2017 spring dialog - NJWCS spring dialog.pdf · JUDITH HUMMER received First Prize in the 2017...
Transcript of 2017 spring dialog - NJWCS spring dialog.pdf · JUDITH HUMMER received First Prize in the 2017...
Spring 2017Artists’
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
I just want to say what an honor it is to represent The New Jersey Watercolor Society and
its long history of excellence in watercolor. We have been the ‘home’ of many of
the best artists working in watercolor. I’ve been proud of the wide range in styles
that we represent, from traditional realism to contemporary abstraction, from Bob
Sakson, Tony Ventura and James Toogood to Pat Dews, Pat San Soucie and
Nessa Grainger. We have always represented the full gamot but not everyone re-
alizes it, artists who focused on acrylic, gouache, as well as watercolor. We may
make small amendments to what is accepted, but always keeping in mind that it be
in keeping with a watercolor feel. The point is keep up the quality and draw in
more artists of quality. As editor of the newsletter I have been writing articles on
the history of watercolor in New Jersey, as well as the important national figures.
Now I’d like to start a new series, Why Watercolor? With all the choices we have
why? Many for the simple clean up, but there are many others, mine is historical,
my mother’s influence and the boldness of Sargent and Turner (see page 6). I hope
to pass on other’s reasons.
The NJWCS has represented much of that for me. But while the old rules worked
well in it’s day, society changes, its hard to expect artists to traipse the state for juries, and
even choosing jurors has become more difficult. So we have made some unpopular deci-
sions. We haven’t made the changes willy nilly, we are also looking to increase our visibil-
ity and maintain the quality of the show. Also we used to show at Nabisco and were
viewed by many. We hope in future years to do a traveling show with the winners in the
Juried Show, increase the awards, and add pop up shows for members. We want to do
this so many more artists and interested public can see quality watercolors. More will be
discussed on page 5.
The 75th Annual Open Juried Show prospectus is up on the NJWCS.org website and
submissions will be accepted after May 23. It will be held at the delightful Middletown
Art Center from September 25 to October 29th. There is plenty of parking, good light,
and an open and easy atmosphere. The reception on the last day, October 29th from 2-4.
All members, Elected and Associate will get a professional catalog showing the winners.
But because it is juried on-line you only have to come for delivery and the reception, taking
it away after the awards reception. The juror of selection this year is Tim Saternow, AWS
and the juror of awards is Karen Brussat Butler, AWS, who will judge from the original
art as always.
The Elected Members Show will be held at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in
Morristown November 7, 2017- January 9, 2018.
The Associate Members Show will be held at the Union Library, November 1st to
December 21st. Reception on November 4th from 1-4 PM.
New Jersey Water Color Society www.njwcs.org
Spring 2017
Vol. 22, No. 1
New Members of AWS: Lucy Graves McVicker andSandy Mezinis with John Salminen
Steve Zazenski Founders Award winner
Page 2Elected Members in the News/Associate Members in the NewsPage 2-3 2016 Open Juried Show
Allen Taylor
Page 4 In MemoriamAllen Taylor & Joan Deniscia
Page 5 Notes on the SocietyOpen Juried Show
Jurors of Selection and Awards.
Page 6 “Why Watercolor?”Essay by Mark de Mos
Page 7 NJWCS Calendar and Info
2016 NJWCS Open Juried Show Winners
Elected Members in the News:Board policy for Member News is no more than 3 items per issue. Please submit in narrative form, and
submit only once per newsletter cycle. The Editor reserves the right to edit submissions.
Welcome New Elected Members: JOAN VENTIMIGLIA, ISABELLA
PISSANO, DORRIE RIFKIN, and MARYLOU SHIPMAN.
NJWCS members in the 150th Annual American Watercolor Socie-
ty International Exhibition: TIM GAYDOS, AWS was chosen to one of
the 3 jurors of Award, PAT DEWS, AWS, df received the Mary Bryan
Memorial Medal for Windswept, RICHARD HAYNES, AWS received
The Artist’s Magazine Watercolor Artist Magazine Award for Simple
Things. DOROTHY GANEK, AWS (Go Wild), LUCY GRAVES–
MCVICKER, AWS, (Sole Survivor III), EDWIN HAVAS, AWS (Boston
Lace), SANDY MEZINIS, AWS (Laura in the Summerhouse), and
CAROL STAUB,(Celestial 5) were juried into the show. SANDY
MEZINIS and LUCY GRAVES-MCVICKER were voted as a new
signature member!
