Read the articles in my blog for interesting and provocative thoughts on art, helpful tips on showing your work and selecting workshops, watercolor workshops in Trinity County, and my watercolor class schedule. I invite your comments and ideas.

Enjoy!

You probably found your way to my website because you respond to color and light in artwork. My art is all about how color and a quality of light inspire something deep inside that lifts us out of our everyday mind into something beyond ourselves.

I invite you to learn about me and my paintings and my teaching of painting by clicking on the menu items.

I recommend checking out the workshop presenter by using these guidelines:

1. Does this artist’s work inspire me?

2. What do others say about the presenter?

3. Is the presenter, first and foremost, a good teacher?

3. Call or email the presenter to ask:

• What is the workshop format?
• Will there be short stepwise demos that let participants paint along (the best for learning)?
• How much independent painting time is there?
• How much talk about theory will there be?
• How much one-on-one guidance is there? (This is important.)
• Is there a critique at the end?
• How is it structured?
• How much time off for lunch is there? (You don’t want too waste too much of your time on a lunch break.)

Getting this information prior to paying the big bucks will help you make a wise choice.

In my desire to offer our thriving watercolor community (and me) the opportunity to study with talented watercolorists without having to travel outside the county, I have hosted workshops in Lewiston by Joy Wiltsee and Marge Heilman (our locally famous painters), the wonderful collage artist Pat Causey (from Yreka), and the prize-winning artist Vinita Pappas (from Oregon). But Birgit was another venture. She has exhibited in galleries all over the states (Santa Fe, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco) and in Hong Kong, written many articles in noted art magazines, won prizes galore, juried numerous art shows, and done workshops all over the country (including Cheap Joe’s biggee event in Boone, NC).

Evelyn demos at recent Free and Fun Watercolor workshop at Main Street Gallery.

I’m starting a new format for watercolor instruction in 2010. Classes will be in a workshop format. On the first Monday of each month, I will demo a topic. Students will create their own paintings using this technique and bring them for critique on the third Monday. This format will offer more flexibility for those who want to brush up on a particular skill but aren’t able to commit to a long class session. I’ve added a special focus on the share-and-tell “critiques,” since students get a great deal from seeing what others do and hearing my painting analysis.

I have been invited by North Valley Art League in Redding to give a workshop for them and may also give a beginning watercolor weekend workshop in Lewiston in the future. Below is 2010 workshop information.

Watercolor Workshops 2010

Dates:

First and third Mondays, Jan. through April, 2010; Second and fourth Mondays for May

Times:

Afternoon session—meet at 12:30 pm      Evening session—meet at 4:00 pm

Location:

Main Street Gallery, Weaverville. Directions: Take Hwy 299 into Weaverville (299 becomes Main Street). As you enter Old Town Weaverville, Main Street Gallery is on the west side of the street, just up from Mountain Market, right next to Mamma Llama’s Coffee House.

Topics:

Jan: Washes/backgrounds  Feb: Snow  Mar: Trees  Apr: Composition  May: Troubleshooting

Description:

In the first three-hour meeting (first Monday), Evelyn will demo techniques, and participants will practice using techniques; painting assignments will be given. In the second two-hour meeting (third Monday), participants will bring completed painting assignments and participate in a non-threatening sharing and analysis/critique of their work, led by Evelyn.

Price:

$25 for two meetings (five hours of instruction) (Payable end of first class, nonrefundable.)

Information:

To sign up, contact Evelyn Mercer Ward, jeward@shasta.com; 530-778-3305.

Instructor Background:

Evelyn Mercer Ward has been providing instruction in watercolor painting since 2004, when she taught painting for four years for Shasta College Extension in Weaverville. Since 2006 she has been teaching private watercolor classes in Lewiston and Weaverville. Out of her classes many hesitant artists-in-the-bud have bloomed and become artists in their own right, exhibiting in local galleries (as in the recent Trinity Artists show at the Main Street Gallery). Evelyn’s classes are fun and non-threatening.

Aspen Shimmer won Best of Show at North Valley Art League's 2009 Small Painting Show.

I have until this year been reluctant to enter juried shows. Though I preach disregard for public opinion to students, I am very sensitive about criticism of my own art…less so than in early years (I’ve gained more skillfulness), but still sensitive enough.

This year I entered the Small Paintings juried show of the North Valley Art League in Redding. I was surprised and honored to find that one of my paintings was awarded Best of Show.  At the show’s end, I was even more delighted to hear that my other painting had been awarded People’s Choice.

Since I had one success under my belt, I felt it safe to enter the annual juried show at our local Highland Art Center. Taking the strategy suggestions from others who knew the “game,” I entered several pieces in different categories, hoping this would maximize my chances of being accepted somewhere. It worked. I won three awards: a second in oil, a second in watercolor, and a first in mixed media.

While I am happy to have won the awards, I feel mixed about the experience. On a philosophical level, I have questions about the whole jury process, which I think of as part of the “art game.” I don’t think creativity should be judged or made into a competitive venture. We have enough competitive ventures in our society as it is.

And I object to having the power to create a standard (“This type of art is the best”) in the hands of one person. Or even a group of people (think of the École, which rejected our now dearly loved Impressionists).

I have watched from the ringside while other friends and students have entered juried competitions. Some won prizes and were happy; some didn’t and felt terrible and even stopped painting. I have seen excellent paintings I thought wonderful juried out for some lame reason (“no background,” “pencil lines visible,” etc.) and other’s that were not skillful win Best of Show. The whole process is way too subjective for me. Subjective judging of creative effort was one of the reasons I changed my major from English to art history.

On a personal level, entering juried competitions doesn’t fit with my art goals. I paint for the joy of it. My goals are to learn, grow, express my spirit, and share the joy of that endeavor with others. I don’t want or need to make money from my art. While I sell some pieces locally (at very low prices), I often give my art away to friends and family. Yes, I know the argument: “You can’t value yourself as a painter if you don’t have a market price on your art and sell it.” My answer to that is: “Perhaps the world won’t value me, but do I really need the world to tell me my value? I value myself.”

My bottom line conclusion about juried shows? I think I’ll pass in the future. I’m glad to have had the experience, glad to have been accepted, think it’s a worthwhile venture to have made…and don’t like the conflicted feelings it creates in me.