Juried into 2010 MSW Annual Exhibit

Last week I found out that I've had one painting juried into the Mid-Southern Watercolorists Annual Exhibit this year. It is Sound of Silence (shown here), and is based on some views of Lake Ouachita in Arkansas. In this painting I tried to capture the size and grandeur of the lake, in comparison to the tiny fisherman in a rowboat.

Timothy J. Clark Watercolor Workshop

I'm just back from a 3-day watercolor workshop taught by Timothy J. Clark in Van Buren, Arkansas. It was somewhat unusual compared to most watercolor workshops, which often concentrate on technique and simplified color and design theory. Tim teaches at the Art Student League in New York, and his class was more aimed at developing artists than "making paintings". He focused more on drawing, creating themes and rhythm, and lessons from "classical" artists. His demos were very interesting. His last-day critique focused more on where each student most needed to develop his talent, than on the particular paintings he completed in class, though these of course provided some input.

In all, a valuable and very useful workshop. All of the folks at the Center for Art and Education in Van Buren, where the workshop was held, were great. It was a talented class, with many experienced oil painters trying their hand at watercolor quite successfully. The attached image is of a painting I did on the first day, a basket of lemons that Tim set up.

Watercolor Workshop Scheduled

I'm scheduled to teach a 3-day watercolor workshop under the auspices of Brush Strokes in Hot Springs Village on July 14th to 16th. The signup sheet filled (12 people) the day we announced it. That is both encouraging and intimidating. I'm really looking forward to doing this - I've enjoyed the days I've taught previously, but never did an entire workshop myself. To learn more about the workshop, click here. We do have a waiting list, and if the demand "holds up", I'll probably teach a second session.

The image is of a quarter-sheet painting of the fountain in front of the Ponce deLeon center in hot springs village. This painting is hanging in the Woodlands lobby as part of Brush Strokes' HSV 40th Anniversary exhibit. There is a "Meet the Artists" reception there at 2 pm on August 24th.

Featured Artist at Gallery 726

I will be featured at Gallery 726, located at 726 Central Avenue in Hot Springs, during the month of April. In this show, titled Town and Country, I'll be exhibiting a variety of watercolor paintings - rural landscapes, seascapes, and urban landscapes of Little Rock and downtown Hot Springs. The attached image is of one of my new paintings - Lazy River - that will be on display.

Please join me at my reception on Friday, April 2, from 5 to 9 pm during Gallery Walk, to enjoy my art and say "Hello". If you can't make it this coming Friday, stop by Gallery 726 anytime during April to see my exhibit. Gallery 726 is open from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday. I hope to see you this coming Friday.

I'll also have several more paintings on display just down the street at Artists Workshop Gallery, 810 Central Avenue.

Some new paintings

I framed a few new paintings to display at Gallery 726 in April and May... I'll be featured there in April. Both of these are half-sheet paintings, and were developed after painting a similar weekly watercolor painting (these are eighth sheets). I've done it both ways... painting a large painting based on a weekly watercolor painting, and painting a weekly watercolor based on a large painting. Of course, given the vagaries of watercolor, none of these pairs of paintings are "identical". The boat scene is titled Taking a Break, and the river scene is Lazy River.

Weekly Watercolor Update

It's been about two and a half months since I began my weekly watercolor project - adding an additional small watercolor painting to my weekly painting activities - and so far, I've been faithful. In fact, I'm a few paintings ahead, having just posted #13, Backyard Barn.

As you may know, I am offering these paintings on my Weekly Watercolor website for only $100 each, including shipping within the United States, so art lovers will have access to a large selection of my original art at a very affordable price. Most of these paintings will be 7-1/2" x 11", suitable for a 12" x 16" or 14" x 18" frame. These gems are large enough to enjoy, and small enough to be hung almost anywhere. If you haven't visited the site lately, please do so - there will always be new paintings to see. You can also sign up for automatic updates on the website About page, or on my supporting Weekly Watercolor Blog.

I'm excited about this project, and I hope you enjoy watching as a
new painting is added each week. If you would like to follow my art
activities on Facebook, you can do so by clicking on this link and
becoming a fan of my art page.

Hawaii

Jeanette and I just returned from a two-week vacation in Kauai. I think we came home too soon, with all this snow! In any case, I took a lot of photos, and hope to paint some Hawaiian scenes soon. But before we left, I had Hawaii on my mind, so I did a half-sheet painting based on a photo I took a few years ago on Maui. Here it is, titled Kihei Beach, Maui. That's the western Maui mountains in the background. I'll probably be displaying this painting at one of the galleries downtown in the next few months.

MSW Show at Fine Arts Center

The Mid-Southern Watercolorists Annual Fall Members Show will be hung at the Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs during the month of January. Although I did not originally enter a painting in the fall show, there were a few extra spaces available at the Fine Arts Center, so I'll be exhibiting my painting Valley Ranch there. This painting is loosely based on a beautiful valley in the Rocky Mountain foothills. There will be a reception at 5 pm on Friday, January 1st, during Hot Springs Gallery Walk.

Yet Another Demo

This seems to be the season of demos for me. Last Thursday, Barb Seibel invited me to do a 2-hour painting demo for her Brush Strokes-sponsored beginner watercolor class. I decided to paint a half-sheet Sound of Silence, which I have painted before. I enjoyed both the painting and the discussion of technique and design principles related to the painting. And the painting (attached) turned out pretty well, which does not always happen with demos.

I've also done a small version of this painting that I plan to offer as part of my Weekly Watercolor project.