MICHAEL SCHERFEN’s watercolor portrait “The Port Authority Man”
was juried into the Salmagundi Club Non-Member Exhibition, July 28
- August 8.
MARYANN BURTON received the Cynthia Shipp Googal Memorial
Award in the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club 120th Annual Open
Show for her painting “Alternate Side of the Street Parking.”
JUDITH HUMMER received First Prize in the 2017 Philadelphia
Watercolor Society Annual Members Show: March 24—May 5,
2017 at Boyer Gallery located at The Hill School in Pottstown, PA.
Judy has an alcohol ink/watercolor painting accepted into the 2017
2
Ellarslie Open Show at the Trenton City Museum, Trenton NJ.:
March 28-June 25 2017. Judy was awarded an Honorable Men-
tion at the North East Watercolor Society Annual Juried Mem-
ber Show (2 juried in) at the Orange Hall Gallery/SUNY Orange
County Community College, Middletown, NY, Feb.-March.
MEL STABIN was awarded 1st Place in the Georgia Watercolor
Society’s 38th Annual National Exhibition at the Carrollton Cultur-
al Arts Center. Mel will be the Juror of Awards at the North East
Watercolor Society’s 41st International Juried Exhibition in Octo-
ber at the Kent Art Association in Kent, CT. He will also be con-
ducting a workshop for the North East Watercolor Society from
October 10-12 at the Seligmann Gallery in Sugar Loaf , NY.
Associate Member in the News
ROBERT SUSSNA was on the Jury of Selection for the North
East Watercolor Society Annual International Juried Show, his
painting Bridge Street was chosen for the New Hope Historical
Society Show in September 2016 at the New Hope Arts, New
Hope, PA, and his Abstract #1 was included in the Hunterdon Art
Museum’s 2016 Member Exhibit (Oct-Dec 2016).
JUDI GILDEN won the Genevieve Cain Award for Watercolor atthe National Arts Club Exhibiting Artist Member's Exhibit. Shealso won The David Wu and Elsie Jeck-Key Memorial Award fromthe Allied Artists of America, Inc., 103rd Annual Exhibition, Sal-magundi Club, NYC. She will also be exhibiting at “Women ArtistsCoast to Coast – West” at the Washington State Convention Cen-ter, Seattle, WA..
THE NJWCS MARY S. LAWRENCE FOUNDER’S AWARD THE NUMMIE WARGA MEMORIAL AWARD
BLUE COLLAR STEVE ZAZENSKI AWS CREPES ON 9TH ROBERTA OLIVER
SILVER MEDAL OF HONOR JINNIE MAY
Note because shows are juried by an out-
side juror the NJWCS decided to vote on
the medal winner by vote of the board
(not in the show) based on service alone.
