New England Watercolor Society Exhibit at the Guild of Boston Artists

I have been on the board of the New England Watercolor Society for a couple of years now.  In November, one of the exhibitions that had been in the works was finally scheduled - the Member's Show to be held at the Guild of Boston Artists in  February! It sounds like "Oh, there's plenty of time" but with the holidays fast approaching and lots of details to be attended to, chairs for the show had to be secured and details worked out with the gallery director immediately.  I said I'd co-chair the show.  Wendy Hale, the NEWS Treasurer, agreed to chair it with me, and we immediately began the planning process.
It hasn't been without its ups and downs, but it has been a great success so far.  The show opened Saturday, February 2 with about 250 people attending.  Paul MacMahon provided the hospitality and all went well!
The show is just filled with exceptional watercolors by New England's best artists, and there are artist demonstrations on February 9 - Wendy Hale, February 16 with me, and February 23 with Irena Roman, AWS.  All demonstrations take place from 1 - 3 pm and are free and open to the public.
Above is my painting, "Subito Primo de Battaglia della Arance," or "Just Before the Battle of the Oranges", an annual event in Ivrea, Italy.  The largest food fight in Italy, it dates from the 12th century and takes place each February in the days preceding "Fat Tuesday".  No gentle battle, the oranges are hurled with considerable force by competitive teams.  The event was started when a bully local lord took liberties with an unwilling maiden, who is still portrayed by a young woman in modern celebrations.  Inspired by some beautiful Mandarin oranges from Whole Foods and a bottle of wine one of David's customers gave him from his own family vineyard in Italy,  the painting is all transparent watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 300 lb CP paper.