California Watercolor Association

52nd National Exhibition

We are very pleased to present our National Exhibition to you on this gallery.

Andy Evansen, our juror of selection, chose the 85 paintings presented here and Birgit O’Connor, our juror of awards, chose the following 19 paintings for the awards listed. Each of them was kind enough to provide us with their thoughts about why they chose the awarded paintings. We hope that you will enjoy the work presented here as much as we enjoyed preparing it for you. The exhibition is also being presented on the walls at the Harrington Gallery in Pleasanton, CA until March 12th. We will have a reception on March 5th from noon to three pm.

Stacy Lund Levy

Treading Tribe

$2400

Gold Award

I enjoy paintings that offer a unique perspective, and not only does “Treading Tribe” provide that but it’s skillfully designed and executed. The arrangement of the swimmers keeps the viewer’s eye moving around the painting and back again.The bright pink at top left is subtly bounced around the painting to provide balance among all the cool blues and grays, and I love how each figure has a unique gesture and scale in the scene. ~ Andy Evansen

I chose this for the Gold Award because it is so unique, it has a different story to it. We’re looking from a different vewpoint at an everyday activity. The use of color is excellent, the technique is very well handled. This person did an excellent job. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Randy Hale

Three Sisters

$2200

Silver Award

“Three Sisters” has such a nice balance between lost and found edges, warms and cools, soft reflections and staccato calligraphy. It’s a static subject yet painted with great energy, and the strong colors also provide excitement. The decision to put the small portion of dock in the lower corner provides depth to the scene and really helps the composition. ~ Andy Evansen

This person did an amazing job with their use of color and their brushwork with it being too deliberate, there is a nice feeling of suggested shapes, which invites the viewer to enter the painting. The use of color in the reflections is excellent, the dry brush and wet into wet in the distance and the use of lost and found edges are all remarkable. I also enjoyed seeing the little pieces of white paper showing through. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Merv Richardson

The Path

$1500

Bronze Award

“The Path” has so many properties that I love about watercolor; pigments merging together in lost edges, great negative shapes, translucency, vibrant complementary colors mixing to create gorgeous neutrals… a stand-out painting. Once again a unique vision expertly handled with an exciting style. There are just enough recognizable shapes to let us know it’s a path through the woods, yet so much is suggested and expressive.
~ Andy Evansen

With this painting, what I was drawn to the use of the different colored strokes, perhaps this is hot press paper. What I really love is the granulation in this painting and how they selectively come in and added some shapes in a beautiful wet into wet with lovely
~ Birgit O’Connor

Margaret Washington

Field Trip

$1800

CWA Signature Award One

This painting tells a wonderful and fun story. What is very interesting is the way that the geometric shapes counter the figures, the reflection in the glass has been handled in an excellent way. The shadows and darks are wonderful as are the shadows in the childrens’ faces. The use of light is excellent throughout. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Charles Rouse

The Launch

$6000

CWA Signature Award Two

I love the way the white of the paper in the background has been handled with minimal strokes suggesting the water. The textures in the boat are nicely done, as are the skin tones, the hair and the water. The suggestion of the distant boats is intriguing by leaving them vague, focusing attention on the foreground figures. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Steve Walters

Flying Squirrel 2

$1200

Past President’s Award

This painting has excellent wet into wet, very good use of color, the technique is excellent, it’s a very confidently painted piece with deliberate strokes. But it’s striking to me given the situation here with the fires and trees, this painting is so relevant and sort of pays homage to the current situation. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Raffi Kondy

Misty Market Street

$900

Artistic Journey Award

In this painting, the simplicity with telling the story is excellent. The use of wet into wet good value structure along with the handling of the figures and nice touches of warm red are all just wonderful. I also like that the line work was done with a brush and not a pen.
~ Birgit O’Connor

Bev Jozwiak

Stand Tall

$1200

Watercolor West Reciprocal Award

The background of this painting is fascinating. I’m intrigued about how the artist created the various textures all over the painting and wonder if perhaps some alcohol was used to dispurse color in places. The facial features are excellent, the tone of color and the variation of color all over are all excellent. There is so much fine detail, but done with a lot of looseness. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Linda Erfle

