West Virginia Watercolor Society
Aqueous 2018 National Juried Exhbition

May 19 - July 7, 2018 at the Parkersburg Art Center
2018 Juror Ron Thurston, AWS

Aqueous 2018 Slideshow -- See all the accepted paintingsCLICK HERE - Will Open in New Tab
Aqueous 2018 Reception ImagesCLICK HERE - Will Open in New Tab
Aqueous 2018 Award Winners

Watercolor painting is an exploration of transparent spirit possibilities. Some colors hide as a supporting role to others that glow as leaders. If we are lucky these visual combinations of spirits, a little bit spontaneous and a little bit planned, will evoke a memory, even if just for a moment.

Ron Thurston, AWS

Juror Statement

Thank you for this opportunity to pick my favorite Aqueous 2018 Exhibition paintings and award winners. I know you have heard this before, composition and technique is a consideration. This is a given. But in the end, I simply ask myself which works would I like to hang on my own wall. That's easy. Finalizing the award winners takes more thought.

Some thoughts on paintings -- award winners or not necessarily...

  • "Daddy" by J. Swartz made me laugh because the guy in the painting spoke to me. I'd like to go to lunch with this guy.
  • C.Cutter's "Awestruck" shows the wonderful personality of a kid better looking than he knows.
  • It's nice that M. Wilkins' "Monhegan Climate Control" shows the fun of watercolor instead of many others who attempt to show what serious painters they are.
  • Good to see risk taking, as in "Mosaic Blast" by R. Montrosse.
  • Thank you for a bit of mystery in G. Danz's "Vintage." Mystery is the heart of all great art.

Getting rejected from a show? I have been there. No problem, you will get your revenge in the next show.

-- Ron Thurston, AWS

Aqueous 2018 Accepted Artists

  • Ronda Albright, Martinsburg, “Strong Roots”
  • Brenda Beatty, St. Albans, “Dazzling Daffodils”
  • Matthew Bird, Sykesville, Md., “In the Wings”
  • Louise Braddock, West Union, “Caught”
  • Jeanne Brenneman, Lewisburg, “Heirloom II”
  • Karen Brown, Buckhannon, “Strawberry Beauty”
  • JoAnn Byron, Beckley, “Emergence of Color”
  • William Campbell, Midlothian, Va., “Dreamer”
  • F. Dennis Clarke, Martinsburg, “Passing in the Night”
  • Connie Clutter, Washington, Pa., “Awestruck”
  • Joe Ann Crawford, Tornado, “Rascal”
  • Katherine Crim, Clarksburg, “Eddie”
  • Anne Cyr, Rehoboth, Del., “Crab Boats All in a Row”
  • Ginger Danz, Fayetteville, “Vintage”
  • Linda Elmer, Fairmont, “Babcock: Road to the Cabins”
  • Janet Hart, Wheeling, “Gander in the Bulrushes”
  • Carol Hilleary, Cross Lanes, “Old Blue Truck”
  • Michael Jacques, Blawnox, Pa., “Gliding Past the Wreckage 1”
  • Gina Judy, Richmond, Ohio, “The 'Sitter”
  • Sidra Kaluszka, Radford, Va., “Emerging from the Darkness”
  • Myung Lee-Ryou, Morgantown, “Autumn Scene”
  • James Lefebvre, Eaton, Ohio, “Downtown”
  • Deborah Lester, Shady Spring, “Bourbon Street”
  • Brooklynn Lilly, Athens, “Rainbow Waters”
  • Jane C. Michael, Morgantown, “Bird Lady of Cologne”
  • Rita Montrosse, Princeton, “Mosaic Blast”
  • Betty Neely, Fairmont, “Terra Incognita”
  • Susan Pauley, St. Albans, “Thoughtful”
  • Sandra Pealer, South Paris, Maine, "Teamwork"
  • Donna Perkins, Pasadena, Md., “Raisin's Imaginations”
  • Pamela Price, Monroeville, Pa., “At the Louvre”
  • Julie Read, Winchester, Va., “Adobe”
  • Martha Reynolds, West Union, “Family Fun”
  • Christine Rhodes, Parkersburg, “October-Mountwood Park”
  • Jeannine Romano, Bridgeport, “3 Sisters”
  • Janet Sheehan, Wheeling, “In for a Landing”
  • Jeannine Swartz, Mechanicsburg, Pa., “Daddy”
  • Jan vanEgmond, Charleston, “Kanawha City Dawn”
  • Monica Wilkins, Shepherdstown, “Monhegan Climate Patrol”

Aqueous 2018 ProspectusCLICK HERE - Will Open in New Tab