THE NJWCS MEMORIAL AWARD LOOP DRIVE
EDWARD RABINOWITZ
THE NEW JERSEY WATER COLOR SOCIETY AWARD WINNERS 2016THE NEW JERSEY WATER COLOR SOCIETY SILVER MEDAL OF HONOR JINNIE MAY
THE NJWCS MARY S. LAWRENCE FOUNDER’S AWARD BLUE COLLAR STEVE ZAZENSKI AWS
THE NUMMIE WARGA MEMORIAL AWARD CREPES ON 9TH ROBERTA OLIVER
THE NJWCS MEMORIAL AWARD LOOP DRIVE EDWARD RABINOWITZ
(IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF OUR PAST MEMBERS, ALL OF WHOM MADE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR SOCIETY)
THE CONTESSA-BONARDI AWARD NANA CHARLES MCVICKER AWS
THE AVERY AND NINA JOHNSON AWARD 59TH STREET BRIDGE, NYC MEL STABIN AWS
THE FREDRICK SMALLWOOD JR. MEMORIAL AWARD COUNTRY FIELDS ROBERT HEYER
THE NAT AND COLE LEWIS MEMORIAL AWARD MERGING 2 LOIS SANDERS
THE NICHOLAS REALE MEMORIAL AWARD FORGOTTEN FACES ELISE MORENON AWS
THE VALENTINA MEMORIAL AWARD SIMPLE THINGS RICHARD WILLIAM HAYNES AWS
THE ALLEN TAYLOR MEMORIAL AWARD OFF IN THE DISTANCE LISA BUDD
THE SANDERS-WOROB MEMORIAL AWARD SWEET DISTORTIONS-AL VESSELLI
THE XUEYAN LIU AWARD $150(FOR A FIGURE PAINTING) JENNIFER- JUDY BALLANCE
THE JOHN C. BERMINGHAM AWARD EVENTIDE- LUCY GRAVES MCVICKER
THE CATHARINE LORILLARD WOLFE ART CLUB AWARD DINO’S RESTAURANT-ROBERT NARDOLILLO
THE TED AND KATHLEEN NEAD AWARD WESTERN VIEW- MARYANN BURTON
THE SONJA WEIR MEMORIAL AWARD COMPTON CREEK ROBERT DEMAREST
THE SAKER SHOPRITES, INC. AWARD LOOKING EAST- ELSA HERRMANN
THE KIM MOONWATER MORELLO MEMORIAL AWARD URBAN CANYON #2 MARILYN ROSE
THE RIDGEWOOD ART INSTITUTE AWARD REMEMBERING “SUMMERTIME”-ELIZABETH OBERMAN
59TH STREET BRIDGE, NYC MEL STABIN AWS COUNTRY FIELDS ROBERT HEYER FORGOTTEN FACES ELISE MORENON AWS
SIMPLE THINGS OFF IN THE DISTANCE LISA BUDD SWEET DISTORTIONS-AL VESSELLI
RICHARD WILLIAM HAYNES AWS JENNIFER- JUDY BALLANCE
DINO’S RESTAURANT- WESTERN VIEW- COMPTON CREEK ROBERT DEMAREST LOOKING EAST- ELSA HERRMANN
ROBERT NARDOLILLO MARYANN BURTON
REMEMBERING “SUMMERTIME”-
ELIZABETH OBERMAN
Juror of Awards
Susan Weintraub, AWS
In Memoriam: There has been a terrible loss to the New Jersey
Water Color Society. ALLEN TAYLOR of Verona passed away
shortly after his 80th birthday in the summer of 2016.
Allen was an elected member of NJWCS, and valued member the boardin charge of digital communication, was also a Signature Member of theGarden State Watercolor Society, and North East Watercolor Society.Allen took up watercolor after he retired from a career in advertising witha particular fondness for his work for Jaguar, returned to his early love ofdrawing and painting following his wife, and fellow NJWCS electedmember and past president, Ann Taylor, into watercolor. He quicklymade a name for himself in the New Jersey art community as a highly gift-ed realist artist, and as a volunteer with the NJWCS and especially withthe Essex Watercolor Club where he turned their monthly newsletterinto a vibrant and very professional publication, he cannot be replaced.
Allen was also known for his wry wit.As subjects for his paintings, Allen frequently drew from his sur-roundings and travels. His most recent works included paintings ofFrance, Holland, Italy, the Canadian Maritimes, Cape Cod andRockport, MA as well as his hometown, Verona New Jersey. He wasalso an avid photographer and computer graphic brochure andnewsletter design.He won numerous awards for his work, and was active to the endand was juried into the 2016 North East Watercolor Society ex-hibit (Oct 2016), Saturday Morning, Paris. Among his awards wasthe Award for Traditional Realism, (2010) from the American ArtistsProfessional League, and many awards from the Essex WatercolorClub and NJ State Senior Art Shows.
In Memoriam: We are saddened to inform you that JOAN DENISCIA passed away
on May 20th. She was a long time member of New Jersey Water Color Society and exhib-
ited in many shows over the years. Joan always enjoyed her association with New Jersey
Water Color and looked forward
to exhibiting.
