Watercolor Society of AlabamaPromoting and supporting watermedia since 1939
Watercolor Society of Alabama began in 1939 with an exciting vision to promote, create and inspire painters in the art of watercolor media. We embrace that vision by holding juried watercolor competitions each year: WSA Annual National Exhibition and Statewide Alabama Members Showcase.
We offer workshops taught by nationally and internationally known artists. Vibrant Newsletters, published quarterly, keep members informed and connected.
April 30 – May 4: Shipped Artwork Due at Jule Collins Smith Museum
May 5: Hand-Delivered Artwork Due (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
May 12: Registration Deadline for Workshop with Barbara Nechis
May 17-19: Workshop with Barbara Nechis (Jan Dempsey Art Center, Auburn)
May 20: Award Ceremony and Opening Reception (1-4 PM) at the Museum
Barbara Nechis is an artist who has developed a style known for its masterful balance of spontaneity and control of the watercolor brush. She holds a BA in History and Fine Arts from the University of Rochester and an MS from Alfred University. She was a faculty member of Parsons School of Design for many years and has taught seminars at Pratt Institute, throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. She has served as a juror and director of the American Watercolor Society and is the author of Watercolor From the Heart (Watson-Guptill Publications, 1993) and Watercolor the Creative Experience (North Light Books, 1979). Her work appears in many publications and collections, among them the Butler Institute of American Art, IBM, and Citicorp. She has termed her style of painting “abstract realism,” but the actual essence and power of her work lies in her ability to reign over the chaos and mystery that watercolor itself, as a substance, likes to create while taking the evolving image to its logical or illogical completion. She resides in Napa Valley in northern California.
Barbara Nechis’ objective in teaching a workshop is to share her thought process in constructing a painting. By learning how she thinks as she demonstrates various watercolor techniques, students receive tools to stimulate their creative imagination to produce original design in their own personal statements. Her workshops are for all who want to gain a deeper understanding of the creative process of painting, are willing to be flexible, take risks, have fun, be intuitive and inventive. You will not be using rules and formulas but still the emphasis will be on concept, color and design. The inspiration comes both from nature and the inevitable unpredictability of the watercolor medium. She demonstrates a different method or idea each day, using various techniques to show you how to construct original paintings from both source material and your imagination. You may work with either abstract or realistic forms. Topics include: wet-into-wet, under-painting and layering, designing with shapes (using realistic or abstract forms), and methods for producing clean washes. Daily demonstrations and critiques each last about an hour, leaving ample time for painting and individual assistance. Critiques will approach problem solving upon the premise that there is always a solution that can turn an unsuccessful painting into a successful one.
Click on Link below to view and download Workshop Brochure.
Christine Alfery – Peacock
D.A. Allen – Wildest Dreams
Judy Baggett – Dining in the Shallows
Gloria Baker – Ascension #2
Anne Barbero – Gator
Ally Benbrook – Whiskey Dreams
Matthew Bird – For You
Marilynne Bradley – Gothic Forest
Gwendolyn Bragg – By the Paddock – January
James Brantley – Survivor
Kathy Butler – Can Spring Be Far Behind?
Sondra Carlisle – Lost Key
Sandra Carpenter – Charleston Harbor
Walt Costilow – Blue Boat
Heike Covell – Letting Go
Barbara Davis – Daddy’s Little Helper
Barbara O’Neal Davis – Proud
Geri Davis – Kaleidoscope
Kathleen Durdin – Alafia Water Vendor
Joanna Ellington – Storm on the Way
Linda Emerson – Red
Patrick Faile – Marsh Stalker
Z.L. Feng – Roots
Karen Frattali – Grand Old Flag
Traci Freeman – The Matriarch
Jane Fritz – Falls in Porvenir Canyon
Florene Galese – Lazy Croc
Corky Goldman – Generations
Deborah Guy – There’s Always One in Every Bunch
Patricia Hahn – The Hat Lady
Deborah Rae Hall – Timeless
Jack Hasson – Broken in New Orleans
Cynthia Hay – Choice
Clint Herring – Leung II
Norma Herring – Orchids In The Sun
Anne Hightower-Patterson – Waiting In the Light of the Sun
John James – Grey Hoodie
Marilyn Johansen – Marie
Lectora Johnson – Guarding Antiquities
Ardythe Jolliff – Collection Reflections
Chuck Jones – Cold Water School
Keith Jones – Red Bay Caribe VI
Shirley R. Kleppe – What A Riot!
Chris Krupinski – Pears and Plums
Ronald Lewis – The Bake Shop
Bruce Little – Ferry at Night
Johanna Littleton – Persian Dreaming
Joyce Lowery – Building a Life
Melinda Mathews – Tubing On The River
William McKeown – The Old Salt
K. M. McWhorter – The Magic of Trees
William Morris – Nickel Deposit
Arlaine Morrison – Pelican Parade
Verena Murvin – Shades of Gold
Marsha Nelson – Santenay, France
Daryl Nicholson – Sandy
Nancy Paden – Morning Sentinel
Cynthia Parsons – Panoply of Irises
Ann Pember – Dashing Dahlia
Carole Poole – Grape Expectations
Sophie Repolt Rogers – My Kinda Red Flags
Adrienne Retief – Sloss Furnaces
Barbara Rettig – Adoration
Charles Rouse – Hanging Out at Half King
Debra Scoggin/Myers – Father Is Always Working
Sarah Scott – Discovery
Jaceena Shepard – Willow’s Walk
Susanna Spann – Friday on Frenchman Street
Mary Spellings Spellings – No More Mother Lode
Rita Springer – Big Daddy Sunflower
Tuva Stephens – Norm’s World II
Iain Stewart – Two Boys and a Bike- Gothenburg, Sweden
E. Jane Stoddard – Sunset Tulips
Susan M Stuller – High Flying Jack
Steve Taylor – Golf Course House
Dawn C Thomas – Wash Day
Martha Tisdale – Cows at Water Valley
Caroline Wang – Cedar Waxwing
Virginia Wolfe – It’s a Jungle Out There
Keiko Yasuoka – Happy Anniversary