Zoey Jessica

$2800

Dick Cole Memorial Award

This is a very tender painting, a work of art, but still seems very personal. It has a beautiful use of values, color and skin tones and wonderful sense of light. I particularly enjoy the handling of the hair. The use of the bird was so well handled, being pushed back, keeping the focus on the woman and child. It’s fascinating how the figures are so nicely integrated into the background and don’t look at all as pasted onto the background. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Michael Reardon

Venice

$2250

Mary Spivey Award
for Excellence in Landscape Painting

I like the different format used in this painting, it’s intriguing. There is a nice treatment of the sky and excellent reflections. The use of values, modeling and detail is really wonderful. The treatment of the water is just exquisite. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Gloria Baker

Free 2

$3500

Arnold Grossman Memorial Award

Here I was drawn to the simplicity and use of color, it’s sweeping, it’s flawless, it has a lot of feeling to it. I love how the sky worked right down into the sand and the balance of the figures as well as the handling of the figures, nicely down without too much detail. ~ Birgit O’Connor

John Salminen

Morning in Shanghai

$5000

Flax Art & Design Award
Daniel Smith Paints Award

This person has done an excellent job of telling the story with lots of detail. I like the reserving some of the whites. It’s intriguing all of the incredible detail in a complicated painting, handled beautifully. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Lok Kirk Hwang

Tales of Wheel No. 14

$12000

David Nathan Memorial Award

This is an amazing painting. What’s interesting is how this is striking from a distance, and yet, amazing when you’re up close to it. It loses nothing in that translation. There is incredible detail and use of color and texture. There are not too many people that can paint a basket like this. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Kate Aubrey

Lionheart

$2840

Norbert Volk Award

This painting is very bold. The artist has really captured the feeling in the eyes. It’s wonderful that there is the looseness in the background and yet the softness and detail in the face. The modeling and use of color are excellent. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Ginger Chen

Orange

$1200

Dan Curry Memorial Award

I like the use of color in the background, complimentary to the oranges. The use of color is very uplifting. It has a nice amount of detail without being overdone and it’s still nice and loose with a good amount of wet into wet. It’s a very happy painting. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Salvador Valencia

Afterglow

$2200

Flax Art & Design Award
Daniel Smith Paints Award

I found the use of color in this painting to be fascinating. I love the color saturation, granular colors and transitions of color. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Chris Krupinski

Catching the Light

$5000

Jade Fon Award

The folds and movement in them is amazing. The use of highlights and how they transition into the shadows is wonderful. The treatment of the grapes and other fruit is luscious, keeping it transparent. The treatment of the glass and the transition of light throughout the painting is gorgeous. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Karen Freyi

Sign of the Times

$5600

Mijello Co. Ltd. Award

What is fascinating to me in this is how soft it is everywhere. The execution of this painting is technically amazing. It has a wonderful amount of depth, the eye still focuses on the main subjects and it’s very different and unique. ~ Birgit O’Connor

Congratulations to the 19 award winning paintings. And now, please enjoy these following 76 paintings that were selected from many that were submitted for this year’s National Exhibition.

Inquiries about purchasing a painting can be sent to: nat@californiawatercolor.org

James Austin

Totoro en Provence

$2500

Mary Axelson

Peony Exuberance

$5500

Marnie Becker

Rain on the Boulevard St. Germaine

$1500

Cara Brown

Roma Map of Rome

$4995

Kit Cameron

With two sheep

$600

Peter Carey

Siena

$1400

Lei Chi

Pure Delight

$8000

Linda Cloonan

Lavendaria De Gaudi

$1225

Bobbie Coven

Water Music

$400

Keming Chen

Blacksmith 2

$3000

Ginger Chen

John Walz

$3800

Lei Chi

Burano

$4000

Valerie Cohen, CWA

Escarpment

$3000

Kathy Collins

Behind the Dazzle

$2000

Kathleen Conover

Peace Offering Searching

$2800

Yuxin Cui

Desk series 1

$2000

Linda L. Curtis, CWA

Abstraction 20

$575

Robert Davidson, CWA

Cool as a Columbine

$2800

Sandy Delehanty, CWA

Calm Waters

$1550

Kathy Durdin

Memories of Home

$750

Herbert Estes

Martinez Cove

$2800

Margaret Fago, CWA

Lee’s Produce

$950

Guoping Fan

Back At The Dock

$1000

Patrick Fanning

Freestone Dairy

$1200

Patricia Flynn

Natural Elements

$675

Andy Forrest

42nd & Ulloa S.F.

