2012 Shanghai Zhujiajiao Biennial Opening

International field award winners, left to right:  Anna Ivanova, Joseph Zbukvic,

Alexander Kryushyn, Ross Paterson, Dean Mitchell, Andrew Kish (not shown: Charles Reid)

I returned to Shanghai yet again in late November to join fellow judges, award winners, and guests for the 2012 Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Watercolour Biennial opening ceremonies. Besides the excitement of the event and seeing so many incredible watercolors on display, I got a chance to meet up with many friends, colleagues, and a few artists I have admired but not met until now: Anna Ivanova, Andrew Kish, Alexander Kryushyn, Dean Mitchell, Ross Paterson, Joseph Zbukvic, and of course Jo Jo and Xidan Chen, Janine Gallizia, Tony Hunt, Ong Kim Seng, Liu Yi, and too many others to name. Most all of the big names in watercolor are represented in the show, it's quite impressive.

We were all treated with a level of hospitality and respect that has become a hallmark of this exhibition. Paid flights, five-star hotel, lavish meals, and tours. There was a fantastic day in the city, another lunch in the revolving restaurant forty floors above Shanghai, Yu Gardens, and a night on the Bund. The opening ceremonies took place outside the Zhujiajiao Cultural Center where about half of the show is hung. The other half is at the Quanhua Watercolour Gallery. Buses shuttled visitors back and forth, though I unfortunately didn't have time to make it over to the gallery.

Congratulations to the sixteen award winners - eight from the international field (six pictured above) and eight from the Chinese field (see photo below). There is a fantastic catalog available from the Biennial website:

http://www.watercolourbiennial.com/Online-Shop.html

Shey-shey to the organizers for giving me the privilege to judge this unprecedented exhibition once again. Joseph Zbukvic said it perfectly in his speech on behalf of the artists when he spoke about the famous bridge of Zhujiajiao as a metaphor, illustrating the connection between East and West via the art of watercolor. We all hope to build on that, and bring the medium to new heights of awareness and critical acceptance.

Biennale de Narbonne 2012

Self Portrait: Breathe at Chapel of the Pénitents Bleus

Association Aud'Aquarelle presented the Biennale Internationale d'Aquarelle in Narbonne, France, October 3-28. The exhibition comprised the work of thirteen invited artists and a number of others who applied, spread across seven historic venues in the city. Several hundred people attended the opening, and combined with the other events, a total of 33,000 visitors.

It was very nice to see Breathe displayed in the chapel, along with five other paintings of mine. I'm sorry prior commitments prevented me from attending, but if I'm lucky enough to be invited again, I will surely be there!

The Art of Watercolour has a feature about the exhibition in the current issue, and included a photo of the chapel paintings, as well as Xin Jin #4. 

                                                                                                                                                                   

A huge merci beaucoup! to the Aud'Aquarelle committee, Inger and Anders Myren, Janine Gallizia, and the dozens of volunteers and sponsors (including Escoda) who made the event such a success.

3rd Invitational International Contemporary Watermedia Masters

Jiangsu Dream shown with Cheng-Khee Chee, Katherine Chang Liu, and Chang Houxing

Many thanks to the organizers of the 3rd Invitational International Contemporary Watermedia Masters exhibtion in Nanjing, China. I'm sorry not to have been able to attend the opening, but three trips to China were all I could reasonably handle the past few months - it's a long flight! They did a very beautiful job of framing and presenting my painting, Jiangsu Dream. Special thanks to Prof. Chang Houxing for putting it all together, Cheng-Khee Chee for the invitation, and Katherine Chang Liu for including my work in her lecture.   

Da Vinci - Escoda

Upcoming full page ad in Watercolor Artist magazine. Thank you Da Vinci and Escoda!

Nicholas Simmons signature Escoda brush sets now available from Dick Blick!

