About Us
The objectives of the Brooklyn Watercolor Society are to further the creative efforts of its members, to spread knowledge and cultivate interest in the watercolor medium.
CURRENTLY
The Brooklyn Watercolor Society is a non-profit community arts organization that was started in 1972, now consisting of watercolor artists from throughout the Metropolitan area . Many of our members have graduated from prestigious art schools including Pratt Art Institute. Some are now well known artists and have won awards for their work. As a close-knit group of professional watercolor artists, we are dedicated to showing our work and educating others about the joys of watercolor. Some members teach watercolor in the metropolitan area, including at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, United Federation of Teachers, the Creative Center at University Settlement, and have taught at the New York Horticultural Society, and for the National Council of Jewish Women.
As professionals, we want to share our knowledge and passion for watercolor. We believe that being a watercolor artist, one has to have unique skills than those of oil or acrylic painters. The artist has to be able to anticipate the properties of water itself. With patience and practice, watercolor artists can create intricate, yet delicate pieces of art full of transparency and luminosity.
We are trying to reach the Brooklyn community and it’s surrounding regions by hosting exhibitions of our work to share with others the beautiful art that comes from the watercolor medium. We are also hosting special events such as free watercolor demonstrations in order for people to see the process by which a watercolor painting is created. We are planning to put up videos and tutorials (along with other benefits) for beginners and intermediate watercolor painters who become friends of the watercolor society on our blog.
A BIT OF OUR HISTORY
One evening in December, 1972, a group of 10 avid watercolor artists assembled in one of their homes and formed the Brooklyn Watercolor Society. It was decided at the earliest meetings that membership in the organization would be selective, in order to assure a professional quality to exhibits and presentations. It was also decided that a requirement for membership would be that the watercolor artist must live, work, or have been born in Brooklyn. These two decisions played a major role in the development of what is now a dynamic group of 40 talented Brooklyn watercolorists.
The Society has met monthly to discuss ideas and issues concerning the watercolor artist, to share their latest paintings and professional accomplishments, to organize painting trips and other special events, and to plan group exhibitions and watercolor demonstrations within Brooklyn and its surrounding regions. The purpose of the exhibits is to both offer the Society’s members opportunities to show their work and inspire community interest in the fine art of watercolor painting.
The Society began exhibiting as a group in 1974 and has presented several group exhibits every year since. Its exhibit list is by now quite extensive and includes arenas such as Brooklyn College, the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Public Library, several corporate galleries, and numerous alternative showcases such as local banks and restaurants.
Individually, members have exhibited their work regionally and nationally. They are recipients of awards in major art exhibitions. Their paintings can be found in museums, public institutions, and corporate and private collections. Many are graduates of some of the finest art institutions in the country, taking what they have learned and what they have experienced, they are willing to teach and inspire others.
BWS STAFF
Executive Board
PRESIDENT: ALAIYO BRADSHAW
VICE PRESIDENT: JOHN DILLON
TREASURER: JOHN DILLON
RECORDING SECRETARY: RHEA SARAH KIRSTEIN
OTHER
NEWSLETTER: ALAIYO BRADSHAW
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: ALBERT MASSIMI
WEBSITE: HENRIETTA KOFFI
PRESIDENT EMERITUS: ALBERT MASSIMI
PAST PRESIDENTS:
THOMAS KERR
ROBERT AXELROD
KATHLEEN HAYUK
JOSEPH LUBRANO
IN MEMORY OF:
ROBERT FERGUSON
CARMEN FRANK
ELLEN HOYT
JUDY KUNHARDT
