One of my newest watercolors has been accepted into the 2020 Southern Watercolor Society (SWS) Exhibition, after my first try last year yielded rejection. “Like A Rainbow” is one of a series I’ve been working on, combining blown bubbles with a portrait.This year’s competition saw 340 entries from 18 states plus Washington DC, with 80 paintings chosen by juror Mark Mehaffey for the exhibition. In his judging of another recent competition, Mr. Mehaffey commented on his jurying, which he likely applied to judging SWS as well: “Three criteria were utmost – original concept / content that made me think and feel. A design that was thoughtful and lent itself to the artist’s chosen content, and finally, technical excellence that enhanced both the design and the content.”
I became intrigued with bubbles over a year ago and I was inspired to attempt depicting them in a painting. The challenge: a transparent orb whose shape and dimensions are solely defined by its reflections. My bubble-work has been fairly extensive: I’ve blown bubbles, photographed bubbles, watched bubble videos, and practiced depicting bubbles in various media. My tests included colored pencils, pastels, watercolor on black scratchboard, watercolor on Aquabord, and watercolor on paper. I’ve tried various resists to preserve a white outer circle on the bubbles, including sharpened white crayon, masking fluid, gum arabic, Golden “Lift Aid,” and acrylic medium… in addition to using a pointed upholstery needle to scratch through a circle template onto scratchboards.
In preparation for trying large watercolor paintings with blown bubbles, I painted a golden retriever in watercolor on Aquaboard, “Heart of Gold.” When my great niece and nephew visited last year I took many reference photos of them blowing bubbles. From these I painted Olivia in an 8″x10″ watercolor on paper version of “Like A Rainbow,” called “Magical,” shown below. As I write this post, I am also working on another large watercolor bubble painting of Olivia’s brother Liam. Needless to say, acceptance into this exhibition proves my efforts at painting bubbles have not been in vain – and it’s been fun too.
The 43rd Southern Watercolor Society Exhibition will be held May 12 – July 12, 2020, with Opening Reception and Awards on Saturday, May 16. The host venue is the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center in Clarksville, Tennessee (north of Nashville). This is the same beautiful location where I was awarded Best of Show in the 2018 Tennessee Watercolor Society Biennial Exhibition, so I’m beginning to believe it is a lucky-charm place for me.
I must admit that I had thought my second entry into this competition would be the one chosen – just as I assumed with the last show I was accepted into, Georgia Watercolor Society’s National Show. Note to self: always submit two paintings when allowed, assuming I have two which meet the criteria of the competition and which I would be proud to have exhibited. Watch for an upcoming post on my alternate submission, “Distress,” very soon.
