robin lee makowski NWS, FWS, NMWS-MP, WFWS
fine artist | illustrator | author | instructor 

So What's Going On?

AWS - I was thrilled to receive notification of acceptance for the 158th Annual American Watercolor Society International Exhibition!  The show will be held at the prestigious Salmagundi Club in NYC in April.  Many thanks to the judge panel for this honor.  Pinkies Up! is headed to NYC!  Painting is on the homepage.

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FWS - Just came back from the Florida Watercolor Society's January Board Meeting in Orlando.  Starting my 11th year on the Board of Directors.  We move our September Exhibition, Workshops, Convention & Trade Show around the state, and this year our Annual Exhibition will be hosted by the Orlando Museum of Art.  Let the work begin...or continue, actually!

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NMWS - I was thrilled to receive the Flo Hossa Dougherty Memorial Award for Happy Hour Campers, Happy Hour Series #52, painted specifically for the NMWS Fall Show at the Farm & Ranch Museum in Las Cruces, NM.  The theme was 5000 Years of Agriculture in the Southwest, which was a challenge.  We visited the museum when we went to NM in April and I got some ideas.  When I spotted Heart of the Desert wine and Happy Camper beer by Santa Fe Breweries at a gas station, the idea clicked!

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WFWS - On the heels of my acceptance with Clarety to the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies show in Phoenix last year, the next piece in the series, Optunistic, was accepted to the 2025 show in Lubbock, TX!  Many thanks to judge, Ken Call, and to the West Texas Watercolor Society for hosting this year's show.  The titles for this series of cactus flowers play on the names of the cactus - last year claret cups, and this year Optunia, the species name for this paddle cactus.  The real challenge is getting the catalog designers past auto-correct...

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BWS - I will be presenting a demo and teaching a two-day workshop for the Brevard Watercolor Society in March!  My ever-popular Kickin' Glass: Painting Glass & Shiny Stuff is in-demand!  If you're interested in taking the workshop, visit the BWS website.You do not have to be a member to participate, but it is not for beginners.  The demo is Saturday, March 8th at the monthly meeting and the workshop is Sunday & Monday, March 9th & 10th.  The venue is in Melbourne, FL.  See you there!

 

Workshops & Judging - Speaking of which, I just added a page to the website outlining workshops I teach and judging credentials, if anyone is looking for those services.  Right now, I only teach in-person workshops, nothing online.  Not set up for it...yet.   

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Lost Art Gallery - I was thrilled to receive the news from Alex that I have a new collector!  At the Corner of Olive & Onion was purchased just before Christmas and was shipped to its new home in NC.  That painting is a three-time award winner, including NWS & AWS, and took Best of Show in Tallahassee last year!  It was time to let it go - doesn't get too much better than that.  Lost Art Gallery is AWESOME!  So glad to be a part of it.  Check it out online or in person in St. Augustine. FL.

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Happy Hour Series - Working on #54 in the Happy Hour Series, but I'm going to keep it under my hat until it's closer to done.  #53, Five O'Clock Shadow, is just about finished and will be my entry into the Florida Watercolor Society 54th Annual Exhibition this year.  Thanks, Tuni, for the inspiration!  I'm hoping judge & juror, Matthew Bird, who is also a realistic painter, will appreciate it.  It's not necessarily a given that a judge will select a piece because it's similar in style to his own - in fact, sometimes it's a detriment - but it's a good guess he will appreciate the effort!  Two Too Many, HH#51, was was supposed to be my NWS entry last year, but I didn't finish it in time, so I entered it into the TaWS Brush Strokes Exhibition in Tallahassee where it took the Silver Award from judge, Sam Cook!  I just hope it works as hard for me as I did creating it.  

Updated January 10th, 2025