As featured in the April issue of Watercolor Artist, this year’s National Women’s History Month (March) honors “Women’s Art, Women’s Vision.” The following 2008 honorees will be celebrated in New York City this weekend for a culminating series of events (click here for the schedule):

Judy Chicago (1939- ), painter/printmaker/needleworker
Harmony Hammond (1954- ), painter
Edna Hibel (1917- ), colorist
Lihua Lei (1966- ), multimedia installation artist
Cecilia Rose O’Neill (1874-1944), painter/illustrator/sculptor
Violet Oakley (1874-1961), muralist/stained glass artist
Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith (1940- ), abstract painter/lithographer
Faith Ringgold (1934- ), painter/quilter
Miriam Shapiro (1923- ), printmaker/painter
Lorna Simpson (1960- ), photographer
Nancy Spero (1926- ), painter
June Claire Wayne (1918- ), painter/lithographer

Also this weekend (March 29), The Fund for Women Artists launches the first Support Women Artists Now Day, or “SWAN Day,” a solidarity movement scheduled for the last Saturday of Women’s History Month. Find out how to get involved by clicking here.

We often recieve news from museums and galleries that doesn't quite fit with our scheduled content, but is still interesting nonetheless. Rather than let it languish in our inbox, I thought I'd pull together a roundup of some of the most compelling tidbits. Enjoy!

Arizona artist, Diana Madaras, is working on a project that began with a casual meeting with a South African gentleman, who then sent her to Africa on safari. In exchange, she's creating a series of wildlife paintings. The African Sojourn show will feature watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings, and will kick off with a reception, May 18th. 100% of the proceeds from the show will benefit animals in Arizona and Africa. For more information visit Madaras Gallery online.

Why paint or draw the landscape when a click of the camera can capture any view or moment? David Inshaw and Bridget Macdonald provide the answer in their first joint exhibition of recent paintings and drawings at the Chapel Row Gallery from April 5th-22nd.

Natural Beauty is a solo exhibition of more than 50 new paintings by James McGrew. The show will include plein air and studio works depicting the beauty of the west, primarily landscapes of Mt. Hood, Columbia River Gorge, Yosemite, The Grand Canyon, Oregon Coast, and Mt. St. Helens. At the Lawrence Gallery, from April 1st-30th.


The directors of Marlborough Fine Art are delighted to announce the first UK exhibition of paintings by celebrated Chinese artist, Zhang Qikai. It will comprise twenty recent works, many using the image of the Panda, paintings for which he has been highly praised. Born in Sichuan Province in 1950, Qikai has shown extensively in China and Japan and in Germany, where he lived in the 1990s. The apparent loneliness of living in a foreign land and a deep understanding of the differences between east and west are ever present in his work. From May 29th-June 21st.

 
If you'd like Watercolor Artist to share news of your upcoming exhibition or opening, e-mail us.

 
 

North Carolina watercolor artist William Magnum is releasing his fifth book, “Greensboro Roots and Renaissance,” in honor of his hometown’s bicentennial. The book features 100 watercolors that showcase the community—businesses, neighborhoods, parks, theaters and historical landmarks—along with Magnum’s own musings and memories of the town.

In conjunction with the celebration, he’ll sign books at the Bicentennial Opening Ceremony (6 p.m. March 28) at the NewBridge Bank Park, and 1-4 p.m. March 29 at his gallery. Find more signings and appearances on his website.

New York’s College at Brockport is working to restore original (now water- and rodent-damaged) paintings in its collection by celebrated poet and painter E.E. Cummings. Out of the 72 watercolor and oil paintings, the college reports that 40 have now been "adopted" for restoration—meaning donors sponsor individual pieces’ restoration. According to NPR, Brockport holds the largest collection of Cummings’ paintings.

Learn how you can adopt a painting here, and click here to see more Cummings artwork.