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NMWS Fall Exhibition in the ABQ Journal

Sunday, October 05, 2008

	Painter Says Half the Fun of Watercolors Is that They Are Spontaneous and Resilient ....................................................................................................................................................................................
	By Aurelio Sanchez Journal Staff Writer
	Shadows lurk like ghosts on a Taos side street washed in light violet and along adobe walls adorned in shades of umber earth tones in Lauren Johnson's watercolor "Taos Shadows." A Chicago native and resident of Albuquerque since 1959, Johnson will be among more than 100 artists featured in the juried 2008 New Mexico Watercolor Society Fall Show.  Works selected for the show were judged by Jan Fabian Wallake, a nationally known watercolorist and writer.  Johnson is a past president of New Mexico Watercolor Society and also is a teacher of watercolor.
	"Taos Shadows" by Lauren Johnson
	"For me, the best thing about watercolor is the spontaneity of the medium, and the fact that you don't have total control, even if you think you have control," she said.  "I love to see the translucency on paper, where you can see the color and the light together. It's certainly among the most difficult mediums in painting and probably the least respected." She attributes lack of respect to lack of knowledge about the resiliency of the medium, and to some degree, gallery owners who don't like to deal with paintings that require protective glass. The glass, she said, is needed because watercolors will move around on the paper if they get wet again.
	Watercolor painting is demanding, because unlike oil or acrylic painting, watercolors are active and not likely to stay precisely where they are applied. Consider the water an active partner in the process, she said.  The key is to learn to work with the medium rather than try to dominate it, Johnson said.  People who'd rather be watercoloring prefer it because it is comparatively inexpensive, you don't see brush strokes in the painting, and you can mix paints on the canvas since colors will blend when wet.
	There also is the omnipresent element of surprise. You never know precisely what will result when you start pushing watercolors around on paper.  For the past five years, Johnson has been teaching design art composition, and admits that teaching is almost as satisfying as painting.  "I have a wonderful time because I spend my time doing what I love, and I don't worry about anything else, like money, which is good, because you don't make a lot of money."
	If you go:           WHAT: 2008 New Mexico Watercolor Society Fall Show         WHEN: Friday, Oct. 10-Oct. 26, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.               Thursdays-Sundays. Preview night 6-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10         WHERE: Hispanic Arts Building, Expo New Mexico State Fairgrounds,               San Pedro and Copper NE entrance         HOW MUCH: Show admission free, parking fee may apply
	"Maleficio" by Marcela Wagner "Perfect Day" by Pat Baca

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