W A T E R • M U S I N G S
May was a good month for me, and I hope it was good for all of you too. Those of us who participated in Geoff Allen’s 4-day plein air watercolor workshop learned soooooo much, and I think everybody had a great time. Geoff is not only a talented artist, but is also a good teacher, able to communicate his style and techniques so very well. Several of the workshop students came up to me and expressed their gratitude for UWS getting him to come and teach. The two days we spent at This Is The Place Heritage Park painting were just awesome! Geoff did a wonderful painting of the old blacksmith shop there on Friday, and as a Society we purchased his painting and presented it to the Heritage Park. They were surprised and very pleased! We felt it was a small token of our thanks for all they did to accommodate us, the least we could do. Every time one of their little tourist trains went by where we were painting, the conductor would announce that here was the Utah Watercolor Society, painting in their park.
Our Spring Open Exhibition opening and awards went off without a hitch (thanks, Jana Parkin, for all you did to facilitate that!), and our congratulations goes out to all of the award winners. Jana also prepared a 1-page catalog of the show which will be available at our June meeting.
Our last members’ meeting for the year is coming up on Tuesday, 3. June, at 7:00 pm. Wow–that’s a week from now! Becky Hartvigsen and Melody Greenlief have agreed to work together as co-presenters. They’re going to be showing us a bunch of very innovative techniques including how to adhere your watercolor paper to a substrate like gator board or a sheet of aluminum, something not to be missed! This will be our last meeting for the year. A new membership year starts, with our first meeting on 2. September after taking July and August off. So, if you haven’t already, get on our website (utahwatercolor.org) and renew your membership for the 2025-2026 year.
As my wife, Diane, has again reminded me, my year as your president is almost over–I’m still not sure how I feel about that. A lot more work than I ever imagined, but an absolute joy to serve you all. Again, a huge “Thank You!“ goes out to my stalwart and dedicated vice president, Margo Cook, who has saved my bacon countless times this past year. My thanks also to all of our Board members for their tireless efforts. Thank you all for humoring and putting up with me this year–it’s been an honor to serve you!
Our Utah Watercolor Society Board and I wish you all the best and hope to see you next Tuesday night.
Günther Haidenthaller
President, Utah Watercolor Society