Weekly Watercolor Website Launched

My new website, Weekly Watercolor by Jim Oberst at www.weeklywatercolor.com, is now active. It consists of three main pages: the Gallery, which is also the home page, showing all project paintings to date; the Order page, with ordering instructions, and the About page, with information about me and this project. Please visit my new site often. You can sign up for weekly or monthly email updates about my new paintings by clicking links on the Gallery page. It's not quite 2010, but I've decided to jump-start this project now with my first painting, rather than waiting for January 1.

The first painting posted, Early Snow, accompanies this post. It is based on a previous larger painting which was inspired by the many beautiful lake scenes in Arkansas. The snow-covered mountains are my own invention, and are not characteristic of Arkansas, which has gently rolling hills. I'm particularly drawn to the reflections in the water, the color in the trees, and the painting's fresh and spontaneous feel.

I will not be posting all of my weekly watercolor paintings here, but if you subscribe to my new blog www.weeklywatercolor.blogspot.com you will be notified as each new painting is posted.

Follow me on Facebook

I have established a new Facebook page to provide real-time information about all of my art activities. Clicking on this link - Watercolors by Jim Oberst - will take you directly to this page. To follow me if you are already a Facebook member, just click on the Become a Fan box at the top of the page. If you are not a Facebook member, you can sign up by clicking on the Sign Up box, and you will be able to follow me, as well as share personal and art-related happenings with all of your Facebook friends.

I hope to "see" you on Facebook soon.

Fine Arts Center Member's Holiday Show

The Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs is sponsoring its annual member's Holiday Show during the month of December. I will have two of my paintings of Hot Springs on exhibit: Gallery Walk and Arlington Hotel. Stop in during the month to enjoy the show. The Fine Arts Center is located at 610A Central Avenue, and is open from 11 to 4, Monday through Saturday.

Demo for TAG

Today I gave a painting demonstration to TAG, the Traditional Artists Group of Hot Springs. I chose to repeat the painting Early Snow that I did for Richard Stephens' class about a month ago. This time I only had about 45 minutes, so I did the drawing and prepared the paper before the clock started. The artists at the meeting seemed to enjoy the demo, and several of them told me they learned a few things.

Kimbell Art Museum Commission

I was recently commissioned by Barbara White of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, to create a painting of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, where she worked for a number of years. The museum is housed in a unique building designed by architect Louis Kahn which uses natural light to enhance one's experience of the art. The client provided a number of photographs of the building for reference, and participated in selecting the basic viewpoint of the painting, as well as the frame and matting used, and seemed very happy with the result.

My World in Watercolor Exhibit

I will be Featured Artist at the Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs, located at 610A Central Avenue, during the month of November. Please join me at my reception on Friday, November 6, from 5 to 9 pm during Gallery Walk, to enjoy the art and say "Hello".

This exhibit, My World in Watercolor, comprises twenty-five rural and urban landscape paintings. Rural scenes of barns, covered bridges, and green valleys capture a sense of the peace and serenity of days gone by. A variety of waterscapes include quiet harbors, rushing rivers, and bustling fishing boats amid our coastal waters. There are energetic urban scenes of Hot Springs, Little Rock, and several foreign cities that I have visited. And I will also be showing an engaging abstract as a change of pace.

If you can't make it to Gallery Walk, stop by the Fine Arts Center any time during November to enjoy my exhibit. The Fine Arts Center is open from 11 am to 4 pm Monday through Saturday.

Watercolor Class with Demo

Last Wednesday, Richard Stephens gave me the opportunity to teach one session of his annual Garland County Library watercolor beginners class, as he was unavailable that day. I decided to do a 1-hour demo (although it's difficult for me to paint that fast, and also to paint vertically) and then to have the students try their hand at the same painting. I did the accompanying painting Early Snow in the class. The students had plenty of questions, and seemed to enjoy the demo and the painting exercise. I enjoyed it, too.

The Springs Magazine Cover

The Springs Magazine is a monthly guide to arts, entertainment, and activities in Hot Springs, Arkansas. My painting Fall Firetrees was chosen for the cover of the November, 2009 issue. Thanks to publisher/editor Sonja Lash for choosing my painting and to Richard Stephens Commercial Art for the cover design.

Paintings of Copenhagen

During August, Jeanette and I took a cruise in Scandinavia that stopped in many cities in that region. The embarkation city was Copenhagen, Denmark, which we found delightful. So far I've painted two scenes from Copenhagen... one of the very picturesque Nyhavn waterfront, and the other of some rowboats for rent on a small lake in beautiful Fredericksberg Park. I'm sure there will be many more paintings based on this trip.

Second Prize at Diamond National Exhibit

My painting Clinton Avenue Looking West was awarded second prize in watercolor on paper at the 2009 Diamond National Exhibit sponsored by the Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs. This painting and one other of mine that was juried into the exhibit will be on display at the Center at 610 Central Avenue, Hot Springs, Arkansas, throughout the month of September.

Featured Artist at Gallery 726

I will be featured artist at Gallery 726, located at 726 Central Avenue in Hot Springs, during the month of September. I'll be exhibiting a variety of watercolor paintings - rural landscapes, seascapes, and urban landscapes - including several new paintings of downtown Hot Springs. Please join me at my reception on Friday, September 4, from 5 to 9 pm during Gallery Walk, to see the art and say "Hello". If you can't make it this coming Friday, stop by Gallery 726 anytime during September to enjoy my exhibit. Gallery 726 is open from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday.

I've had two paintings juried into the 2009 Diamond National Exhibit, and they will be on display at the Fine Arts Center at 610 Central Avenue during the same time period.

I hope to see you at the upcoming Gallery Walk.