The Saint Louis Watercolor Society was formed in 1996 by a small group of dedicated, visionary artists for the purpose of providing educational opportunities to artists interested in watermedia, and to exhibit watermedia artwork to the public. From the original charter group of seven members, the membership grew to 175 active members in less than two years. The membership now stands at over 200 members and ranges from full-time watercolorists, to hobbyists, educators, friends of artists, gallery owners, retailers, etc.

Meetings
Regular monthly membership meetings are held on third Tuesdays at 7:00 PM at First Congregational Church in Webster Groves, MO. Meetings generally include an educational demonstrations and or lectures by guest artists. Meetings are open to members, prospective members and guests. Meetings are held September through May, (except December) and generally there is a group PaintOut in May and in December. View the calendar

Workshops
We have organized and sponsored workshops with Joseph Fettingis, Carl Dalio, Ken Hosmer, Judy Betts, Pat Deadman, Frank Francese, Nita Leland, Homer Hacker, Hilary Page, Carol Carter, Gerald Brommer, Janet Walsh, Don Getz, and Cheng-Khee Chee. Future workshops are being scheduled continuously.

Workshops are open to members and nonmembers. Members are allowed to sign-up for workshops before registration is open to non-members. Workshops are usually three-day or five-day and are usually held at the Maria Center, in a beautiful facility on the Mississippi River in south Saint Louis.

Exhibitions
Our annual Members Award Exhibit is Big Slash, held in August or September each year at the St. Peters Cultural Arts Center, St. Peters, Missouri. There are usually about 250 - 300 paintings exhibited in this show — a wonderful diverse display of watermedia in all its thrilling personalities!

A springtime juried show is generally held at Creative Art Gallery at 3232 Ivanhoe Ave, St. Louis, MO. Each of these shows offer opportunities for Signature Membership in Saint Louis Watercolor Society and offer awards in cash and/or merchandise. Additional exhibits are held throughout the year and offer many opportunities for the experienced as well as the emerging artist.

We also now have an exciting new exhibit venue, Saint Louis Watercolor Society Showboat. We have created a dramatic three-sided display unit which moves from public space to public space and allows up to three artists per month to display their best watermedia art for sale. We are currently scheduling the locations for the sleek display unit. Members have an opportunity to sign up for the “Showboat.” There is a monthly charge for this display opportunity, although the Saint Louis Watercolor Society receives no commission from any sale via the Showboat.

Newsletter
A quarterly newsletter chock full of important updates about SLWS activities and articles written by award-winning artists and art writers is distributed to members as a benefit of membership, and to the public via select locations in the St. Louis area. A membership application is available in each issue. If you are interested in submitting an article for the newsletter, email to the newsletter editor at: hammelman@aol.com by one month before the edition dates of February, May, August, November. There is no payment for articles. Articles may be edited to fit, and inclusion is up to the discretion of the editors. Advertising space is also available in the newsletter. Inquiries? Contact the newsletter editor.   Read The Cold Press Paper online

Committee and Board Membership
There are many opportunities to serve on the Board of SLWS or on a Committee. You can help with Receiving or Retrieval at Exhibits, working with the Judge or and Group that hangs the Shows, or even with the new Showboat Display; you can help with Refreshments; or with Workshops. Board members are elected at the may meeting each year from the Membership. The Board meets once a month throughout the year, on the second Tuesday of the month. Board terms are for two years.
Some of the benefits of serving on the Board are:

• You help determine policy
• You have a great time networking with other outstanding artists
• You get a free listing and the image of your choice on this web site
• You are the first to find out about upcoming workshops
• You get to make suggestions about who you want to have for demos and workshops
• You help give back to the community some of the blessings you have received by being an artist
• You know you are needed!

For more information about serving on the Board or on committees, contact any Board Member. (See below)

Online Gallery
Members are encouraged to display their bio and artwork on their own personal page on the SLWS web site. There is an annual fee for the Gallery participation. For more information send an email to gallery@stlws.org.   View the galleries

Our mailing address is:
Saint Louis Watercolor Society
P.O. Box 158
Fenton, Missouri 63026.

Members of the Board
Mirka Fette President	Painting with watercolor gives me joy because of its transparency and because each painting is an adventure. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be involved with this organization because it is a friendly and nurturing environment where ideas are shared and we can grow as artists.
Barbara Martin Smith Vice President and Publicity	"There is no surer method of evading the world than by following art, and no surer method of linking oneself to it than by art. Inspired by Goethe, the water and the paint flow, my conversation with life's rhythms. How to know? Consult my eye! How to see? Listen! My friend said: `paint the sunshine first!` I did. Is the painting a blue and gold mistake? Maybe. Omnipotence is present like a friend. And I continue to paint." Gallery
Mary Lou LaFloure Secretary	"For me, watercolor is a way to explore my world, and to try to express the emotions that I feel in experienceing it. It is an attempt to capture" Gallery
Linda Hammelman Treasurer	Linda has been painting for several years and has attended most of the workshops available through the Saint Louis Watercolor Society. She has studied with Carl Dalio, Pat Deadman, Joseph Fettingis, Judi Betts, and Frank Francese, all here in St. Louis, and says, "We are so lucky to have these opportunities!" She received an Honorable Mention in Big Splash '99 and an Honorable Mention in Show Me The Colors, both sponsored by SLWS. "I really enjoy my affiliation with this group. We have a serious commitment to our jobs on the board and we have a lot of fun, too." - Gallery
Beverly Lake Hoffman Graphics and Design	"My interest and intent is to create works that inspire the viewer to visualize the presence of Soul through the inherent qualities of watercolor. I focus in on light and luminoisity. I enjoy involving the viewer in the visual experience with a touch of humor and sense of imagination." Gallery
Karl Zickler Workshops	"My wife, my cat, my garden, art and music are the natural blood pressure medicines of my life. I truly enjoy deep, pure colors but am willing to embrace varied levels of intensity to bring interest into a painting. Drawing and painting forces me to observe things beyond a cursory look. That slower, deeper observation often results in slowed breathing and an overall calm. Creatively transferring that observation to paper can provide a generous portion of satisfaction." Gallery
William Curtis Exhibits
Mary Mosblech Exhibits	"I have been drawn to painting in watercolors because I enjoy the transparency and way it can be used to depict the play of light on an object’s surface.  I also love the backlighting which can make objects seem transparent and glowing.  I try to push color, letting colors flow and mix on the paper.  I am intrigued in the way objects blend into shapes and am aware of both positive and negative shapes within objects."
Linda Green/Metzler Programs	Linda J. Green/Metzler views “Main Street” as her canvas in the places she visits gathering material for her art.  When not painting from life, she often photographs Missouri towns and other locales further afield as a starting point to flood the paper with her full-range watercolor palette depicting imaginative and invented scenes.  Classically trained in fine arts in Chicago, New York City and Claremont, California, Linda has spent 25 years as a graphic artist and illustrator in her adopted home of St. Louis before returning to painting in recent years.
Pat Long Hospitality	What is watercolor painting to me? It is an escape from the mundane into a world of color and beauty, full of surprises as water carries the pigment from place to place, from shape to shape along a path only partially known in advance. Watercolor painting is a connection with artists who have lived before me and enjoyed painting their experiences of life, and it is a link with other cultures, so foreign in spirit from mine. Yet we share an appreciation of a beautifully drawn line and harmonious shapes and colors. In brief, painting is a way of experiencing the world more fully. Gallery
Marlene Johnson Workshops