GUILD OF ARTISTS
Wild Over Watercolor
2026 WOW! Show at KAA
2026 WOW! Annual Group Show (WAGS)
Keizer Art Gallery _ Keizer, OR
Our Juror Christine Helton
A Sampling Slide show of our Art Show
Our Juror Christine Helton
WELCOME TO OUR 2026 WOW! ANNUAL GROUP SHOW
Wild Over Watercolor is proud to present our 2026 WOW! Annual Group Show (WAGS) in partnership with Keizer Art Association (KAA). We are fortunate to have talented artists in our group with unique points of view and painting styles, which means our water media shows at the KAA Gallery are interesting and engaging on many levels.
Our current show reflects a variety of watercolor techniques. One can view transparent watercolors and watercolor artwork that uses different mediums, approaches and presentations, such as weaving, marbling, or layering along with collage and ink. There are 22 artists in the show and 55 paintings, presenting a wide range of subject matter.
Our WOW! show is displayed in the Keizer Arts Gallery, from August 1st through September 1st. Gallery hours are: Tuesday 3-7pm Wednesday 1-5pm Saturday 11am-3pm
The Gallery is located at 980 Chemawa Rd NE, Keizer OR www.keizerarts.com
The Reception and Awards Ceremony was held on Saturday, August 1st at KAA.
Juror Liz Walker presented twelve awards, followed by a reception and refreshments.
Announcing WOW! Wild Over Watercolor show at KAA in the Keizer Art Gallery in the Tualatin Life and The West Side Newpaper of West Salem.
A big Thank You to Liz Walker
who served as our juror
We feel very honored that she was the juror to our show. She brought a great deal of experience and expertise in all aspects of art production to the feedback she gave about our show and artwork. Her observations were insightful in speaking about the diverse work we produce, from the most traditional transparent works to abstract, expressive and collage. We were delighted and privileged to hear her reactions to our work.
Liz is a Portland based artist of excellent repute who has a BA from Trinity University in San Antonio. Ten years after her degree she was able to create art full time and has perfected her craft over decades. She produces hundreds of paintings a year in watercolor, acrylic and mixed media and accents her work with marbling and experimental techniques. She is a signature member of multiple watercolor societies including the National Watercolor Society, Northwest Watercolor Society, and International Society of Experimental Artists.
2026 WOW! Participating Artists
Karin Anderson
Karen Berg
Ann Beckmann
Theresa Bondi
Susi Davis
Teresa Doss
Dianne Hicks
Catherine Inglove
Debbie Hornibrook
Rebecca Lockwood
Michelle Myers
Diane Nave
Nola Pear
Jacelen Pearson
Sadie Reiter
Linda Rennie
Terry Schmidt
Susen Traeger
Lisa Turin
Sue Wheeler
Angela Wrahtz
Celia Wulff
Enjoy the Awarded Artwork below won by twelve WOW! members.
Following our winners* is a glallery display of fifty-five watercolor paintings entered by twenty-two members of Wild Over Watercolor Art Guild in WAGS 2026.
2026 Award Winners ~ WOW Annual Group Show (WAGS)
Wild over Watercolor ~ KAA August Show
Best of Show George
Dianne Hicks
First Place Together We've Got This
Susi Davis
Second Place Caught in the Net
Jacelen Pearson
Third Place Keep Their Cool
Diane Nave
People's Choice To Be Determined Later
Honorable Mentions
1. In the Vineyard Michelle Myers
Use of Transparent Watercolor
2. Caught in the Net Jacelen Pearson
Expression Through Mixed Media
3. All Akilter Terry Schmidt
Experimentation/Unexpected Innovation
4. Flight of Fancy Angela Wrahtz
Overall Technical Achievement
Judge's Merit
1. Waiting Nola Pear
Masterful beautiful treatment of subject
2. Passing Storm Dianne Hicks
Treatment of landscape & perspective
3. Spatial Harmony Karen Berg
Clever balance & geometric harmony
4. Crow Linda Rennie
Subtle use of marbling
Top Show Winners
Best of Show
George
Dianne Hicks
1st Place
Together We've Got This
Susi Davis
Judge: "I knew this was a top award winner the moment I saw it, but it soared to the top of the list the more I looked at it and was pulled in by the subject matter. Everyone has probably seen a hairdresser with his customer, but this rendition in soft watercolors with complementary colors of violet and a sort of yellow/brown beautifully captures the emotion of this simple and somewhat intimate task."
