3 from BVAL in Splash 16 – What Joy!
When my copy of Splash 16: the Best in Watercolor – Exploring Textures arrived in the mail, I wasted no time flipping through to my own modest offering on page 12. Yes, I was a little dismayed–aren’t we always?–to find the seascape, My Turn, occupying only a half page compared to the full-page presentation a similar painting was awarded in last year’s The Artistic Touch 6. Fortunately, I share space with an awesome watercolorist, Elizabeth Larowe, whose seascape was painted on Yupo paper. 
I don’t know Elizabeth, but what joy to discover as I leisurely flipped through the remaining pages a piece by Hailey Hererra. Serenity Koi, her watercolor with sumi ink and watercolor pencil, appears on page 42 (a well deserved full page). Hailey resides in Bryan-College Station, the closest “big city” to where I live, and I’ve admired her work in local galleries for years.
Then: more joy when I discovered Abandoned by Monika Pate on page 115. Monika’s photo-realistic still life paintings tend to mesmerize me, but this one more than usual. Not a gathering of lovely items from a home but discards most likely collected from a junk yard–and brilliantly executed in watercolor.
Having recently joined the Brazos Valley Art League (BVAL), I can humbly boast that I know these and other amazing member artists. If you love art and haven’t see the Splash series edited by Rachel Rubin Wolfe, the books are available on line or in art supply stores. Pick up a copy, but please start with Splash 16.
