President’s Message – May 2025
May is a very busy month. Our calendar includes our Spring Retreat, our May meeting and demo, a full day Saturday workshop and opportunities to show our work.
May DEMO
Have you ever tried to paint the northern lights? How did you handle it? Bring your work to our May meeting. Let’s see what you painted and compare notes.
If you can see the painting (above), it is the card I drew from the basket at our holiday card exchange a couple years ago. The artist captured the northern lights beautifully! It is tricky. As always, so much depends on managing the wet into wet blending.
Sarah Guy-Levar
Our May 12th meeting features a long-awaited live presentation by Sarah Guy-Levar, known for her spirited and creative applications of paint to paper.
Sarah’s featured painting on the website reminds me of the aurora. It shows dramatic wet into wet blending. Come to our meeting, Monday May 12th and watch Sarah paint!
Central Minnesota Watercolorists May Meeting
- Monday, May 12th at the Paramount – Lower Level, Studio
- 5:30 Social
- 6:15 Announcements
- Live Demo by Sarah Guy-Levar demo – 6:30-8:30
Read more about Sarah on our website - www.centralmnwatercolorists.org
April's Demo
Thank you to Heidi E. Nelson for last month’s demo. Heidi presented a meticulous process for approaching a portraiture. One CMW member was up close to observe Heidi’s palette, colors and blending. He reports, "She has a unique way of blending colors on the paper. Blues, to purple, to pink in a soft blend of water and sable brush. Magic is a good description.” It’s inspiring to watch an artist create something from nothing. There were many big ideas and little tidbits for each person to enjoy. One pigment, new to me, that Heidi used was Dick Blick's Crimson Gold 3160.
You can see more of Heidi’s work and see how her extensive sales site, hosted by pixels.com, is organized. https://heidi-nelson.pixels.com/
Other demo artists to enjoy this year are:
- June – Patti Schmid
- Oct. – Bethany Giinther
- Nov. – Kathy Peterson – Kathy is a fellow student at Wednesday classes with Dan Mondloch at Art in Motion in Holdingford. Last year, the Wilmar Area Arts Council invited Kathy to present her a solo exhibition.
Never Underestimate the Joy of an Adventure!
It’s a full house for the Spring Retreat at the Riverside Inn in Cold Spring, May 5th-8th. Twenty-one CMW members, including several attending for the first time, have given themselves the gift of time together to share art making.
Goals for the retreat?
- Paint a new painting. Finish a painting.
- Paint a walleye. Paint a rabbit.
- Try a new material.
- Add wine. Add chocolate.
- Add encouragement from fellow artists.
- Feel uplifted.
Connecting, collaborating and creating together nourishes new and renewed friendships and inspired art. Let the adventure begin!
A Fall Retreat at Riverside Inn is planned in October, just in time to get charged up for winter. Watch for more info.
SHOW Opportunities
Our Show Coordinator, Becca, has arranged several opportunities to exhibit your work in 2025. You can sign-up to show at:
- Whitney Senior Center – June (but sign up now!)
- Good Shepherd Nursing Home – Sept. – Dec.
- Paramount Center for the Arts – Nov.
To sign up for a show, complete this artwork submission form. The shows and images will be on our website, so your work can be seen, enjoyed and perhaps purchased by more people than just those who visit the venues in person.
Other Shows
Artists of Minnesota 2025 Spring Conference in St. Cloud – Awards to CMW members
Kerry Kupferschmidt was awarded 1st place for Transparent Media (watercolor) and the Members Choice Award for transparent media for his painting, "Prague in Afternoon Light.”
Wanda Ellingson also received two awards, in the Newcomer Category for Lena the Cat, 2nd Place and AOM Members’ Choice, and the Merit award for White Petals. Look for pix on CMW Facebook.
Paula Tift reports that she also received a merit award for each of her paintings and is “very pleased.”
Anita Hendrickx took Second place for Member's Choice Award for "Gerbera Daisies" (not pictured) AND third place in the Pastel and Drawing category for "Trailing the Cloquet"
Congratulations to Kerry, Wanda, Paula and Anita! You can be proud!
CMW and AOM have always been “sister” organizations. Images from the 2025 AOM Spring Conference might yet appear on the AOM website, as long as it is still alive. https://artistsofminnesota.org/ Sadly, the Spring Conference is AOM’s last event as the organization is disbanding. I understand that the website will go down soon and AOM members are sad.
Please reach out and invite AOM members to find a new home with CMW. While our focus is water media and some mixed media, we welcome all artists.
If you’d like to participate in a juried show this summer, check out Great River Arts in Little Falls. https://greatart.org/
Member Highlight
Anita Hendrickx worked on this fabulous 15 panel set during the winter for a dinner theater production of "Prince of Egypt".
R.I.P. Cheap Joe’s
Have you placed your last order from Cheap Joe’s? It is sad and shocking that Cheap Joe’s is shutting down. We will miss the enthusiasm and support that we have enjoyed all these years from Cheap Joe’s and Joe Miller personally. There are many personal, close-to-home stories. Dan Mondloch recounted how when his father’s studio burned down, within days, Joe Miller sent all the supplies his father needed to paint again.
Last summer we lost Crafts Direct. Now Cheap Joe’s? Say it isn’t so. Other sites like Dick Blick and Jerry’s Artarama are good suppliers too, and there is always Amazon, but it’s not the same.
It was always so uplifting to receive an order, with fun and encouraging stickers proclaiming “Create!” and “Art is Essential!” Even the packing tape warns “Paint is slippery when wet!” This box is stuffed with creativity. Open away from face!”
We will miss Cheap Joe’s. His is an example worth following. We can give each other personal and artistic support. The work that CMW volunteers pour into organizing all our meetings and activities, demos and workshops, shows and sales is because we believe in our mission – to provide opportunities and service to our area artists and members, to provide creative environments for all CMW members, and to encourage and strive toward creative excellence in all water mediums.
Workshop News
Daniel Kuchenbecker Workshop – Saturday, May 17th
New to our CMW calendar this year, is a Saturday workshop with Daniel Kuchenbecker on May 17th from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., presented in partnership with the Paramount. Class is limited to 15. Space might still be available. Call the Paramount Box office at 320-259-5463 to inquire. Cost is $95. Payments are sent to the Paramount. Workshop information is on our CMW website https://www.centralmnwatercolorists.org/events/ and on the Paramount website. https://paramountarts.org/?s=kuchenbecker
Final Thoughts:
We hope that this busy May, CMW will bring everyone something to engage in and enjoy. Thank you to everyone who helps so much. Our time and efforts together uplift us all.
Life is short. Tempis Fugit. Keep painting.
Susan