Tag Archives: Zoom!

January 18, 2024 Members Meeting and Demonstration by Rick Surowicz, all on Zoom!

Following a brief Members Meeting we will have the pleasure of a demonstration by the popular watercolor artist and teacher Rick Surowicz, from Medina, Ohio.
This will be a Zoom event, held at 4 pm on Thursday, January 18th. A Zoom link will be sent by email to all NFWS Members on the Monday before the Thursday afternoon Meeting.

Artist Biography

Rick Surowicz, a painter currently living in Medina, Ohio, discovered how much he enjoyed the challenges of transparent watercolor in 1992.  His paintings have been juried into exhibitions of the American Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Louisiana Watercolor Society, Georgia Watercolor Society, and Splash 21.  Watercolor Artist Magazine did an eight-page feature article on his work in their 2021 Summer edition.   His YouTube channel has over 65,000 subscribers with over 4.8 million views.  Rick is a signature member of the Ohio Watercolor Society, and a current Trustee.  He keeps busy with his online instruction.

Artist Statement

To look where others don’t look, to see what others don’t see, to say without saying inspires and challenges me as an artist. I look through underbrush to see the river, I see beyond the flower to behold the foliage, and suggest the tree by painting the woods. I seek to portray that which is not obvious. It’s not my intent to replicate but to interpret through the elements and principles of design. I enjoy the beauty of transparent watercolor and continue to learn and evolve with every painting, with every brushstroke.

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_RHSK_GEIoVTF-QNKDRvgA

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/rsurowiczart 

Website:  https://rsurowiczart.com/

 

 

 

 

Members Meeting and Demonstration by Andy Evansen! Oh Boy!!

Following a brief Members Meeting we will have the pleasure of a demonstration by immensely popular Minnesota watercolor artist Andy Evansen.

This will be a Zoom event, held at  4 pm  on Thursday, March 16th. A Zoom link will be sent by email to all NFWS Members on the Monday before the Thursday evening Meeting.   

Andy Evansen’s interest in art started in childhood, and he can’t recall a time when he wasn’t drawing. Once he began painting, he found himself attempting to capture the landscape with an economy of brushstroke evident in the work of the British watercolor artists he admired.  In addition, he was impressed with the way those artists seemed to capture everyday scenes in such a way that revealed a hidden beauty, subjects that many would simply pass by.

“When I decided to begin painting 30 years ago, there was never any question in my mind what medium I would choose.  Watercolor has always fascinated me; the effects of pigment and water mixing on the paper are so unique and challenging and the results so beautiful.  It is also the perfect medium for capturing those fleeting moments and light effects when working on location.”

He has been featured in many publications and is a sought-after workshop instructor who paints and teaches internationally.  He became a signature member of the prestigious Plein Air Painters of America (PAPA) in 2012 and served as their President from 2015-2017.  In 2022 he was selected as the only international member of England’s Pure Watercolour Society.

His paintings have won numerous awards, including the Bronze and High Winds Medals from the American Watercolor Society in New York.

“While learning, I painted strictly from photographs and am glad I took that route.  Watercolor is challenging, as it relies on timely washes that can be affected by the weather and a large amount of confidence due to its unforgiving nature.  I now paint ‘en plein air’ as well, which has reinforced my efforts toward choosing strong, simple subjects and working quickly to capture the essence of the scene.”

His love of painting on location also led to him being included in the 2017 Qingdao International Masters Watercolor Plein Air Event.

You can view his work at www.EvansenArtStudio.com. 

 

A Special Thursday Night! June 17th! Andrew Pitt will demonstrate on Zoom for NFWS!

As a special treat we will have British artist Andrew Pitt on Zoom for NFWS Members from London! We will email Zoom invitations on the Monday before the Event!

Andrew Pitt was born in Maldon, Essex in the UK. He started painting at the age of eleven, inspired by watching visiting artist who came to Maldon to paint the Thames Sailing Barges.

Although he is primarily a watercolour artist he also paints and teaches oil painting. 

He has been teaching workshops and residential courses for over 40 years and has held over 20 one-man exhibitions. He has contributed many articles to the English art magazine, “The Leisure Painter’’ and his first book, ‘’Seasons and Reflections: Notes on Painting in Watercolour” was published in 2019. In 2008 Town House Films Ltd produced an instructional DVD called, ‘’Watercolour: Pure and Simple with Andrew Pitt’’.

Andrew lives in Suffolk, England with his wife Rachel and her small flock of chickens.

Here is his Artist’s Statement

Painting, particularly in watercolour, is endlessly fascinating because we are not painting what we know but what we have just found out. My aim is to paint a picture which represents the subject as I see it without compromising the fluid, transparency of the watercolour medium.

To achieve a lively, fresh painting is a high risk activity, but when a watercolour is successful it is difficult to beat using any other medium. I try to keep my technique and materials as simple as possible. I paint using a direct – all a prima – method, which dispenses with the traditional ‘’light to dark’’ approach. I go for the end straight away, the way I want my picture to look when it is finished, using the minimum of planned over-painting; a method which emphasises the freshness, and essential beauty of watercolour. I also want the viewer to feel my paintings celebrate the subject and convey the enthusiasm and pleasure of the artist.