BWS Highlights Newsletter • December 2023

President’s Palette

The Baltimore Watercolor Society Board team, under the “baton” of the Mid-Atlantic Exhibition Chair Jim Sandford, is still catching their collective breath after organizing/installing the 2023 Exhibition, hosting the Judging of the paintings, facilitating the associated Workshop, soliciting the Awards and coordinating the Awards Reception & Hospitality, and then topping it all off with a free Zoom demo and lecture by our Juror, Alexis Lavine. This was truly a year-long commitment of time and effort for everyone involved! There was such close attention to each detail that the success of the events far exceeded everyone’s expectations. The impressive professionalism and kindness by everyone on this team to those in attendance at the events was inspirational.

The Baltimore Watercolor Society has had the privilege of hosting this magnificent exhibition for almost 100 years, celebrating and rewarding excellence in water media painting by artists across the Mid-Atlantic Region. It is no wonder that it is considered by many to be in the tier just under the American Watercolor Society and National Watercolor Society exhibitions.

This one exhibition alone supports the BWS mission statement to “encourage, educate and promote professional excellence in the creation and development of original works of art, executed in aqueous media”.

In this newsletter you will learn about many other current activities: including the creation of the BWS merit pins, the research that was required to identify the recipients, upcoming workshops and the creation of our updated BWS logo.

I am very thankful to be part of a group of like-minded individuals that share a common goal and are willing to do “what it takes” to achieve it. During this holiday season I am very thankful for this and I am sure that you are too.

Keep painting!

Linda Luke
BWS President

Artists’ Choice Award Winner Selected for 2023 Mid-Atlantic Exhibition

The results are in. Voters have chosen Charlotte Mehosky’s painting “Lean on Me” as the recipient of the 2023 Artists’ Choice award for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibition. Charlotte is a BWS Signature Watermedia Master member from North East, Maryland.

Charlotte joins the 22 other previously announced award winners of the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Exhibition. Voting was open to all BWS members, and to non-members who applied to the 2023 exhibition (whether or not their work was accepted for the exhibition). All paintings in the show that had not previously won an award were eligible. Voters were invited to use any criteria that they valued in making their choices.

Congratulations Charlotte!

The Mid-Atlantic Exhibition remains open through January 15, 2024 at the Arts Barn and Kentlands Mansion Galleries in Gaithersburg. See the Mid-Atlantic Exhibition website for directions and hours.

“Lean on Me” by Charlotte Mehosky, 11x14”, Watercolor

An Enjoyable 2023 Mid-Atlantic Exhibition Reception

The weather was beautiful on Sunday afternoon, November 12, as about 175 artists, friends, family and spectators converged on the Arts Barn and Kentlands Mansion Galleries in Gaithersburg for the opening reception and awards ceremony of the 2023 Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibition.

Jim Sandford, the Exhibition Chair, thanked over a dozen volunteers who have contributed to the success of this year’s exhibition. Linda Luke, the BWS President, welcomed visitors and congratulated the winners of 22 awards, chosen in October by juror Alexis Lavine. Janet Freeman and Janet Arsenault, the Mid-Atlantic Awards Chairs, expressed gratitude to our sponsors and kept the awards ceremony flowing smoothly. The Hospitality team, led by Karen Schuster, Chair, and Deb Cohan, kept everyone well-fed and in good spirits.

Also present were Gallery Mangers Jaree Donelly and Anne Cherubim, who have done a wonderful job assisting BWS with every need, and have helped with the promotion of the exhibition in several media outlets local to Montgomery County.

As Linda reminded those in attendance, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibition is a show of national prestige with roots that go back about 100 years. Our archives of the modern Mid-Atlantic show go back to the late 1960s and there are archival remnants of ancestral juried and invitational shows going back to the 1930s. Judging from the reactions of those present, the show is off to a great start for the next hundred years to come.

A good time was had by all!

The exhibition remains open remains open through January 15, 2024 at the Arts Barn and Kentlands Mansion Galleries in Gaithersburg. Visitors should check the Mid-Atlantic Exhibition website for directions and hours.

Special Discount Offer for Members!

American Frame, 2023 BWS corporate sponsor, has instituted a new discount program for BWS members called the Alliance Program (see their ad in this newsletter). This is an automatic 10% member discount on any purchase with no minimum purchase requirement.

To sign up for the Alliance Program, scroll down to the bottom of the American Frame website home page, click on “Resource” and “Discount.” Complete the form, which includes a drop-down menu item to select BWS. You only have to fill out the form one time and it will be linked to every order. The discount will automatically be applied each time the member returns to make a purchase, unless the member chooses to take advantage of a different temporary offer. No matter the discount applied, BWS will earn points each time a member makes a purchase. Accumulated points will determine the value of next year’s award donation. It’s a win for members shopping for quality frames, and a win for BWS!

A New Look for BWS

Through September and October, April Rimpo, Bob Coe and Devin Lulu worked to develop a new logo for BWS. This was a delicate operation considering the long and distinguished history of our organization. The following describes the thoughts behind the new logo design.

