The Virginia Watercolor Society’s 41st Annual Exhibition

A watercolor painting in tones of gold, orange, and grayish blue of a large ethereal gate with two doves flying upward

Detail of Heaven’s Gate by Susan Stuller (Midlothian, VA) -- Watercolor on paper

Reserve tickets to visit the museum.

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is pleased to host the Virginia Watercolor Society’s (VWS) 41st Annual Exhibition. This prestigious event features more than 80 watercolor paintings—all by members of the VWS—and includes original works on paper and in various water media from transparent watercolor, acrylic, gouache, or mixed media. Subjects range from landscapes, scenes of everyday life, and imaginary scenes to still lifes, portraits, and abstractions. See a selection of works below.

After a decade of being hosted elsewhere throughout the state, the exhibition will be returning to Richmond. Over 400 paintings from Virginia artists of the VWS were submitted to be in the show; final selections were made by juror and award-winning artist Fred Graff, AWS-DR, NWS, TWSA-MS, an internationally-recognized watercolorist in his own right.

Viewers of each year’s annual exhibition are asked to vote for the work they consider to be the best in the show. Voting will take place in the gallery at the VMHC and the winner of this year’s exhibition will be announced by the VWS in January 2021. The People’s Choice Award is sponsored by James River Air Conditioning Co.

The majority of the show’s paintings will be for sale directly from the artists, with 35% from each sale going to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. A list of prices is available at the VMHC Information Desk, along with instructions on how to proceed with a purchase transaction. All COVID-19 health protocols will be followed at the show, including social distancing, wearing a mask, and managing the number of people in the gallery at one time. Learn more about our safety protocols and plan your visit.

Featured Exhibition Artwork

Curators at Work: The Watercolor in Virginia with William Rasmussen

An abstract black pair of shapes intertwine. Below, black text reads Virginia Watercolor Society. The Virginia Watercolor Society is a statewide organization founded in Roanoke in 1979 to promote interest and participation in watercolor painting. VWS fosters the advancement of any water media on paper (including such water-soluble paints as acrylics, gouache, casein, egg tempera), arranges exhibition opportunities for water-media artists, and provides information to the public. Any resident of Virginia may become a member. (Former residents who have left Virginia and were included in three annual exhibitions may maintain membership.)

Watercolor is a centuries-old painting method in which pigments are suspended in a water-based solution and applied (most often) to paper. Because it is combined with water, watercolor is a transparent medium that achieves luminosity from the light reflected from the paper back to the viewer. Acrylics, casein, gouache and egg tempera, also water-based media, are usually applied more thickly and contain binders that block the light (as oil paints do). Some paintings in this exhibit are pure acrylics or watercolors. Other paintings are more complex: the artists achieve a variety of effects by combining two or more water-soluble media, usually with one medium predominating. When describing an individual painting, the term "watermedia" indicates that two or more water-based media have been combined.

Featured Artists:

Mary Allen - Culpeper, VA
Mary Lou Andrews - Virginia Beach, VA
Terry Anstrom - Springfield, VA
Judy Antico – Falls Church, VA
Brenda Barthell – Arlington, VA
Claire Bentley – Springfield, VA
Solly Blank – Lynchburg, VA
Gwendolyn Bragg – Alexandria, VA
Solange Brown – Mechanicsville, VA
Noreen Brunini – Centreville, VA
Oleksandra Butts – Fairfax, VA
Patricia Carr – Roanoke, VA
Lizabeth Castellano-King – Stafford, VA
Charlotte Chan – Blacksburg, VA
Deborah Conn – Falls Church, VA
Pat Cook – Waynesboro, VA
Eleanor Cox – Midlothian, VA
Trish Crowe – Hood, VA
Constance De Bordenave - Richmond, VA
Kevin Deck – Roanoke, VA
Vera Dickerson – Troutville, VA
Janice Ducharme – Fairfax Station, VA
Christine Duke – Winchester, VA
Susan Egbert – Roanoke, VA
Holland Etheridge – Hampton, VA
Z.L. Feng – Radford, VA
Kimberly Ferguson – Clarksville, VA
Constance Fisher – Berryville, VA
William Frable – Richmond, VA
Marti Franks – Richmond, VA
Nancy Foley – Mechanicsville, VA
Jean Gill – Oak Hill, VA
Sally Guynn – Henrico, VA
Margitta Hanff – Alexandria, VA
Gayle Hicks- Hampton, VA
Myrtle Hooker- Roanoke, VA
David Hoque – Prince George, VA
John James – Hampton, VA
James Jones – Hampton, VA
Chris Kupinski – Maineville, OH
Linda Lavigne-Long – Richmond, VA

Charlie Lindauer – Virginia Beach, VA
Janet Martinet – Manassas, VA
Megan Mehra – Aldie, VA
Kathleen Miller – Richmond, VA
Doug Mock – White Stone, VA
Sally Mook – Blacksburg, VA
Kate Niner – Alexandria, VA
Elaine Nunnally – Leesburg, VA
Glenn Ormsby – Smithfield, VA
Gwen Parker – Richmond, VA
Beverley Perdue – Midlothian, VA
Martha Petroff – Alexandria, VA
Purnell Pettyjohn – Lynchburg, VA
Lynda Pitman – Woodbridge, VA
Patricia Porter- Fairfax, VA
Meera Rao – Poquoson, VA
Patrice Reese – Henrico, VA
Elizabeth Roberts – Chapel Hill, NC
Megan Robison – Virginia Beach, VA
Suzanne Ross – Roanoke, VA
Ginger Sanaie – McLean, VA
Jacqueline Saunders – Burke, VA
Jane Schafer – Wirtz, VA
Angel Shields – Troutville, VA
Suzanne Lohr Sliger – Herndon, VA
Jung Smith – Falls Church, VA
William Snow – Palmyra, VA
Marsha Staiger – Alexandria, VA
Gari Stephenson – Roanoke, VA
Susan Stuller – Midlothian, VA
Katherine Sullivan – Arlington, VA
Garry-Lou Upton – N. Chesterfield, VA
Jane Carter Vaughan – Lynchburg, VA
Carol Vaughn – Irvington, VA
Gerald Wadsworth – Richmond, VA
Linda Wallace-Blau – Fairfax, VA
Michele Walter – Blacksburg, VA
Don Whitson – Waynesboro, VA
Tammy Wiedenhaefer – Alexandria, VA
Christopher Wynn – Rockville, VA
Mary Jane Zander – Midlothian, VA