President’s Message – January 2026

The new year started off with a bang at our meeting a demo on the 9th. 

Lionel Sanchez, whose credentials include Signature member of the Florida Watercolor Society, and the Colorado Watercolor Society, once again wowed us with his innate skills. 40 plus years of painting have made perspective and the elements of design come naturally to him. Lionel teaches at The Villages and in Tampa at the Life Enrichment Center. We are lucky to have such a fine artist and friend among us.

The Board is updating the language in the bylaws and will present them to the members for a vote within a couple months. We are also reviewing the Painting of The Month guidelines, at the request of a few members.

Please start planning now for our June exhibit and sale at the Art Center…(the Wildlife Park is not available). In addition, we want to see more of your work exhibited in the Art Center exhibits. The schedule is on their website, and the link to their prospectus is below. If you have any questions, let me know. Nature Coast Exhibit Prospectus. We need at least 9 watercolor artists In order for watercolor to have its own category and not be included in mixed media.

We have seen a lot of new faces lately, and we sure feel good about that and our reputation as one of the friendliest clubs around. But, should you ever have a concern you can approach any of the board members or our Ambassador, Ginger Bryers. 

I wish for each of us this year to have good health, safe travels, happy experiences and continued learning on our watercolor journey.

Take care,
Deb Newman