A critical element of the new design was to show respect for the group's history. At the same time, it was important to modernize the BWS design strategy, partly to help attract younger artists to ensure BWS continues to add to that history.

• The new logo design retains the oval shape from the previous logo, with the name separated for improved clarity and readability. The serif font is a modern take on the previous logo’s typeface, and is balanced with the use of a sans serif font.
• The curved detail inside the oval is the ‘oil painting palette’ outline from the previous logo, and has been cropped/positioned to no longer resemble an oil painting palette. This detail adds movement and helps soften the overall logo design, while also providing a visual connection to the previous logo and the long history of BWS.
• The blue colors are identical to what is used in the newsletter, to help unify the look of all BWS marketing materials.

The Board of Governors voted on the new logo at the end of October and approved the new design. The new BWS design strategy is currently being implemented, so you will see the new “look” in more places soon. 

The Making of... Watermedia Master and Watermedia Master Pins

It all started when our Treasurer, April Rimpo, received a pin from the International Society of Experimental Artists for 6 acceptances in their INNOVATIONS exhibition. She suggested similar pins to the BWS Board for those who have exhibited multiple times in our Mid-Atlantic Exhibition (Watermedia Master for 6+ exhibit acceptances and Watermedia Master Elite for 10+ acceptances). The Board embraced the idea and off we went.

First step was finding a graphic designer to design the pins. Webmaster, Bob Coe, and April checked your volunteer preferences in our Membership database and found those who listed Graphic Design as a talent they would share. We researched their websites and bios for experience creating smaller images, like logos or icons and found three fit. We then contacted Lizabeth Castellano-King who joined us and quickly created a design with a watercolor palette and a brush with text around the edges. We were amazed as Lizabeth, unaware, almost replicated one of the few ideas from the Board. With only minor adjustments, including both round and flat watercolor brushes and text designating Watermedia Master and Watermedia Master Elite, the design was done.

Several others then jumped in to help. Archivist, Karen Norman, scoured literally boxes of BWS documents looking for Mid-Atlantic catalogs. The volume of information was almost overwhelming. After locating catalogs she photographed them and sent the images to April, who read each list of exhibitors, comparing names with our current membership of over 700 artists and noting each year in which she located each person. WHEW!

To fill in the gaps, April reached out to our membership asking for years each had exhibited and when there was no catalog for a year, many even took photos of the exhibitor pages and emailed them to April. Several of our members, Lois Ward Wolford and DiAnn Grimes, went above and beyond providing catalogs from the 70s and late 60s.

During this research April also kept her eye out for names of members (who were faithful Mid-Atlantic exhibitors) but who had passed in very recent years or were celebrated with memorial awards. She noted their years in the Mid-Atlantic exhibit as well. Sherry Morell, our President during all these efforts, often helped with ideas and advice. She had communicated with some of the families and suggested we recognize these artists, so dear to us all, by granting their pins posthumously. She also composed the letter sent to the families of the five posthumous recipients with their pins.

Janet Freeman, one of our Mid-Atlantic Awards Co-Chairs organized and distributed pins to this year’s Mid-Atlantic Award winners who also qualified for a pin.

It was encouraging that the whole Board supported this huge endeavor, taking extra time among their normal duties to make the pins come to fruition. The help from BWS members was invaluable and enabled us to find so many recipients who participated in the past exhibitions. An example of volunteerism at its best. Thanks to all involved and congratulations to the 71 artists who qualified for the Watermedia Master and 55 for the Watermedia Master Elite recognition. You can see how small the number was when you consider we researched 45 years of exhibits. We all celebrate your dedication to Baltimore Watercolor Society and our prestigious event, the BWS Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibition.

Get Ready for the 2024 BWS Signature Member Exhibit

Maryland House of Delegates • Annapolis, MD (3rd floor)
January 23 through March 22, 2024
Registration is full, you may add your name to the waiting list here.

Membership Dues and Updating Your Interests

It is that time again for Signature Artist and Associate members to pay their annual dues and for all members to update their interests and contact information. Please take the opportunity to review your Profile to let us know about programs and events you would like to see BWS provide.

Dues are $30 for Associates and $40 for Signature Artists. Signature Artists with Life status are not required to pay dues, but are encouraged to support BWS with a donation to further advance our Outreach into local schools and nurture the watercolor artists of this next generation.

You were sent an email in early December regarding Membership Renewal, unless you joined in October, November, or December of this year, or have already paid your dues for 2024.

To pay your dues online, follow the instructions in the email for logging in to the site, and navigating to your Member Profile, and Renew to Jan 1, 2025. You will also see Edit Profile where you can update your contact information and program interests.

Even if you plan to pay by check, follow the instructions in the email for logging in to the site, and navigating to your Member Profile in order to update your information.

Membership

Welcome New Associate Members

Sarah Andrews, Arlington, VA
Elizabeth Loverro, Frederick, MD
Alexandra Michaels, Silver Spring, MD

Welcome New Signature Members

All images are the property of the artists and protected by copyright. No image can be used without the written permission of the artist.