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Exhibitions

The 62nd Annual SWS Membership Exhibition Prospectus is Available Now!

 

SWS is one of the premier regional watercolor societies in the United States. Watercolor painters from all over the country enter the competition for the opportunity to share their work and be selected for one of the coveted monetary awards. The call for entries for the exhibition will run from May 1 to June 30 as it does every year. We are reminding artists to get those paintings ready. It is important that you consult the prospectus which is now available to make sure your paintings conform to the guidelines that are provided.

 

This year’s exhibition is judged by acclaimed watercolor painter, Iain Stewart, https://stewartwatercolors.com, AWS/NWS. Mr. Stewart will choose around eighty paintings to exhibit. Those paintings will be delivered to the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center - Meadows Gallery 400 E. Hickory Street Denton, TX 76201 according to the schedule and directions in the prospectus. The exhibition will be open from Monday, August 25 though September 27th.  The Awards reception will be Sunday, September 22nd from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

 

Here is the exhibition schedule:

     Registration Opens:                  Thursday, May 1, 2025 on CaFÉ

     Registration Closes:                  Monday, June 30, 2025, 11:59 p.m. 

     Preview Party:                              Saturday, July 12, 2025, 12:30 -2:30 p.m.

                                                                     (Greater Denton Arts Council - Festival Hall)

     Acceptances Sent:                      Monday,  July 14, 2025

     Shipped Art Due:                        From August 11 – August 16, 2025.

                                                                      (No early or late arrivals please!)

     Paintings Drop-Off:                   Saturday, August 16, 2025, 11:00-3:00 p.m.
     Exhibition Opens:                     Monday, August 25, 2025

     Awards Judging:                        Monday, September 8, 2025

     Awards Reception:                   Saturday, September 20, 2025, 1:00-3:00 p.m 

     Exhibition Closes:                     Saturday, September 27, 2025, 5:00 p.m. 

     Art Pick-Up:                                Sunday, September 28, 2025, 1:00-3:00 p.m. 

     Shipped Art Mailed:                 Tuesday, September 30, 2025

 

The high quality of the artwork that is shown in our exhibitions is the result of the caliber of artists we attract to enter. Artists can enter three works, but the juror will only select one piece by any submitting artist. That results in a highly diverse show that shows the range of painting styles and subject matter that is seen in contemporary watercolor. To view the accepted paintings from previous years, look on the Exhibitions page of the Southwestern Watercolor Society website, www.swswatercolor.org.

 

To see the full 2025 Prospectus, please click HERE!.

Best of Show Award 2

50th Western Federation of Watercolor Societies Exhibition On View from February 2 - May 4, 2025


 The Western Federation of Watercolor Societies (WFWS) was formed in 1976 by the New Mexico Watercolor Society and includes an additional nine  other watercolor societies. The purpose was to make a large and prestigious watercolor exhibition available at low cost to members for small and often isolated watercolor groups. Those annual exhibitions are hosted by each of the member societies in turn, and the current exhibition is in Lubbock, Texas with the West Texas Watercolor Society. Today, the WFWS includes over 5,000 artists in ten regional watercolor societies and guilds. The WFWS encourages and recognizes artistic excellence and works to increase visibility of watercolor as an artistic medium through our annual juried exhibitions.

On view from February 2 to May 4, 2025, the show was selected and will be judged by renowned watercolorist, Ken Call. Member artists of each of the ten Western Fed societies were entitled to enter the show. The exhibition is on view at the Museum of Texas Tech University, 3301 4th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79415 on the southeast corner of 4th Street and Indiana Avenue. It is open from Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 - 5:00 pm and Saturday from 11:00 - 5:00. It is closed on Sunday and Monday. The awards for this year's exhibition will be presented at the Gala Awards Dinner in Lubbock on Saturday, April 12. 


Current WFWS member societies include Arizona Watercolor Society (AWA), Colorado Watercolor Society (CWS), Idaho Watercolor Society (IWS), New Mexico Watercolor Society (NMWS), San Diego Watercolor Society (SDWS), Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild (SAWG), Southwestern Watercolor Society (SWS), Utah Watercolor Society (UWS), Watercolor Society of Oregon (WSO), and West Texas Watercolor Society (WTWS).


Artworks were accepted by artists from the ten participating Western watercolor societies. Sixty-one SWS artists entered. Only nineteen artists had paintings accepted. These are the SWS artists whose paintings are included in the exhibition: Shahrzad Afshinpour, Court Bailey, Valerie Batchelder, Monica Bell, Scott Bodell, Kay Byfield, Sondra Carr, Radha Chatterjee, Yenipher Chung, Sheilagh Cooper, Bill Dale, Mary Elle, Charles Hendrickson, Leslie McDonald Jr., Christina Mewhinney, Gaylord O’Con, Kay Smith, Laura Stamp and Don Taylor. We are proud of all the artists who were chosen to have works included in this competitive show.


To see images from the 50th annual exhibition, go HERE

WFWS 50th Logo
Slideshow
2025 Small Works Exhibition

The Small Works Reception On Saturday, February 15, 2025


Southwestern Watercolor Society hosted a reception for the thirteen SWS artists who were included in the Small Works Exhibition hosted by the Box Gallery under the leadership of Dr. Nancy Ferrell at the Royal Lane Baptist Church.


The Box Gallery was a most beautiful venue and boasted a most wonderful hanging structure that allowed our artists’ artwork to truly shine. The exhibition showcased the great talent encapsulated within the Southwestern Watercolor Society by nonsignature members and was wonderfully attended by the artists, as well as over 50 friends, family members, SWS members as well as members from Royal Lane Baptist Church.


A great time was had by all viewing the beautiful paintings, visiting with friends old and new, enjoying snacks and libations and generally celebrating watercolor in all its glory. We celebrate these artists and their passion for painting. A most grateful thank you to Dr. Nancy Ferrell, the Box Gallery and the Royal Lane Baptist Church for this opportunity to showcase our members’ art. Since everyone had such a good experience members thought it would be great to do it again in the future.