Sincerely,
The De Niscia Family
Juror of Selection/open juried show: TIM SATERNOW, AWS
He received an MFA from Yale University and taught Theater Design and Art Direc-
tion at the University of Connecticut, and Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh,
PA. paints large-scale urban watercolors that reveal the fleeting beauty of the facto-
ries and gritty streets of New York City. He is a board member of the American Wa-
tercolor Society. He has been included in numerous magazines and books including
Watercolor Artist, American Artist Water Color Magazine, and Splash 12, 13 and 18.
Tim received the Bronze Medal of Honor from the American Watercolor Society (2016),
the Walser S. Greathouse Medal (2017), and the Gold and Silver medals from The Allied Art-
ists of America, and numerous awards from other national shows. He received an Em-
my Nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction, for The Piano Lesson
and numerous awards for his set and lighting design for the theater.
Awards Judge / Open Juried Show, KAREN BRUSSAT BUTLER, AWSShe has been elected to membership to the American Watercolor Society, Na-
tional Watercolor Society and as well as several printmaking associations. She
received awards from the American Watercolor Society (4 awards), National
Watercolor Society (President’s Award), San Diego Water Society (Best in
Show), Butler Institute of American Art, National Academy of Design
(Purchase Award), and Watercolor USA (Purchase Award), as well a numerous
awards for her printmaking. “I’ve always loved to work on the surface of paper.
After many years of painting watercolors I began making lithographs. The ap-
proach is the same, one makes lines and washes with pencils, pens and brushes
on a surface.” Her work is whimsical and is both figurative and narrative. “Please
enjoy looking, and see if you can find the stories.”
The Annual Open Juried Show:
Until now we always juried from original art. Watercolor-
ists came from all over the state to bring their work, wait 3 or 4
hours as the work was juried by a jury of members chosen by the
membership. It was a great event, as we carried the work for the
jury. There was lunch it was a way to get to know each other. We
also came back for the reception a few days later, and came back for
pick up. Aspiring watercolorists would go to see the show in large
numbers. It worked great, the quality was great so why change?
Well times change.
With gas no longer $1.oo a gallon, Nabisco not available for
shows, computers, cell phones, etc. It could be difficult on those
who could not get in. But on top of that many of the best known
names have retired, moved… so it became more and more difficult to
get a jury together. On top of that, many thought that the juries
were biased against them, pushing favorites, friends, students, even
we covered the names. But truth be told, nobody talked in juries,
we all tried our best, not playing favorites. On the other hand, put-
ting together 7 artists with different tastes, some pushed to one
kind, others the opposite. Paintings went round and round until a
decision was forced. The number of accepted works would change
arbitrarily according to the whims of the jury. Often it was the
what was acceptable to a majority. Often jurying out likely award
winning work. We couldn’t compare one piece to another, we did-
n’t have time to contemplate, and we couldn’t control the number
included in the show. With an outside juror, we don’t have to worry
about playing favorites, the juror could take time to compare
works, on purpose choose a diverse show of styles, the number of
works to be included and a juror from the best artists from across
the country. We still use a relatively nearby AWS artist to judge
the show from the original work.
How do we get more artists to see the work.
A lot of people don’t like to drive to far to see the show. Or just
don’t know about us. So in the future (hopefully starting next
year), we plan to have a Travelling Show of the award winners.
Being a smaller number of works it will be easier to find good spac-
es to show them. Plus a write up and pictures(!) for newspapers.
Pop-Up Shows:
We also are looking to support group shows by our members. One
trial show was held at a new gallery in Hackensack. The thought
is that all our members have gone through the jury process, elected
to membership by showing their quality. In this way we would
get more exposure for quality watercolor and an added exposure of
the NJWCS to the public.
Facebook:
In order to pass on info, shows, member news in a modern way you
can join our facebook page curated by Richard Haynes, AWS. So
join up and we can pass on your exhibits in real time! I hope that
it can catch on with the public too!
Why Watercolor? Mark de Mos and the Power of TraditionI’d like to start a conversation on why we work in watercolor. Of course for many, its less messy
and easier to clean up than Oil or Pastel. But for many there are more interesting reasons why welove it, why we use it. Teachers, classic artists, its flexibility, it’s ability to convey spontaneity, its
poetic possibilities, and the qualities of the materials to create different effects.
