Welcome to Women in Watercolor’s blog newsletter, Women in Watercolor Working Together!

6th Annual WIW International Juried Competition 2025

Entry opens April 1, 2025

Meet the 2025 Awards Judges

Introducing our amazing panel of Awards Judges for the 6th Annual 2025 Women in Watercolor International Juried Competition!

Lynn D. Pratt, Reyhan Ardakanian, Lorraine Simonds, Daniela Werneck, Marie Françoise Ingels, Jennifer Annesley, Michelle Nixon, Silvia Monge and Lana Privitera

You can see more about them on the website: https://womeninwatercolor.com/2025-awards-judges/

https://womeninwatercolor.com/2025-international-juried-competition/

The FULL PROSPECTUS for the 2025 contest is up on the website NOW.
Over $17,000 in cash prizes, plus thousands more in merchandise prizes and awards!

https://womeninwatercolor.com/women-in-watercolor-prospectus/

2nd Annual Women in Watercolor Members Only
Online International Exhibition 2025

Viewer’s Choice Award Voting is OPEN

We are thrilled to add a Viewer’s Choice Award for this year’s Women in Watercolor 2nd Annual Members Only International Exhibition!

Viewer’s Choice Award Voting

• Click on the red VOTE NOW button and you will go straight to the voting site.
• Images are loaded in a random order each time the voting site is opened so they all have a fair chance of being seen.
• No artist names or painting information is on the voting site, images only.
• Each person may vote for 10 (TEN) total of their favorite paintings.
• Votes come in anonymously, but each person must enter their name and email and click SUBMIT to finalize their vote. This is so no one can vote more than once (but your name is not tied to your vote).
• We have 306 entries so please make sure you scroll down with the bar to the right of the images and click “Load More” until you see them all!
• Only one time voting per person (for ten total images).
• Voting closes February 28, 2025 at 12:00 am (midnight). After voting closes, votes will be tallied and award winners will be contacted and posted on the website.
• The top five Viewer’s Choice Award Winners will receive cash awards!

Don’t Wait. Vote Now!

2nd Annual Women in Watercolor Members Only
Online International Exhibition 2025

THE EXHIBITION IS LIVE

Don’t forget to check out the over 300 entries in the 2nd Annual Members Exhibition. Go onto the website to view the full show. The work is fantastic!

https://womeninwatercolor.com/2025-members-only-exhibition/

Art Studio Setup Tips

By Lynn D. Pratt

Years ago, my husband and I bought a three-season camp on a teeny tiny lake front property in Vermont ten minutes away from our house. At the end of Covid we sold our house of 20+ years, took down our little camp and started building on the property. I used to be an architect, so I designed the new house and the two of us built it with my father-in-law. We also had help from some great friends and family, especially when we had to raise the 30’ beams to the peak!

We moved into the unfinished basement in Spring of 2024 while we continue to build and do one room at a time. In early 2025 I was finally able to start work in my new studio!

Here are some videos of the building process if you would like to see.

YouTube house & studio building videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx9XEY_4SXIV7Q0UiWJ1JvnQ-3ivJwOGa&si=oAPe6fLPHUALMKGx

I thought I would share how I set up my painting desk for any of you looking to set up something similar. I planned ahead and bought all of my items during 50% off (or more!) sales during black Friday deals. If you are not in a rush, I highly suggest waiting for a sale, this equipment is pricey. And yes, I bought my studio lights before we finished (or even started) our bedroom. We slept in the storage closet in the basement, concrete floor and no ceiling, for almost a year in the meantime. I know my priorities and luckily have an amazing husband as well!

The Desk:

My painting desk is a butcher block table that my amazing mother got for free from Facebook Marketplace. It was a horrible dull shade of brown so I sanded it down to bare wood, stained it a color to match my studio and sealed it. The butcher block top is 39.5″ x 71″. It was standard table height so I got risers (link below) to bring it to 38” high so I can sit on a stool or switch it up and stand and paint. I have never had a desk this large and it’s a game changer! I can paint a full sheet watercolor painting in either direction without knocking everything else on the floor!

The Lights:

I got all Neewer brand lights and lighting products (links below) and could not be happier with them. I can control the brightness, temperature, color and even turn them on and off from my phone. I have four lights, one for each corner to minimize shadows while I’m painting and filming, and they work great. I turn them on and off all at once from the app on my phone and that makes it super easy. I bought them on tripod stands so I can move them around my studio and over to my photography area if I want to, and also got separate stands to mount them to my desk and save space. Having both options is great!

Filming Stands:

I got a large boom arm to hold my big heavy DSLR camera for photo shoots and also a smaller articulating arm that attaches to the edge of my desk with a phone holder to record my video tutorials. I record all of my tutorials using an Android phone, instead of some of the more elaborate camera setups, and I love how simple it is. Not saying this is the best way to do it, but it definitely works for me and the camera and video is amazing on it!

TV Stand:

I use my older iPad with my reference photo on it and cast the image to an older television monitor that I have on the rolling TV stand (link below). I have this positioned at the end of my desk and can have my reference photo enormous on it. This makes a huge difference when painting large scale with lots of detail. I can zoom in on my iPad easily right next to me and see it up on the big monitor. I can also move the TV screen if I want it away from the desk for something else.

My Amazon Links:

Risers for table legs: https://amzn.to/4iheEyz

Two large lights, NEEWER 2 Pack RGB1200 LED Video Light: https://amzn.to/4kcd1Uv

Two smaller still amazingly bright lights, NEEWER Upgraded 660 PRO II RGB LED Video Light: https://amzn.to/4ihBiXE

HUANUO Rolling TV Stand: https://amzn.to/4kg4orR

NEEWER Extendable Camera Desk Mount: https://amzn.to/4k8cdjo

NEEWER Camera Desk Mount Stand Tilt & Swivel: https://amzn.to/3D99iX0

NEEWER Pro Stainless Steel Heavy Duty C Stand with Boom Arm: https://amzn.to/41ujdzV

NEEWER Metal Phone Tripod Mount Adapter: https://amzn.to/4ig75rS

Articulating Arm Cell Phone Holder: https://amzn.to/3DbkYbR

Please note these are my amazon links and I might earn a small percentage if you purchase from these links. Thank you in advance!

To see all of my Amazon Products that I use in my art studio, click here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/BJ9V7QXASCHP?ref_=wl_share

Please note: I buy all of my paint, paper, brushes and actual art supplies from real companies, not through Amazon. As artists we need to make sure to support local businesses and art stores so they stick around with all of our supplies!

I hope you enjoyed some of the many steps in building our dream home and art studio ourselves! My art studio is far from finished, so I will update my social media and YouTube as I add new items.

Members Gallery

Don’t forget to check out our Members Gallery to see work from ALL of our amazing members. If you are not a member yet, and would like to join us, CLICK HERE for more info!

Don’t Miss Out

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Edited by Lynn D. Pratt

Women in Watercolor was created to help encourage, support, and promote the outstanding women that are working in this medium on an international level.

Through online competitions, and in-person events we will work together to build each other up, learn from each other and increase our individual and overall success.

Thank you for supporting the Women in Watercolor!