Eau en Couleurs Watercolor Biennial

Chateau de Bourgogne, Estaimbourg, Belgium

The International Watercolour Biennial organized by Eau en Couleurs, the Belgian Watercolour Centre, opened on August 15 at this castle in Belgium. We had excellent weather for the opening day and enjoyed a lovely reception and wonderful dinner with friends old and new. Catherine De Ryck, president of EeC, and exhibition co-organizer Marie-Paule Dupuis did a fantastic job with the show and made us feel most welcome.

I was very pleased to be one of the invited artists representing the National Watercolor Society. Also attending, and shown with me here, were Laura Mitchell, David Poxon, me (Chris Beck), Jill Witty, and Kris Preslan.

My husband Jim took several panoramic shots of the main exhibition hall, where the NWS invitational paintings were displayed. In the first one, NWS paintings are on the left and back walls -- my painting is next to last on the left wall (toward the middle of the photo). The second shot shows NWS works on the right wall and on the small panel near the window (middle of photo). Hanging on the other walls are paintings by members of the jury and some of the juried artists.

The exhibition was hung throughout the second floor, with additional artists from the US included among the juried artists from every part of the world. Here's one of the adjacent rooms.

And lastly, a few photos of the castle grounds -- the first looking out a window in the main hall (taken on a cloudy day later in the weekend) and the second from a room on the other side of the building. The castle is now the property of the City of Estaimpuis and is used for both cultural and private events -- here the grounds are set up for a wedding reception.

 Hope you enjoyed a small peek at the biennial. I spent about 10 days in Belgium and would return in a heartbeat, but that's material for another post!!

Still kicking!!

Hip Hop Bebop in Splash 15

I was more than a little shocked to realize that it has been nearly five months since I last posted here. Life just has a way of getting in the way sometimes. But I'm still here and things are going great!!  I just received my complimentary copy of Splash 15, Creative Solutions -- where my froggy band appears in company with a lot of wonderful art. Copies of this beautiful book are available through the North Light Online Shop.

Mr. Burbank's Cactus
transparent watercolor, 20" x 18.5"
Chris Beck

You already know that Mr. Burbank's Cactus is in Belgium for Eau en Couleurs, the 2014 International Watercolour Biennial. I just got word today that the painting also qualified as a finalist in The Artist's Magazine annual competition. I'm thrilled to be chosen -- many talented artists enter this competition every year and making the cut is a high honor.

Unfortunately, my summer didn't start out on such a high note.  After months of unhappy decline, my mother passed away on June 1. She was 94 and had been slowly failing over the past couple of years, but it was losing mobility last October that made her life most difficult. I went home to visit her just before she took a turn for the worse -- it was a rough visit, but I'm glad I had the chance to say goodbye.

While we were back in Wisconsin for her funeral, we also managed to squeak in a visit to the reception and dinner that the Transparent Watercolor Society of America holds for its annual exhibition. A thoroughly enjoyable side trip -- filled with fabulous art and lots of laughter with the wonderful friends I've made over the years.

My time since I returned home has been spent making travel arrangements to go to Belgium for Eau en Couleurs.  A rather last-minute decision, so lots of scurrying about getting everything in place. I'm really looking forward to meeting artists I've only known online and I'll try to take photos to share when I can.

Hope you're having a good summer!! I'll see you here again sometime in August!!