Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society

Do you ever get down about a painting not being accepted in a show? Remember, it happens to everyone! Sharing this fabulous painting by Lynn Pratt, and words of wisdom.

AWS traveling show is about to close, if you haven’t seen it yet.

Thanks, Baltimore Watercolor Society, for the great quote!

Wednesday Wisdom. "At a hundred I shall be a marvelous artist... everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before." — Hokusai

(Hokusai lived to about 90 (1760–1849) but still did pretty well! His famous "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" were woodblock prints, but he also painted with watercolors.)

Maurice Sendak watercolors on display!

This watercolor by Maurice Sendak, Juniper Tree Composition (Act I, Scene I) (1979), is one of ten works on view in “Sendak, Mozart, and The Magic Flute,” presented in conjunction with “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Treasures from the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg.”

Set in a mythical Egypt, "The Magic Flute" follows Prince Tamino on a quest to rescue Princess Pamina, joined by the bird-catcher Papageno and guided by a magical flute. Along the way, the two pass through trials of fire and water and come to discover that things are not always as they seem.

Sendak’s stylized forests and temples playfully reference the vision of German architect, Karl Friedrich Schinkel, whose scenography for an 1816 production of the opera similarly embraced fantasy over naturalism.

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Maurice Sendak (1928–2012) Juniper Tree Composition (Act I, Scene I), 1979 Watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Maurice Sendak, 2013, 2013.104:81. Photography by Janny Chiu; © Maurice Sendak Foundation




[Morgan library and museum, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Classical music history, Music history artifact, illustration]

Suncoast is happy to present an Award for Excellence in Watermedia to High School students in Sarasota (North), Sarasota (South), and Manatee Counties. Congrats to all the students and teachers for a wonderful show!

If you’re a member of NWS, here’s a chance to learn how the entry process works behind the scenes!

We are going to show you both sides of CaFE - what you control and what Jurors actually experience. See how your artwork appears to Jurors. We will demystify the scoring system.
Join us at the NWS Watercolor Watercooler on May 5th at 4:30PM Pacific Time.

Free for NWS Members. Link on NWS website - Members Section.
Become a NWS Member today and attend.

Great post from Baltimore Watercolor Society.

Wednesday Wisdom. "If, by the end, things haven't materialized the way I envisioned, I've still had the chance to paint for a time. Watercolor, like life, does what it wants for the most part. So I live in the moment and paint in the moment, keeping a sense of gratitude as much as I can. It's the act of painting that brings me the most joy."--Michelle Nixon, quoted in Summer 2026 Watercolor Artist

Nice work!

Congratulations to Tim Saternow .saternow.paintings for wining 2nd place in the PWCS online Members show this year!

“Homemade Dumpling, Essex St”
Watercolor, 40 x 26
$9,800

2nd Place Award

If you are interested in buying this painting, please visit the PWCS webpage and fill out the inquiry form. You can also view all the show submissions there!

https://pwcs.wildapricot.org/exhibitions/2026-members-show