Curry’s QoR Modern Watercolor Award at the CSPWC 97th annual Open Water Exhibition

I’m very happy to announce my watercolor painting The Melt Water Knife, was accepted into the 97th annual Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor, Open Water exhibition and, I ‘ve received the Curry’s QoR Modern Watercolor Award for 2022.

Thanks so much to the judges and organizers of this national society show and also to the donors of the awards!

This year’s Open Water is an online exhibition, and as such, you can view all of the works here.

I wonder if this will be the last year for online shows (which of course were a response to the pandemic.) I’m not at all against online shows, but of course, I hope that if this becomes the new normal, that we will work towards the best possible digital presentation. I personally love to show details! Like this close-up of granulating pigment.

It it ironic of course, that this lovely black pigment is very likely made of carbon. The very substance that is accelerating the loss of arctic ice. I had to laugh a little at that realization. You can imagine a sad little laugh. One of those ‘this is not really funny’ kind of laughs.

Just as there are no longer any bodies of water on earth free of microplastics, there are no longer any ice surfaces free of carbon dust. The particulate matter (most likely from coal plants, but also from forest fires) settles on the ice, and raises the surface temperature (due to the greater absorption of heat from the sun).

I’m still showing this body of watercolor work in exhibitions, but, to be honest I am not making new work on this theme. I think the time for raising awareness of climate issues is over. Artists do not have to sound the alarm. We are hearing it loud and clear from nature itself.

The complete series of these darkly-themed images is available as my self-published artist’s monograph. Here’s some more info (just scroll down a bit) if you want to look inside the book or, for watercolor practitioners you can read the ‘behind the scenes’ production posts written as the works were created, during our annual event; Direct Watercolor (2019: All Posts Collected).