Yesterday was the annual presentation of paintings submitted
to be juried into the 66th annual Michigan Watercolor Society Exhibition. Some 200 paintings from more than 100 artists were shown (in
silence -commentary is discouraged!), to fellow artists and visitors. I love
this event every year, although there are some drawbacks.
For one thing, one often sees one’s own work very
differently when it is suddenly projected 6 feet high in a darkened room in
front of all the other artists. The
painting may look better than you thought. But, more often, for me, disappointing: sometimes the composition or
color or drama is lost.
Another drawback of the event is that of the 200 artworks,
only 65 or 70 will make it into the upcoming exhibit (this year to be juried by Pat Dews). Many many many more than 70 were
beautiful and/or interesting, absolutely deserving a closer look, a second
and third look. But this was the only
time to see them, and only for eight seconds each!
With so many wonderful artworks for the juror to choose
from, I recognize right now that if my
paintings aren’t selected (as they weren’t last year, oh well), they are STILL
in very good company. It is inevitable
that many good paintings will not be in the show. If with good fortune either of mine ARE
selected, wow. What a compliment and ego
boost that will be.
I enjoyed, as usual, seeing what everyone else is painting
these days. Each year the mix seems to
change – I sort of wish I could chart it. This year, fewer flowers, fewer
landscapes, fewer dogs and other animals, but, along with abstracts of various
natures, more figures and portraits.
The juror will get the images in the next few days, and will
return her results to the board before the end of March. A small committee will process the results to
get them into the mail on time: look for your results in early April.
Fingers crossed. For
myself, and everyone else!
No comments:
Post a Comment