Feature Articles


June Issue 2000

SC Watercolor Society Hosts 23rd Annual Exhibit in Spartanburg, SC
by Tom Starland

It happens once a year at some new location in South Carolina and believe it or not, it just seems to get better every year. I'm talking about the Annual Members Exhibition of the South Carolina Watercolor Society (SCWS). Their 23rd annual exhibition is taking place this year at the Spartanburg County Museum of Art. The exhibit of paintings using water media will be on view through July 16. A companion exhibition of paintings in various media by Linda McCane, current President of the SCWS, is also on exhibit at the Museum through July 16.

During a pre-exhibit, Art Market Event, giving the public an opportunity to purchase from all entries, 17 works were sold. Total sales added up to over $14,000.

This year's juror was Serge Hollerbach, artist and author of numerous art education books. Hollerbach selected 71 painting for exhibition out of the 247 entered by members of SCWS and guest members from nearby North Carolina counties. Of those 71 paintings, thirty were selected for cash awards totaling $10,550 and to comprise a traveling exhibition which will spend the next year touring around South Carolina.

Hollerbach stated, "As the sole juror of the SCWS exhibition, I had two different tasks: to select paintings representing different styles and modes of expression regardless of my personal preferences and to give awards to those works that appeal to me. It is important, I believe, to keep these two tasks separate. The work submitted to this exhibition was of a very high quality with very few pieces by beginners or less accomplished artists. Unfortunately, as in any group exhibition, space limitations prevented me from including many fine works. Similarity of subject matter and technique often works against the artist and the juror has difficulty choosing the 'better one' of a dozen or so equally accomplished paintings. Jurying a show of such high quality is always a rewarding experience and I want to thank the SCWS for giving me this opportunity. I wish the SCWS continuing success in the new millennium."

The top winner of this year's competition was Billie De La Penha of Bluffton, SC. Penha was given Friends of Nita Milliken Award -$1,100, for the work, Untitled- $1,500. The work can be seen on the cover of this month's paper. Of course the original work is in color and looks a lot better than it does here.

The other 29 award winners include, in order of cash value of award:
Arthur State Bank Award - $800

Steve R. Garner, Greenville, Inside/Outside Series #5 -$1,200

Husbands & Wives Award - $750

Nita Yancey, Columbia, Idle Times - $850

Jamie Chapman Memorial Award Given by his Family - $500

Randolph New Armstrong, Greer, The Trio - $975

Johnson Development Associates Inc. Award - $500
Patricia M. Spear, Columbia, Pueblos - $700

Artists' Guild of Spartanburg Award - $500
Steven Jordan, Mt. Pleasant, Jazz Reflecting II - $5,000

Friends of Guy Lipscomb Award -$500
Alex Powers, Myrtle Beach, New York Art - NFS

Hal P Moore Award Given by CPT Arkansas & Hal P. Moore & Associates - $450
Jane Doyle, Greenville, Vase of Flowers -NFS

Colleges of Spartanburg Award- $400
Given by Converse, Spartanburg Methodist, USC Spartanburg, Wofford
David Benson, Spartanburg, Tanny & Bro. - $800

Sonoco Products Award - $400
Barbara Von, Ridge Spring, Friends - $800

SCWS Past Presidents Award - $400

Billie J. Sumner, Mt. Pleasant, Windows of Life - NFS

Spartanburg County Museum of Art Award - $300
Given by the Board of Directors in honor of George Ernest Burwell Jr. & the Burwell Family & Mrs. Jean Blackford
Lois Cantrell, Spartanburg, All to Pieces - $1,000

Time Warner Cable Award - $300
Esther G. Melton, Blythewood, Pears II - $1,400

Lib & Harold Fleming Award - $250
Dom Ferullo, Saluda, NC, Oracle #8 - $800

Artists for Art Award - $250
Anne Hightower-Patterson, Columbia, Annie B. -$1,500

Mildred H. Dent Memorial Award Given by Mayfair Mills - $250
Del Holt, Port Royal, Hairy Harbinger of Spring - NFS

Gay Cecil Frick Award Given by the 6AM Running Club- $250
Cecile L.K. Martin, Seneca, dè shabillè $1,200

Palmetto Framing Supplies Award - $250
Tom Ratliffe, Hilton Head, Shards of Chaos - NFS

ArtXpress, LLC Award - $200
Arnold E. Carrouth, Fort Mill, Sunset Hollow - $200

Arthur State Bank Award - $200
Pat Corbin, Spartanburg, Under the Bed, Thru the Tunnel, Up to the Moon - NFS

Mr. & Mrs. George Brandt III Award - $200

Daniel Cromer, Spartanburg, the Way to Grandmother's House - $1,000

Cameo Gallery Award - $200
Scott Cunningham, Spartanburg, Coming of Age - NFS

Charleston Art Galleries Award - $200
Georgie J. Dickerson, Pacolet, Sunrise - $450

Charleston Renaissance Gallery Award - $200
Wyn Foland, Simpsonviile, Sweet Honey in the Rock - $750

Converse College Department of Art & Design Award - $200

Harry Hansen, Columbia, Big Red is Almost Dead - $3,000

Bebe & Lorin Mason Award - $200
Russell Jewel, Easley, Venetian Dry Cleaning - $750

Art in a Nutshell & Forest Lake Travel Award - $200

Wendyth Thomas, Columbia, Pool Series: Scraffito - $1,000

Carolina Southern Bank & Beaufort Art Association Award - $200
Betty H. Robinson, Georgetown, Fenland Variations - $1,600

Trenholm Artist Guild & Guy Fleming Lipscomb Award - $200
Judy Sahms, Greenville, Sea Jewels - $750

Georgetown Watercolor Society & Wachovia Bank Award - $200
Mary Ellen Suitt, Spartanburg, Nightwatch - $800

If you're wondering why I included the names of the awards, it's because these are the generous folks who put up the money for the awards. That's how you attract good professional artists to a competition - the higher the cash awards the better work you'll get entered. And, this show is full of good work of all types - collage, abstracts, landscapes, portraits, and surrealistic scenes - the exhibit includes a lot of images that most people wouldn't consider your typical watercolor painting.