$600

Marina Goldberg

Before the Prayer

$2000

Carlo Grunfeld

Yosemite in Autumn

$500

Helen Hayes

Information Overload

$2000

Kelly Hildner

Orange Daylily

$350

Ruth Ellen Hoag, CWA

West Village

$2300

Michael Holter

Cliff Notes

$800

William Hook, MCWA

Night Crossing

$1000

John Hopper

Renoir Enduring Arthritis

$1200

Carol Husslein

Rooftops and Chimney Pots

$1200

Jeff Ishikawa

Secrets

$1250

Glen Jarvis

Abbotts Lagoon

$300

Rekha Joshi

Flow

$500

Bev Jozwiak

Whistler’s Daughter

$1000

Susan Keith

Crabapple Reds

$800

Shirley R. Kleppe

Backstreet of Portofino

$10000

Jo Kopp

Goddess of Fertility

$500

Allen Lavee

Jhe 1

$1500

Jorge Leon

Springtime Halcyon

$3500

Bing Liu

With dream to travel

$14800

Carolyn Lord, MCWA

Tuesday at the Headlands

$1500

Lisbeth MacDonald

Foggy Rainy San Francisco

$1200

Maura Madden Donovan

The Smoker

$750

Heather Martin

Tomatoes and Basil

$900

Atanas Matsoureff

Going Home

$15000

Ruth Miller

Museum Shadows

$1200

Corky Normart, CWA

Milburn Sunset

$1750

Debbie Parmley

London Monday

$1300

Linda Pickwick

Petals and Porcelain

$2500

Joel Popadics

Oia Overlooking the Caldera

$1700

Maria Porter

Shepherding

$850

Trish Poupard

Huntington Cactus

$1500

Michael Reardon, MCWA

Issisa

$2250

Ronnie Rector, CWA

Notre Dame II St. Genevieve

$2000

John Salminen

Bethesda Arcade II

$5000

Wenling Shi

Birds Of Paradise

$500

Vita Sorrentino, CWA

Forest Remains 2

$1600

M. Stermer-Cox

Three Minute Egg 14 Blue Espresso Cup

$550

Yan Sun

Companion

$4500

Wu Ting

In the Corner

$1200

Joseph Tringali

Friends

$1000

Phyllis Tseng

In the distance

$1000

Salvador Valencia, MCWA

Crockett Neighborhood

$8000

Ann Walker, CWA

Old Havana at Dusk

$5000

Margaret Washington, CWA

Dreaming en Plein Air

$2500

Marilyn Wear, CWA

Yosemite Splendor

$1900

Cristine Weatherby, CWA

3 Little Boats Ireland

$2000

Lorraine Wells

Rocks

$450

Leslie Wilson, CWA

Rush Ranch 3

$1400

Kerry Woodward

The Old Hay Rake

$1000

Jianzhong Wu

Forward Sail

$1600

Yuemeng Wu

A Quiet Song In A Dream

$1000

Fan Wu

Teacher Lin

$1800

YaoShi Zhang

Song Of Fishing In The Spring

$1500

Yueqi Zhang

Homecoming

$3800

Thank you. We hope that you’ve enjoyed our National Exhibition. We look forward to starting on the next National Exhibition in a few months and look forward to seeing everyone’s submissions again.

Thank you!

The CWA 52nd
National
Exhibition
Committee

Director
Michael Friedland

Receiving Week Directors
Pat Lauer
Joe Tringali

Donors and Awards Fundraising
Michael Friedland
Jean Homes

Catalog Design
Patricia Rosa
Ruth Miller

Signature Member Fundraising
Samantha McNally
Iretta Hunter

National gallery page design: Michael Friedland
Excellent web gallery development: Adrienne Hefter