The Virginia Watercolor Society’s 41st Annual Exhibition

On Display

October 31, 2020 to December 13, 2020

Exhibition Type

Limited Time Display

About the Exhibition: The Virginia Museum of History & Culture hosted the Virginia Watercolor Society’s (VWS) 41st Annual Exhibition from October to December of 2020. This prestigious event featured more than 80 watercolor paintings—all by members of the VWS—and included original works on paper and in various water media from transparent watercolor, acrylic, gouache, or mixed media. Subjects ranged from landscapes, scenes of everyday life, and imaginary scenes to still lifes, portraits, and abstractions. See a selection of works below.

After a decade of being hosted elsewhere throughout the state, the exhibition finally returned to Richmond. Over 400 paintings from Virginia artists of the VWS were submitted to be in the show; where final selections were made by juror and award-winning artist Fred Graff, AWS-DR, NWS, TWSA-MS, an internationally recognized watercolorist in his own right.

Viewers of this year’s annual exhibition were asked to vote for the work they consider to be the best in the show. Voting took place in the gallery at the VMHC where the winner of the exhibition was announced by the VWS in January 2021. The People’s Choice Award is sponsored by James River Air Conditioning Co.

The majority of the show’s paintings were for sale directly from the artists, with 35% from each sale going to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

About the VWS and Watercolor Painting:

The Virginia Watercolor Society is a statewide organization founded in Roanoke in 1979 to promote interest and participation in watercolor painting. VWS fosters the advancement of any water media on paper (including such water-soluble paints as acrylics, gouache, casein, egg tempera), arranges exhibition opportunities for water-media artists, and provides information to the public. Any resident of Virginia may become a member. (Former residents who have left Virginia and were included in three annual exhibitions may maintain membership.)

Watercolor is a centuries-old painting method in which pigments are suspended in a water-based solution and applied (most often) to paper. Because it is combined with water, watercolor is a transparent medium that achieves luminosity from the light reflected from the paper back to the viewer. Acrylics, casein, gouache and egg tempera, also water-based media, are usually applied more thickly and contain binders that block the light (as oil paints do). Some paintings in this exhibit are pure acrylics or watercolors. Other paintings are more complex: the artists achieve a variety of effects by combining two or more water-soluble media, usually with one medium predominating. When describing an individual painting, the term "watermedia" indicates that two or more water-based media have been combined.

Featured Artists:

Mary Allen - Culpeper, VA
Mary Lou Andrews - Virginia Beach, VA
Terry Anstrom - Springfield, VA
Judy Antico – Falls Church, VA
Brenda Barthell – Arlington, VA
Claire Bentley – Springfield, VA
Solly Blank – Lynchburg, VA
Gwendolyn Bragg – Alexandria, VA
Solange Brown – Mechanicsville, VA
Noreen Brunini – Centreville, VA
Oleksandra Butts – Fairfax, VA
Patricia Carr – Roanoke, VA
Lizabeth Castellano-King – Stafford, VA
Charlotte Chan – Blacksburg, VA
Deborah Conn – Falls Church, VA
Pat Cook – Waynesboro, VA
Eleanor Cox – Midlothian, VA
Trish Crowe – Hood, VA
Constance De Bordenave - Richmond, VA
Kevin Deck – Roanoke, VA
Vera Dickerson – Troutville, VA
Janice Ducharme – Fairfax Station, VA
Christine Duke – Winchester, VA
Susan Egbert – Roanoke, VA
Holland Etheridge – Hampton, VA
Z.L. Feng – Radford, VA
Kimberly Ferguson – Clarksville, VA
Constance Fisher – Berryville, VA
William Frable – Richmond, VA
Marti Franks – Richmond, VA
Nancy Foley – Mechanicsville, VA
Jean Gill – Oak Hill, VA
Sally Guynn – Henrico, VA
Margitta Hanff – Alexandria, VA
Gayle Hicks- Hampton, VA
Myrtle Hooker- Roanoke, VA
David Hoque – Prince George, VA
John James – Hampton, VA
James Jones – Hampton, VA
Chris Kupinski – Maineville, OH
Linda Lavigne-Long – Richmond, VA

Charlie Lindauer – Virginia Beach, VA
Janet Martinet – Manassas, VA
Megan Mehra – Aldie, VA
Kathleen Miller – Richmond, VA
Doug Mock – White Stone, VA
Sally Mook – Blacksburg, VA
Kate Niner – Alexandria, VA
Elaine Nunnally – Leesburg, VA
Glenn Ormsby – Smithfield, VA
Gwen Parker – Richmond, VA
Beverley Perdue – Midlothian, VA
Martha Petroff – Alexandria, VA
Purnell Pettyjohn – Lynchburg, VA
Lynda Pitman – Woodbridge, VA
Patricia Porter- Fairfax, VA
Meera Rao – Poquoson, VA
Patrice Reese – Henrico, VA
Elizabeth Roberts – Chapel Hill, NC
Megan Robison – Virginia Beach, VA
Suzanne Ross – Roanoke, VA
Ginger Sanaie – McLean, VA
Jacqueline Saunders – Burke, VA
Jane Schafer – Wirtz, VA
Angel Shields – Troutville, VA
Suzanne Lohr Sliger – Herndon, VA
Jung Smith – Falls Church, VA
William Snow – Palmyra, VA
Marsha Staiger – Alexandria, VA
Gari Stephenson – Roanoke, VA
Susan Stuller – Midlothian, VA
Katherine Sullivan – Arlington, VA
Garry-Lou Upton – N. Chesterfield, VA
Jane Carter Vaughan – Lynchburg, VA
Carol Vaughn – Irvington, VA
Gerald Wadsworth – Richmond, VA
Linda Wallace-Blau – Fairfax, VA
Michele Walter – Blacksburg, VA
Don Whitson – Waynesboro, VA
Tammy Wiedenhaefer – Alexandria, VA
Christopher Wynn – Rockville, VA
Mary Jane Zander – Midlothian, VA