Every two years the American Watercolor Society traveling show comes to the Middletown Arts Center in Middletown, Ohio, about an hour and a half from me. With it that close, how can I not go???
This year’s show was very good, I thought. Lots of realism, which I like. And the paintings, for the most part, did not duplicate each other "style-wise".
A few stood out for me. There is a John Salminen which is his usual city street scene, but this one is more pastel in tone. Dana Brown paints a lot of machinery and she has a great one titled “Cummins One.” There were some names I did not recognize, or cannot remember, but there is another beautiful machinery piece, and a knockout of the front of an old car, I think by Dave Maxwell (my apologies if that is wrong). I had to study that one for a while – Wow! There is a Steve Rogers colorful boat, a Stephen Quiller mountain scene and Cheng-Khee Chee koi.
It was neat to see “Travelers” by Carla O’Connor after seeing it in magazines. Ditto for Mark Mehaffey’s “Blue Monolith”. I think that’s what I like most about going to the show – by the time I get there I’ve seen some of the winners in the art magazines, obviously very small, and then to see them in real life can be astonishing. I always feel fortunate to be able to see such beautiful art.
If you live in the Greater Cincinnati area it’s worth the drive, but better call first for times they are open! And I’m pretty sure it’s only there through October 18.
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Ah, great minds must think alike, Deb. Jerry and I just returned from viewing the show - I picked out 9 of those that really struck a chord with me and it was interesting to see some that I'd only seen copied in magazines - so much better to stand in front of them and peer intently or be happily surprised at something you see in the painting you cannot see in the printing version. I think my favorites were ones you could say had a "serene, calming" aspect to them.
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