The Power of Tradition: I’ve always been
fascinated by history, and my mother, Mieke, had lived though“interesting times” interned by the Japanese in the Dutch East Indies dur-
ing World War II, illustrating it in watercolor, her favorite medium. Shealso kept a diary, which was partly illustrated as well. For the last year
plus I have been translating it from the original Dutch, with 1940’s Malay added on. It hasbeen a huge project that I hope to publish in the next year. She didn’t paint in watercolor
again until my father passed away. She started to paint again the same day I started to do penand ink. She studied with Nic Reale and Gladys Russel, two classic NJ watercolorists. Eventu-
ally we took classes together in a local art association. We became involved and brought inartists we liked. For me the most important formative teacher was Bob Sakson. It was the
way of mixing on the paper, cleanness, limited palette, painting quickly, while creating a feel-ing of reality. I picked up ideas from numerous other painters, Ed Havas, Arne Lindmark (to
make one thing brighter, paint something duller next to it), Ferdinand Petrie, Bob Heyer, etcetc, kind of who’s who of NJ watercolor. But as I endeavored to create my own approach or
style, I looked to other artists as well, Charles Reid for mixing on the paper, the way to create
light from Sargent and Turner, subject matter from Hopper.
In a big way I was out of step with the common approach. I have takenup other media, pastel, oil and watercolor on yupo. Another of my formative
artists was Frank Zuccarelli, in pastel. He was an important oil painter, andwas good in pen and ink and watercolor too. Out of the classic tradition. And
like Turner, I try to incorporate aspects of other media in my work. My designsense is not traditional watercolor, I am not really a one center of interest paint-
er. I usually have numerous centers of interest, using color and value to drawthe eye from place to place. On top of that is
the quality of the color, texture, value, takingadvantage of the texture of the paper, sedi-
mentary colors, which allows colors to sepa-rate.
One of the ways I create a sense of reality and movement is to do underpaintingthat are very loose, even messy, tilting the paper so the I could mix wet color and unex-
pected effects, overlaying it with tighter washes and calligraphy. In watercolor the underlayers always show through, unlike oil and acrylic which are too opaque.
Many are too afraid of watercolor because it is difficult, but I feel that is what al-lows us to create work that is more personal than other media allow. There is an inherent
poetry to watercolor, our choices show, is it painted wet in wet, thick, thin, spatter, salt,miskit, opaque over transparent, we have the ability to create such different looks, and per-
sonal styles that is much harder to do in oil or even acrylic. Then you can add things likeyupo, which allows for the creation of textures in completely different ways.
NJWCS 2017 CalendarNJWCS 75th Annual Open Juried Exhibition
September 25-October 29Middletown Arts Center, Middletown, NJ
Receiving: Saturday September 23rd 10-12Reception Sunday October 29th 2-4 PM/Pick-up Sunday, Oct. 29. 4-5PM
NJWCS Associate Members Annual Show
November 4- December 21
‘Les Malamut Gallery’ in the Union Library
1980 Morris Avenue, Union NJ
RECEIVING: Wed. Nov. 1, 2017 10:00 am—noon
RECEPTION: Sat., Nov. 4 1:00 - 4:00pm,
award ceremony at 3pm
PICKUP: Thursday, Dec. 21, between 10-12 pm.
Members' Elected Members Annual Show
November 7, 2017- January 9, 2018.Mayo Center for the Arts, Upstairs Gallery,
South St., Morristown
Receiving: Tuesday, November 7, 2017 10 am-noon
Reception
Pickup: January 9, 2018
Membership Chair: Jinnie May15 Longview Ave., Randolph, NJ [email protected] due on January 1 each year. $35 forelected members and $ for Associate Members.
7XploringThe boundaries
Of
WatermediaTraditional realism to
contemporary abstraction
Send Your Member News to:Editor: Mark de Mosemail: [email protected] Richlyn Court Morristown, NJ 07960Home: (973)267-4363 Cell: (862)-812-7450
Information deadlinesFall, 2017 August 15, 2017Spring, 2018 February 15, 2018Summer, 2018 May 1, 2018
Advertise in the NJWCS NewsletterBusiness Card Sized Ad: $25 for 2 issuesAdvertise a show, your website, your art related
business. Call Mark at 862-812-7450