The meeting started with President Sandi B. welcoming a new member, Marie, from Texas. 👏
Then we voted on our new slate of officers for the society.President: Sandi B., Vice President: Joan L., Treasurer: Chelsea C., Secretary: Pat C. B. (not available) They were approved “Aye” unanimously, by the members there. CONGRATULATIONS!
Sandi then announced dates for the fall lineup of meetings:
September 20 – our first meeting of the season is the ever popular show and tell
October 11th – CFWS Member, Leslie R.will be showing us how to do pet portraits.
November 1 – will be a Zoom. Stay tuned for the link.
December will be our annual holiday party, so stay tuned for more info.
We have a new CFWS brochure to hand out around town to promote our group!
Mary Ellen C. announced Prayong D. as the winner of the People’s Choice award at our annual members juried show at SOBO, for “My Little Girl”. CONGRATULATIONS PRAYONG! 👏
Award winning artist and long time CFWS member Chauncey N. was given a members CFWS cup as Mary D. read his extensive biography, filled with accolades. Chauncey donated 3 of his lovely paintings to the society and Joan auctioned them off for a total of $145!!! 💥 👏 THANK YOU CHAUNCEY!
Have you seen the latest issue of Artistry magazine? Our very own Leslie R. has her award winning work “ Blue Bayou” on the cover!
Sandi announced we are downsizing our CFWS storage unit to save money.
We are looking into ordering either t-shirts or aprons, for our members. Contact Sandi B. if interested.
Joan L, supervised the “Share and Care” part of our program………..
First up was Terri C. sharing ideas about which dinosaur artwork to develop. . . using photos and a tonal sketch. Suggestions were for a large and dramatic piece. and moving the dino face to the right, away from the edge.
Next, Joan displayed her painting of 2 nuns having an intense conversation in the street. Suggestions were to darken the background on the right so the white figure stands out. Then brighten the background on the left.
Leslie shared a whimsical painting of 3 chickens “Can We Eat It?” LOL! 😂 The image was taken from a website that shares free use images.
Marcela brought several Bee Paper Co. sketchbooks that she travels with. 70# and 86#, recycled, 30 pages. She travels light with small paint and paper kits.
Kathy shared her artwork taught to her by some of our CFWS teaching artists. Credit to Cindy S., Julie N., Stewart J., for helping her develop her talent! 👍
Lois H. displayed her hydrangea painting which included a bee in one of the flowers. Suggestions were to add more contrast overall and darken the area behind the bee to help it stand out.
Sandi B. showed a painting of the Lookdown fish at the science center aquarium. Suggestions were to add colors in the manner of Ann Abgott. Folks loved the realism morphing into a sketch. Someone said if masking fluid is put on a wet surface it makes a soft area. Interesting!
Membership, treasurer Chelsea, was there to collect checks for next season. Remember that you have to be up to date on your dues to enter our summer art show. 😎
Lastly, Joan conducted an auction for the 3 Chauncey paintings. 3 Lucky folks went home with one of his original abstracts! They raised $145 for our society! Chauncey has 3 baskets full of ribbons, at his home. He was one of the “3 Gentlemen of Watercolor” featured on the Legacy Wall at City Arts in 2024!
A special “Thank you” written by Mary D. for Chauncey:
Chauncey Nelson was one of the first members to join the society after the initial group of members loosely formed the Central Florida Aquamedia Society which quickly transformed into—Central Florida Watercolor Society. Chauncey brought his expertise and love of experimentation with shapes, designs, and especially color to the group. He became well known for his pouring techniques. He has been known to pour 80-90 works at a session, always painstakingly letting them dry and then having them “tell” him what they want to become. Some of his pours become realistic art, but more recently he’s devoted more of his energies toward abstract.
Chauncey told me that he often puts a painting on the wall at the foot of his bed so that he sees it first thing in the morning upon awaken and the last thing at night before going to sleep. In this way the painting “lives with him” for a while until it lets him know if it’s done or what needs to be added or subtracted.
Over the years Chauncey has presented some very unique demos to the CFWS, had work accepted to FWS, and even invited our group to go on a mini fieldtrip to his home studio. He also had a studio at Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO).
Now Chauncey is confronting age and medical issues. We may see less of him at formal meetings, but the society has benefitted greatly from his boyish enthusiasm and generous sharing. Thank you, Chauncey, for your recent donations of paintings to the club and for your devotion to CFWS.
Always sharing, Chauncey concluded with a suggestion that we would all benefit from studying Maxine Masterfield and her book, Painting the Spirit of Nature.
As a token of appreciation, Chauncey received a CFWS mug—and a hug.
Mary D.
Chauncey: the entire Central Florida Watercolor Society thanks you for all of your years of support and inspiration.
