor" June 6-7. Also, registration is open for Plein Air Painting in Coastal Maine from September 8-14 in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. She is in a group show, "Rivers and Streams of Western Virginia," May 6-27, 2022, at Smith House Galleries in Harrisonburg, VA, opening Friday May 6, 5-7 pm.

Security Hints for Instagram

By April Rimpo

You’ve likely received direct messages in Instagram from people you know sharing a “video just for you” that “took me 2 hours to create.” I’ve received these several times over the years. Don’t view the video. I don’t know the details of the scam, but if you DM (direct message) the person back to ask them if they sent it you will likely find out they didn’t. One simple thing you can do to make sure your account can’t be used to “broadcast" these types of messages to those following you, is to go to your Instagram Settings, select Privacy and Security, then turn on Two Factor Authentication. You can select to receive a code via text message or to use an authentication app.

Opportunities

Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition
Center for the Arts Evergreen
Evergreen, CO
https://evergreenarts.org/calls-for-entry/
Entry Deadline: May 16, 2022

Pittsburgh Water Color Society
Aqueous Open 2022 International Exhibition
Stifel Fine Arts Center, Oglebay Institute
Wheeling, WV
https://www.pittsburghwatercolorsociety.com/
Entry Deadline: July 15, 2022