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Watercolor U.S.A. 2008 Opens at Springfield Art Museum
Friday, May 30, 2008
The 47th national, competitive, annual exhibition of aqueous media painting, “Watercolor U.S.A. 2008”, opens at the Springfield Art Museum 7 June 2008.
The annual exhibition attracts entries from across the United States. The competition this year received 674 entries by 369 artists from 42 states.
A reception hosted by the Southwest Missouri Museum Associates will be held 6 June from 5:30 - 7:00. The public is invited. “Watercolor U.S.A. 2008” will continue through 3 August 2008.
Eleven artists from Missouri are included in the exhibition. Artists from the Springfield area that had works selected for the national competition included Helen Long of Branson and David Plank of Salem.
The judge for “Watercolor U.S.A. 2008” was Debra Loomis Tayes, Associate Curator of Fine Art, Southern Illinois Art Gallery, Illinois State Museum.
The judge selects the exhibition from slides and digital files submitted by the artists. Tayes selected 121 works by 109 artists for the exhibition. The artists are from 33 states. Awards are selected from the actual works.
“My criterion for selecting the paintings to be awarded was simple. Was the painting engaging, dynamic, or even magnetic? Did I find myself going back to the piece again and again, even intuitively? Were the visual complexities articulated well? Was there a curiosity in the content? Were the techniques used eclipsed by the beauty of the medium?” said Tayes.
Watercolor U.S.A. began in 1962 to present to the public a watercolor show which was representative of our country. Artists from 45 out of 50 states sent their entries to the Springfield Art Museum. The total prize money paid out to the nine winners was $2,250.00. The jury consisted of two men, Mario Cooper: painter and President of the American Watercolor Society, of Port Washington, NY; and Rex Brandt, painter, author, teacher from Corona Del Mar, CA. There were 155 artists accepted in the first Watercolor U.S.A. show.
The Springfield Art Museum is located at 1111 East Brookside Drive, Springfield, Missouri, 65807. Museum hours: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Thursday; 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday. The Art Museum is closed on Mondays and during City of Springfield and National Holidays. Free admission. For information 417-837-5700. On the web at http://www.springfieldmogov.org/egov/art/