June's Featured Artists for Potomac Valley Watercolorists

Patiently Waiting
By Jane McElvany Coonce

This month, I have been selected as the featured artist for the Potomac Valley Watercolorists.  This is an organization that comprised of the best watercolorists in the area.  I feel honored that I was juried into this organization.  It is a group that promotes the art of watercolor.  Nowadays, art can be so many different things- glueing trash to a canvas, running string and rope from wall to wall - so it's nice to see that good composition and technique is still in existence.

I hope you'll look at the PVW website: http://www.potomacvalleywatercolorists.org
You will see my work under featured artist, but you can also look at all the other wonderful artists that make up this organization.  PVW also has art shows throughout the year, and every show is as beautiful as the last one.  I'm always amazed!

Portrait of Judge Esther Wiggins

Judge Esther Wiggins

I have been working on a commission since December 2015 on a project for Arlington County. It was to do a portrait of a retiring judge from the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court for the 17th Judicial District.  I wasn't able to put photos up as I worked on it because they were going to have an unveiling of it in May.

Yesterday was the day that the portrait was presented at the courthouse of Arlington County, and it will hang in the courtroom that Judge Wiggins presided over for the last 18 years. It was a lovely ceremony honoring Judge Wiggins.

It was an honor to be selected as the portrait artist to paint Judge Wiggins.  It was also an honor to get to know her as I painted this portrait.  I know that Arlington County has lost a caring judge, and she will be missed.

The May 2016-The Art League Show

Ebb and Flow
by Jane McElvany Coonce

The Art League, located in the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, is having their monthly juried show.  I entered an abstract piece and was lucky to be chosen.  I'm not an abstract painter, and this is actually the last abstract I ever plan to do.  It's too damn hard!  I'm not one to paint and let the painting lead me to where it wants to go.  I'm more of a planner.  Anyway, I was working on this piece, and I tried to lift some color out of a spot where I didn't mean to put it.  When I did, it looked like a stone under water.  So I decided to lift more, until I had many stones.  So maybe there are rocks and seashells in this piece, too.  I really don't know.  It just happened after much fussing and aggravation. I do like the colors, though.  It was a total experiment. I'm glad the juror liked it enough to put it into the show.

The May show at The Art League  will hang for the month of May.  If you are down in Old Town, stop by and see the show.  And when you see my piece, you'll know that you are witnessing the last abstract I ever plan to do.  I must admit through life experiences, that one should never say never.

Green Springs Gardens Presents "Nature's Palette"Si

Sit a Spell
by Jane McElvany Coonce

The Potomac Valley Watercolorists are having a show at Green Spring Gardens.  All paintings in the show have to be about nature, flowers, gardens, etc.
I have two paintings in the show that are of the garden of my friend, Claire DeGroot.  She has the most beautiful backyard full of azaleas.  It's on Ohio Street in Arlington, one of the prettiest streets in the county.  Her yard is a painters paradise.  I go there every year and try to paint a different area of her massive garden.  She is always kind enough to invite me so I never feel I'm intruding.

If you haven't been to Green Spring Gardens, you are in for a real treat.  There are beautiful grounds that is owned by the county.  Besides the gardens, there is a historic house and a horticulture center.

The show runs from April 26- June 26.  There will be a reception this Sunday, May 1 from 1-3 pm.

 Green Spring Gardens is located at 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA.  It's off of I-395.  Take exit 3B (Little River Turnpike West, Route 236).  Turn right on Braddock Road.  Then turn right at the entrance on Witch Hazel Road.

The exhibit hours :
     Historic House :  Wed-Sun from 12-4:30pm
     Horticulture Center:  Mon - Sat from 9 - 4:30 and Sunday 12- 4:30pm.
Hope you get a chance to stop by and see the show.  It's always beautiful.

Backyard Azaleas
by Jane McElvany Coonce

Rocks and Surf

Crashing Waves No. 1
by Jane McElvany Coonce

Rough Surf on the Rocks No. 3
by Jane McElvany Coonce

In my class, I try to think of projects for my students to do so they get experience with all kinds of things to paint.  One of the projects this semester was to conquer rocks (which is not easy) and surf.  I teach 4 classes (2 day and 2 night classes) and in each one, I do a demonstration.  Usually, if the demonstration looks half way decent, I take them home and finish it up in the studio.

Here are two of the 4 demonstrations I did.  (The other 2, I still need to work on before they are presentable to the public.) I added the seagulls to add some life to the scenes.  I may take these down to Rehoboth Art League and put them in the gallery at the beach this summer.

I will post the other two once I finish them up.

I've got several projects going on right now so I'm not sure when I'll get to the other two.  I'm doing a portrait commission of Judge Esther Wiggins who is retiring from the juvenile court system of Arlington County.  I can't post what I've done so far because there will be an unveiling on May 20, but I will post a photo of the painting once the ceremony has taken place.  It's been a fun portrait to do.  She is a beautiful woman, and she doesn't look old enough to retire.  I'm honored that I was selected to do this commission.  Stay tuned!

The Red Hat and the Baltimore Watercolor Society

The Red Hat
by Jane McElvany Coonce

I've been beaten up lately.  I've entered several juried shows and haven't been selected.  I know that entering juried shows is a crap shoot.  I entered the Virginia Watercolor Society's juried art show and put the two best watercolors in that I've ever done in my entire life.  Both were rejected.  I was shocked.  I thought surely the judge would have a hard time making up his mind between my two entries.  It just shows that you can't ever tell what will appeal to a judge.  However, I entered the Baltimore Watercolor Society's annual show.  (Last year I was rejected, so I didn't have much hope.)  Today I got the news that my lady with "The Red Hat" was accepted!  I was thrilled!  Rejection was being to hurt!

This painting has gotten into every juried show that I've ever entered, and it's won several prizes.  I think it's partly because it has an abstract underpainting consisting of various colors.  Then I drew with some water soluble crayons and filled in some parts of the hat and face with paint and left the drawing and underpainting showing in other areas of the clothing.  I lifted the highlights with alcohol.  It's kind of a long and narrow shape which is different.  (Judges like different.)

After this, I may retire my prize winner to my brother's beach house.  I've always loved this painting, and I'm thrilled that the judge for Baltimore did, too!

Entering juried shows isn't for the faint of heart.

Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

Jefferson Memorial Among the Cherry Blossoms
by Jane McElvany Coonce

Several years ago, I went down to the Tidal Basin and walked around for 2 hours taking lots of photos of the cherry blossoms in bloom.  I have never painted anything from all of the pictures I took until this year.  I pulled out the envelope of my photos and looked through them until I found the one I wanted to work from.  I think it would be impossible to set up and paint from life because there are some many tourists.  People would stop and ask questions, and you'd end up talking more than painting.  But that site is a beautiful place when the cherry blossoms are in bloom.