Nothing lasts forever.
This is certainly true in the case of the 2013 Idaho Watercolor Society Traveling Show Exhibit, which will end Friday.
DJ Scallorn | Courtesy
The watercolor painting “Canned Peaches” by Betty Benson is one of the many watercolor pieces on display at Moscow City Hall through Friday.
The exhibit, located on the second floor of Moscow City Hall, features numerous works from artists across the state. Some of the paintings displayed were chosen for and featured in a show at Boise State University. The exhibit also includes works from the Palouse Watercolor Society, which are displayed on the third floor of City Hall.
Moscow artist Betty Benson, a member of the Idaho Watercolor Society who contributed to the 2013 show with her work “Canned Peaches,” said the show is good due to the mixture of people involved.
“It’s a good show based on kind of a mix of people’s works around the state, you know,” Benson said. “It’s not just local people.”
City of Moscow Arts Assistant DJ Scallorn agreed with Benson and said the exhibit is a great representation of watercolor in Idaho.
“The exhibit is a great way to see local and regional artists from the state of Idaho that are very talented,” Scallorn said. “The works are very high quality and a great representation of watercolor.”
Scallorn said Moscow has hosted the traveling show in recent years and will feature it again next year.
Benson added that while Moscow has hosted the traveling show before, the one currently on display is of better quality than previous years exhibits.
“I think, generally speaking, this year is better quality, probably, from my own perspective — and I’m not a judge — than perhaps some that have been there in the past,” Benson said. “I’m talking about whoever judges the overall show in Boise, you know, (they) just have different opinions about what constitutes a good art piece.”
Benson said for each exhibit, a single judge decides which 20 pieces, from approximately 150 to 200 submitted works, will be featured in the traveling show. This year, the judge was Stan Miller of Spokane . Benson said Miller is becoming a known artist throughout the world.
“He has been in the best international magazine recently, with something like a four-page spread, you know, that sort of thing,” Benson said. “He’s becoming a real known artist, nationally and internationally.”
However, Benson said the judge changes every year. There will be a new judge for the new 2014 show.
Benson added that anyone interested can join the Watercolor Society.
“If anybody’s interested in joining the Idaho Watercolor Society, they can communicate with me and I’ll be happy to help them out,” Benson said.
Andrew Jenson can be reached at [email protected]