Spokane Watercolor Society celebrates talent from all over in juried art show
The top two winners of the Spokane Watercolor Society’s 2018 Annual Juried Show are not members of the Society. They are not even from Spokane.
And that is more than all right, said SWS treasurer and artist Gay Witherspoon.
“The purpose of our organization is to further the experiences of our watercolor artists and to help them be better,” Witherspoon said. “Opening it up introduces competition from outside the organization, so that you can see what other people are doing, not just locally.”
The Spokane Watercolor Society exhibit, currently at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, showcases 14 artists who are SWS members and 15 from elsewhere.
The winning painting, “Brooding Storm,” was created by Charles Cherry of Spanaway, Washington. His other submission, “Autumn, was also in contention to win first place.
Both works caught the attention of the SWS hired juror, national award-winning artist and teacher Brigit O’Connor, who had trouble choosing between Cherry’s two entries. “Autumn” is a barbed wire fence line nestled among tall brown grasses. “Brooding Storm” is a darkening sky above a field, its clouds full of drama and emotion.
“I told (Cherry) when he brought them in that I was blown away,” Witherspoon said. “For years I’ve tried painting a sky that I think is really successful, and I just looked at his and thought ‘Oh, my word, how long will it take for me to get there?”
“One of the things the juror does is she looks for confidence, for people who put it down the wa they want it, and then they don’t fiddle with it; they don’t try to fix it up,” Witherspoon said. “(‘Brooding Storm’) looks like the artist just put it on there and didn’t change a thing. So powerful.”
Reached at his home in Spanaway, Cherry said he was “shocked and speechless” when he found out that he had won. It is the first time he has ever entered a juried art show.
The self-taught artist learned how to paint watercolors by studying YouTube videos, DVDs, books, and social media. Several artists have inspired him, including Sterling Edwards, Linda Kemp, and O’Connor, who juried the SWS show he just won.
Cherry co-founded the nonprofit Myanmar Hope Christian Mission in Southeast Asia in 2010. He began watercolor painting a few years ago as a way to use his creative talents to help poor families in Myanmar, donating all the proceeds he earns to help support the mission.
“‘Brooding Storm’ reflects my love of God’s creation,” Cherry said. “I’m from the Midwest and I always loved experiencing the raw power and beauty on display when a thunderstorm rolls across the prairie.”
Taking second place in the SWS show was John James’ “Convergence.” The piece is one of the few abstract works among the 38 watercolors on display. The textures and serene mood of the reflective piece are mesmerizing.
Coming in third place was Vicki West’s humorous self-portrait, “The Critic.” The image is of the artist catching sight of a mouse as it drips red paint from a paintbrush onto a painting she has presumably just created. The unusual color choices and subject matter set the piece apart.
A dozen other paintings of note in the show won various awards of art supplies and coupons from local and national art stores. From landscapes and portraits to animals and flowers, fascinating worlds of watercolor are on display now through Nov. 11 just west of the main MAC building, in the Helen South Alexander Gallery.