Artists band together

The Bloomington Water Color Society is more than just an average group of
artists.

The society has grown since its original members came together in 2004.

During that year, a group of watercolor artists began getting together casually.

Eventually, they decided to start an organization, and on June 6, 2005, bylaws were approved.

The Bloomington Watercolor Society became an official organization.

“When we started, it had maybe six or seven people, and it’s blossomed,” said Tricia Wente, art show chair and a founding member of the society.

The Bloomington society now has 75 active members.

It is composed of people of all skill levels, from early beginners to professional artists.

“It’s pretty amazing considering it’s an artist organization,” vice president Jeanne Dutton said.

Dutton said everyone in the organization is willing to share their skills, talents and techniques with everyone else.

Along with a wide range of beginners and watercolor aficionados, there is also a group of signature members among the people in the society.

Signature membership is given after an extensive application process that includes a review and a jury process.

Currently, 10 percent of the society’s members are signature members, a large number for a small-town society.

The society meets monthly except for in July and August, and every meeting has a program of some kind.

Programs can be based on anything relating to the art of watercolor, ranging from basic lessons on perspective to lessons and tips regarding framing.

Many of the society’s gallery shows are based off their motto: “We paint ... ”

Recently, the society participated in a collaborative project with the Monroe Country History Center titled “We paint ... cemeteries.”

Members in the society had a year to pick a cemetery and paint it.

Now, the history center is putting together a calender of some of the best paintings.

At the last society meeting this month, members narrowed the paintings to a list of their favorites. After picking the ones they liked the most, all the members submitted their choices to the history center.

The history center will pick its favorites as final winners, and those paintings will be featured in the calendar.

The paintings are currently hanging in the Monroe County Historical Museum, and the official opening reception of the paintings will be this Friday.

Along with that show, the show “We Paint ... Southern Indiana” will be shown and hung from Nov. 1 to Dec. 2, in the City Hall Atrium at the Showers Building in downtown Bloomington.

The opening reception for “We Paint ... Southern Indiana” will be in the evening on Nov. 1.

Follow reporter Alexis Benveniste on Twitter @apbenven.