FWS, SDWS, Belgium, Shanghai, NWS

Demo at Florida Watercolor Society - Orlando, Sept. 15

Lots of judging and workshops recently.  In San Diego I did a workshop, lecture, and judged their 32nd Annual International Exhibition. Very tough choices, many of the best painters in the business participate in this major show. I also judged the Florida Watercolor Society annual, another major that attracts big name watercolorists. FWS puts on a convention that draws hundreds of people, this time to the DoubleTree Hotel in Orlando. A large workshop, private critique sessions, a slide critique of the entire show, a lecture/demo, and I also played a short concert at the gala. A huge week!

Mennello Museum, Orlando

I had three paintings in the first Biennale Internationale d' Aquarelle  which took place through Catherine De Ryck's organization at Chateau de Bourgogne in Belgium. See a television clip with Catherine talking about my work. (merci!) Then back to Shanghai for another round of judging for that biennial.  Escoda was there and in the lounge of the Royal Tulip Hotel showed us how they make brushes by hand. On the way home I stopped in California to attend the opening of the National Watercolor Society exhibition and accept the Masters Award for Tsarina.

                                       Tsarina - Masters Award, National Watercolor Society 2012

NWS Masters Award

Tsarina won the Masters Award at the 2012 National Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition. This is a special new award funded through contributions by signature members, and I'm very lucky to receive the first  ever given. A big thank-you to NWS, and of course to the judge Barbara Nechis, one of the living legends of contemporary watercolor.  Special thanks also to the model, my beautiful wife Olga!  :)  

Opening for the exhibition is September 29.

Thank you to Creative Catalyst Productions for creating this newsletter re the award. 

San Diego Watercolor Society 32nd International Exhibition

I'm judging the San Diego Watercolor Society 32nd International Exhibition and will give a workshop there next week. Lecture-demo on August 14. This is one of the major watercolor shows, and there are lots of great paintings!

Thanks to Chuck McPherson for designing the poster, catalog, and magazine ads!

Escoda Tour & New Website

Check out the new Escoda website and video of the day I toured the factory.


 

2012 Shanghai Biennial Judging Pt. 1

Phase 1 of the judging for the 2012 Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Watercolor Biennial is complete. Judges Alvaro Castagnet (UR) , Xidan Chen (CH), Xiejun Chen (CH), Janine Gallizia (FR), Tony Hunt (UK), Ong Kim Seng (SG), and Nicholas Simmons (US) reviewed 1200 entries from the international field,  pre-screened from over 4000, selecting 127. There remains over 5000 entries from the Chinese field, totaling over 10,000 entries in all, from 61 countries. Easily the largest watercolor event, ever.

Phase 2 takes place at the end of August, and the opening is September 26.

Coinciding with the judging was the opening of Janine Gallizia's solo exhibition at the Quanhua Watercolour Art Gallery. See the special group photo at the end with an astonishing array of international watercolor talent, including Chinese megamasters Hou Wei and Liu Yi. More photos on Facebook, and upcoming in Art of Watercolour magazine.

New Escoda Catalog: Impressionant!

No surprise the best brush maker has created the coolest catalog out there. Forty-five glossy pages of company history,  all Escoda brushes including the signature artist series, images of the artisans at work, and iconic scenes of Barcelona. A really beautiful production, as impressive as the brushes themselves. In the photos see the signature sets of Alvaro Castagnet, Charles Reid, Joseph Zbukvic, and myself.  A huge thanks to the Escoda family, Tom Dix, and Angela Barbi for their enthusiasm and support! 

The catalog will soon be available for download on the Escoda website.

Manoir de Maison Blanche 2012

There are a  few spaces left  at France's top watercolor workshop destination, Manoir de Maison Blanche. June 18-22. See my blog entry and photos about this incredible place from last year's workshop:

http://www.nicholassimmons.blogspot.com/2011/07/manoir-de-maison-blanche-paris.html

Contact Alain for information, but hurry, time is running out! manoirdemaisonblanche@orange.fr