The New England Watercolor Society will host its annual Signature Members Show featuring, among others, Watertown artist Dawn Evans Scaltreto.
Scaltreto is not only a Signature Member of the Watercolor Society, but is a, past president and current serves as the Society’s recording secretary and awards chair. In addition, she currently serves as president of the Watertown Art Association, is a founding artist member of the of the Mosesian Center for the Arts (formerly the Arsenal Center for the Arts), and she is well known for teaching around Watertown and the area.
Currently, Scaltreto is working on an art project, The Mystical Penguin Tarot, with support from a grant from the Watertown Cultural Council.
The New England Watercolor Society sent out the following announcement:
Can an artist break new ground, step out on untried paths, and still demonstrate superb control and technical mastery? To judge by the Signature Members Show of the New England Watercolor Society, the answer is a resounding “yes.”
Visitors to the show at the Guild of Boston Artists gallery on Newbury Street, will certainly find expertly rendered traditional paintings of New England scenes that the word “watercolor” calls to mind, but they will also encounter striking abstract paintings, edgy compositions, and challenging experiments with color and light that expand the capacities of the genre and carry the viewer into new territory. The exhibit offers an exceptional opportunity to appreciate the high degree of artistry and technical mastery attainable in this challenging medium – pushed, in the words of critic B. Amore, to expressive and technical limits – and to acquire unique artworks by some of New England’s premier painters.
Although many of the paintings on display offer evidence of remarkable powers of observation and innovation, no single style dominates the exhibition. In fact, the remarkable diversity of visions and techniques is at once apparent. “Our members are a really eclectic group, with talents branching out in many directions,” says NEWS president Wendy Hale. “This exhibit showcases the creativity and technical ability possible in water media.”
This year’s exhibition judge, who chose the paintings for the Society’s prestigious awards, is Cindy Baron, AWS. The exhibit runs fromFebruary 6 to March 3, with a reception and awards presentation February 9. As part of the Society’s commitment to education, award-winning member artists will give free painting demonstrations and gallery talks on weekends.
The Society, which traces its history to 1885 and numbers such figures as John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam, Andrew Wyeth, and Ruth Wynn among its past luminaries, today claims nearly 200 signature members and an overall membership of more than 400.
New England Watercolor Society Signature Members Show, Guild of Boston Artists, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, Feb. 6 to March 3, 2019, Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sundays 12-4 p.m. Reception and awards Saturday, Feb. 9, 2-4 p.m. Painting demonstrations Sundays 1-3 p.m. Feb. 10 (Bill Lane), 17 (Robert Mesrop), and 24 (Ann Trainor Domingue). Gallery talks every Saturday at 1 p.m. Feb. 16 (Gary Tucker) and 23 (Ann Hart) and March 2 (Kristin Stashenko). The juror, Cindy Baron, AWS, will also give a painting demonstration on Saturday, Feb. 2, 5-7 p.m.