Shari Blaukopf

May 2024 LOADS OF VIEWS, REVIEWS & EVENTS A lifelong dream came true this April, when the American Watercolor Society granted me Signature membership. I am now part of a group whose current and past members include teachers from whom I've learned so much, especially Edgar A. Whitney, Frank Webb and Skip Lawrence. I have to admit that, when I read the email telling me that I had finally “made the cut,” I was overcome with emotion. I may even have uttered a little shriek. To attain Signature...

March 2024 LOADS OF VIEWS, REVIEWS & EVENTS I’m devoting this issue of The Wheelbarrow to all things Nashville, where I just spent a wonderful week teaching and learning with Warehouse 521. It was my first visit to Music City USA, which I can now say comes by its nickname honestly (more about that below). Apart from Nashville’s eye-opening history and culture, I also enjoyed a much-needed preview of spring, with fruit trees in glorious flower, and with tulips and daffodils bursting through...

A BETWEEN-THE-WHEELBARROWS BULLETIN I’m just back from a walk with Alice (the dog), and have to admit March isn’t the kindest month in Montreal. We trudged through icy rain, over patches of slushy snow, surrounded by still bare trees — all of it dressed in grey without even a hint of green. But my studio is warm and bright, and I have a pot of miniature daffodils before me, that I keep painting again and again. This defiant bit of colour will keep me warm until spring arrives…eventually. A...

February 2024 LOADS OF VIEWS, REVIEWS & EVENTS I’m so glad you could join me for the February issue of The Wheelbarrow! I just got back from a teaching trip in Tucson, Arizona, and I’m excited to share a few of my sketchbook pages, along with some of my sketching tools. If you live in a colder climate, like I do, you’re probably spending more time sketching indoors these days. For me, this is usually the best time to experiment with paint colours languishing in the back of a drawer, or read...