Hello! I am thrilled to say that my painting Spiral Gyre #4 has been juried into the Watercolor Society of Oregon’s (WSO) Spring Experimental Exhibition. (Yay!)

The Juror.
My sincerest thanks to Juror Ms. Jean Pederson for accepting Spiral Gyre #4 into the show. Jean Pederson’s expressive watercolor portraits first caught my attention. So much so that I have a Watercolor Artist (F+W Publishers, Inc.) magazine from February 2008 right by my workspace. One of Ms. Pederson’s portraits graces the cover of the magazine. Her article “Making a Face” is one I like to refer to when creating my own portrait drawings.
In looking at her website, one can see that Jean Pederson works in multiple genres using watercolor and mixed media. I invite you to take a look and enjoy her paintings.
Excellent Show.
One of 80 paintings selected for the show, I feel privileged and humbled to have my work included. To explain, I have seen some of the other paintings selected by my friends and colleagues on social media. The paintings are wonderful! I believe it will be an excellent show, featuring a diversity of artists from around our state of Oregon.
Exhibition Details.
WSO is holding the exhibition at the Grants Pass Museum of Art, 229 SW G St, Grants Pass, Oregon. The show opens on 5 April and will run through 23 May, 2024. Museum hours are 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesdays through Saturday.
About Spiral Gyre #4.
In Spiral Gyre #4 of the “Spiral Gyre” series, the main spiral is starting to unravel. In this depiction, I wanted to hint at movement and depth. And, who knows, maybe the spiral will tighten up again as it spins around?
Also, as I have been developing this series of paintings, I’ve been thinking of the cosmos and spiral galaxies in particular.
My Process.
As is my favorite method, I created a concept drawing first. This allows me to play with ideas. Or, you could say, I like to think with pencil and paper at hand. As I said above, I thought that a spiral unraveling would be interesting. Other than that, I did not have a mental picture yet. So, over time, ideas began to develop. I add tonal value to help me see if the concept will work as a watercolor.

Eventually, though, I get impatient and want to transfer the drawing over to watercolor paper to see what will happen. For this version, I chose my color palette purposefully. Why? Simply put, I wanted to see the interactions of reds and grays. The grays are a mixture of red and its complementary color green. Also I think it speaks to the energy of the unraveling spiral.
You may notice that the painting differs from the drawing. I like to allow myself the freedom to change things as I work.
Thanks To Exhibition Volunteers.
I would like to extend a huge THANKS to the WSO Spring Exhibition Chair Persons and Team as I realize it is a lot of work. You have secured a first class venue and it will be a wonderful show.
Invitation.
I invite you to stop by the Grants Pass Museum of Art to see the show this April and May. Thank you!
Wonderful Peggy! Thank you for sharing, the blogs are fun to read!
Dorothy
Hi Dorothy, thank you! I appreciate your kind words and it is a pleasure to write them.