I first had the pleasure of talking to Milford Zornes when I interviewed him for a feature in the Winter 2002 issue of the magazine. His love of watercolor, painting, and creative expression in general, were evident in his every word. On January 25, Milford will turn 100. In celebration of this significant milestone, we're featuring the acclaimed artist again in the February 2008 issue of Watercolor Artist.

Along with Phil Dike, Millard Sheets, George Gibson, Emil Kosa Jr., Barse Miller, Lee Blair, Dong Kingman and Hardie Gramatky, Milford was part of California’s premier regional school of art from the 1930s and early ’40s, known as the California Scene painters.

“The California Scene painters were historically very important, not only because they documented the California countryside, but also because of the innovative approach they took to watercolor painting,” says Sandy Hunter, of the California Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, California. “These artists painted boldly and directly, with little or no pencil drawing; they used broad brushstrokes, and preferred a typically brown/ochre dominated palette.” This was in stark contrast to the more traditional, tightly rendered, delicately colored watercolor style American painters had inherited from the English.

To see more of Zornes' work, check out this video made by fellow artist, friend and gallery owner, Bill Anderson.

As you’ll read in our February issue, which is currently making its way out to subscribers, the first Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary International Watermedia Masters opens today in Nanjing, China, marking the first formal international event of its kind in the country.

Cheng-Khee Chee, who met some fellow watercolorists from the Jiangsu Watercolor Society when his solo exhibition made a stop in Nanjing in 1987, was selected to nominate United States artists to take part in the event. (His Koi 2003 No. 10 (22x30) is pictured here.) Click here for Chee’s behind-the-scenes account of the show (which remains on display through Dec. 2).

Update (1/8/08): Click here for Chee's thoughts on the show.

Last month, the National Watercolor Society(NWS) announced the winners of its 87th Annual Exhibition. You can see the show through December 9, 2007 at the Brea Cultural Center. Or, catch the Travel Show when it passes through a town near you. Jurors selected 100 winning paintings from almost 1,200 entries, representing artists from every state and several foreign countries.

The winner of the Watercolor Magic Magazine Award was Jacqueline Clark of Florida. Her Homage to Degas (22x23) is shown here.

One way to to see all of the winning paintings is to order an exhibition catalog--we just got ours and it's luscious. You'll find a Watercolor Magic contributor on the cover: Nicholas Simmons won the NWS Purchase Award, with Silver Star for his painting Fresh Sushi.