The Annapolis Watercolor Club: Celebrating 50 Years of Painting the Chesapeake
From a chef’s cuisine featuring local ingredients in Havre de Grace to a boat builder designing a skiff in Trappe, inspiration comes in many forms across the Chesapeake region. The same goes for the Annapolis Watercolor Club (AWC), whose members draw inspiration from the corners of the Bay and beyond. As the club celebrates 50 years of watercolor and camaraderie, it continues to encourage creativity through its members, events, and outreach. The painting shown above is “Just Right” by Carol Kramer.
Any Talent, Anywhere in the Annapolis Watercolor Club
The Annapolis Watercolor Club, established in 1975, has grown from a handful of painters sharing their love of the medium to hundreds across the region and country. Newcomers and professionals alike are welcome to become members and engage in monthly meetings and demonstrations, participate in exhibits, and sign up for workshops featuring artists from around the world.
If you’re interested but concerned about your skill level, AWC President Juanita Green can allay any fears. “It’s not that kind of a club,” she says. “If you want to learn about watercolor, and you’ve never done it before but you think it sounds cool, you’re in!”
Green says members can participate as much or as little as they’d like. In addition to in-person events, Zoom and other online opportunities allow members flexibility in connecting with AWC artists and activities. The club is also on social media, with a presence on Facebook and Instagram.
Eileen Hemple, AWC Vice President, says that she could stay connected to the club even when she was decidedly out of the Annapolis area. While deployed aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the club sent her watercolor supplies to use during her downtime, and she was even able to lead a small watercolor class for her fellow sailors.
The Many Colors of the Chesapeake
Annapolis and the greater Chesapeake region boast plenty of subject matter, making it an ideal location for any artist. A quick look at some of the club’s recent works reflects the diversity and inspiration available to painters, including water scenes, boats, and life throughout the Bay area.
Hempel says that this neck of the woods is like no other and offers up a special something for the club’s painters.
“I’ve been all over the world, and I can tell you that the Chesapeake Bay area is very unique. I have not seen another place like it,” she explains. “It’s not just the people, but the culture, the diversity of the winters and the springs and the summers and the actual changes, and how rapidly things change, and that there’s always wildlife and something going on, I think, really inspires a lot of the painters year round.”
She adds that the AWC makes sure to plan plein air and other special events in places that provide plenty of access to the many faces and spaces of the Chesapeake.
“As much as we like to go global,” Hempel says, “we also like to keep things local and give people a taste of what it’s like to be here.”
Annapolis Watercolor Club – A Golden Anniversary
Through July 6, the club’s 50th Anniversary Golden Gala Anniversary Exhibit will be available for viewing at The Willow and Garden Galleries inside the Visitor Center at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis. At the exhibit’s reception and awards ceremony in late May, member and public paintings were celebrated for their content, skill, and inclusion of gold. From quintessential Chesapeake iconography to those with more national and international flair, the paintings showcased the diversity of subject and style celebrated by the AWC.
“It’s amazing to watch people grow, to see what they land on, their kind of style,” Green says.
To become a member or learn more about the AWC, visit annapoliswatercolorclub.org.