The remaining artists who complete the exhibition include, in alphabetical order:
Patricia Adelman, Me, Myself & I - $1,000, Camden
Carrie Burns Brown, Trove of Treasures - $1,300, Greenville
Betty Bramlett, My Secret Garden - $1,500, Spartanburg
Jane Todd Butcher, Timeless - $800, Greer
Dawn CaIdwell, Life is Just a Bowl of Cherry Tomatoes - $1500, Columbia
Darden F. Camlin, Holding Court - $850, Georgetown
Margaret Carter, Masaya - $1,000, Columbia
Toni M. Elkins, Exposed - $1,500, Columbia
Patricia Cole-Ferullo, Approaching Storm - $800, Saluda, NC
Marsha Dargan, Did You See It Too? - $1,500, Darlington
Dixie Dugan, High School Reunion - $2,000, Myrtle Beach
Lynda English The Cycle II - $1,500, Florence
Claire K. Farrell, Tuscan Treasurer - $1,000, Lexington
Harriet Marshall Goode, Sisters Forever #23 - $1,400, Rock Hill
Lynn Greer, Discovering Tulips - NFS, Greenville
Dee Hansen, Jasper's on Target -$1,000, Columbia
Gail Honeycutt, Tuesday's Child - $1,100, Pawleys Island
Steve Jameson, Blue Beach Cottage - $4,550, N. Myrtle Beach
Liisa Salosaari Jasinski, Hidden Meanings - $600, Newberry
Monita Mahoney, From My Very Own Garden - $1,200, Greer
Suzann Marchin, Variations in Sienna - $650, Tega Cay
Lena Massara, Two Pears Plus One - $500, Salem
Rose Metz, Seritto - $1,000, Sumter
Ann S. McAden, The House on Ashley St. - NFS, Columbia
Rosemary M. Moor, The Magic of Spring - $750, Honea Path
Heather T. Noë, Costa Linda - $600, Columbia
Joe Park, The Home Place- $750, Belton
Patricia Hough Pollard, Birdland - NFS, Columbia
Patti Rishforth, Year's Evening - $700, Piedmont
Grace Scherer, Cherokee County Cotton Gin - $500, Greenville
Deborah S. Sherer, Woman to Woman - $950, Cayce
Doris M. Sofge, Celebration - $800, N. Augusta
Jill Noël Stafford, Indigo Night - $800, Augusta, GA
Al Stine, Oriental II - $1,200, Anderson
Barbara Stitt, In the Moment - $675, Simpsonville
Niles Storrs, Pastoral - $500, Columbia
Susan Stratton, How's Them Apples - NFS, Easley
Beti Strobeck, Amy's Eyes - $900, Seneca
Charles W. Walker, Together, we are a Multitude - $2,700, Georgetown
Jim Walton, Ocracoke Ferry - $1,200, Columbia
Genie Marshall Wilder, Source of Calm Repose - $2,000, Clinton

If for some unknown reason you should miss seeing this exhibit in Spartanburg, in its entirety, the top 30 award winning paintings will travel to exhibit spaces throughout SC during the next year. This Aug. the 23rd Annual Awards Traveling Exhibition will be shown at the Beaufort County Library, in Sept. at the Barnwell County Museum, in Oct. at the Cheraw Arts Commission facility, in Nov. at the Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head Island, in Dec. at the Marion County Museum, in Jan., 2001 at the Florence Museum, and in Feb., 2001 at the McCormick Arts Council. This traveling exhibit is administered by the SC State Museum's Traveling Art Program, based in Columbia, SC. The schedule is subject to changes, so you might want to check with the Museum before traveling to see this exhibit at one of the above mentioned locations. For info call Robbie Davis at 803/898-4921. The traveling exhibit is sponsored by First Citizens Bank.

A color catalog reproducing images of the top 30 award winning works of art was sponsored by The Milliken Foundation and The Spartanburg County Foundation. A Juror's Critique Video that features a critical review of paintings in the exhibition was produced and funded by Carolina First Bank. The video, which is an excellent educational tool on visual arts is available for sale or loan from the Museum or the SCWS. Extended Stay America sponsored the SCWS newsletter and The Barnet Foundation sponsored the Serge Hollerbach workshop, "The Figure in Landscape". Additional program support was provided by the Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg, City of Spartanburg Accommodations Tax, Spartanburg County Council, South Carolina Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as many other business and individual donors.

The South Carolina Watercolor Society, a non-profit organization, is the largest statewide visual artists' guild representing more than 550 artists and 350 patrons. Another 200,000 people are annually served through exhibits, print materials and special programs.

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listing or contact the Spartanburg Museum of Art at 864/582-7616 or Kim Richards at the SCWS Business Office, 712 N. Pittsburgh St., Kennewick, WA 99336, call 509/783-3055 (Pacific Time), or e-mail: (richards@owt.com). To view images from this exhibit you can check out the following web site at (http://www.fineartsemporium.com).

 

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