Judge: "This painting surprised me--and as a juror, I love being surprised. It's a playful mix of free-flowing colors combined with realistically painted people near the center of the painting. I had to look several times at this to figure out what was going on. At first, I thought the man was holding a riding crop, or maybe the handle of a flag. Is he climbing a mountain or a wall or a building? Is the woman hoisting him up? It's a mystery, but one that intrigues me and makes me want to know more about what the artist's intentions were."
2nd Place
Caught in the Net
Jacelen Pearson
Judge: "This is a layered, process painting done by laying a woven mesh on top of the substrate. It says "watercolor" but I'm guessing there are many mixed media elements to this piece--pen and ink plus collage. Get up close to this and really look at it. It's an ingenious use of mixed media to depict a fisherman's net and all the ocean related birds, shell's and driftwood that the artist has carefully arranged into a pleasing composition."
3rd Place
Keep Their Cool
Diane Nave
Judge: "Paintings of street scenes at night are hard to pull off--especially in watercolor--but this artist has done a stellar job. You can feel the magic of a summer night so brightly illuminated by the beer truck. Great use of dark value against light. I noticed that the man on the left is in a T-shirt, but the women are wearing jackets and long pants (making me wonder if this is summertime at the Oregon coast!)
People's Choice
To be determined September 1, 2026
Honorable Mentions
In the Vineyard
Michele Myers
Judge: Transparent Watercolor: "This artist knows how to use the medium of watercolor--juxtaposing the wet into wet violet wash against the crisp treatment of the tree trunk and foliage in the backgroud. Her lyrical linework and her skilled color harmony make this paintin an award winner."
Flight of Fancy
Angela Wrahtz
Judge: Overall Technical Achievement: ”This method of abstract weaving of strips can be seen in several places in the show and they are all well done, but this particular piece has a kind of geometry that is unlike the others. I can tell the artist planned this carefully and took some risks. The blacked drippy lines, the luminous sprayed underpainting, and all of those cut out shapes provide variety and unity. I love how her pencil lines are curved to indicate where to glue down the collage pieces. This is like an Alexander Calder sculpture brought to life."
Caught in the Net
Jacelen Pearson
Judge: Expression Through Mixed Media: "This is a layered, process painting done by laying a woven mesh on top of the substrate. It says 'watercolor' but I'm guessing there are many mixed media elements to this piece--pen and ink plus collage. Get up close to this and really look at it. It's an ingenious use of mixed media to depict a fisherman's net and all the ocean related birds, shell's and driftwood that the artist has carefully arranged into a pleasing composition."
All Akilter
Terry Schmidt
Judge: Experimentation/Unexpected Innovation: "Small paintings can be powerful and impactful! The combination of geometric and organic shapes caught my attention right away. The overall warm paletter of gold/brown/orange pigments makes this painting GLOW. I also love the well-placed diagonal in the top third of the painting--this makes for an interesting composition."
Judge's Merit Awards
Crow
Linda Rennie
Judge: Subtle Use of Marbling: “There are so many beautiful bird paintings in this show, including several by this artist, so it was difficult to choose just one. What I enjoy about this painting is the simplicity of the colors, the single large bird and even how the black frame is so perfect for this painting. As I leaned in for a closer look, I was impressed by the subtle use of marbling--whose colors are so perfectly keyed to the muted colors in the painting. Many artist (including myself) use marbling in their work, but it's a skill to use in such an understated way.
Waiting
Nola Pear
Judge: "Such soft, beautiful treatment of a subject we've all seen but never thought of painting. The movement and direction of the grasses against the watchful cat and the infusion of light behind the cat's fur and whiskers show the hand of a skilled watercolor artist. This is not an easy subject to paint because it requires careful application of making fluid and a lot of patience, but it is a masterful job."
Spatial Harmony
Karen Berg
Judge: "This gem was done in a very limited color palette--gold/grey/black/white. It's an abstract painting in which the lights, darks and mid-tones are very cleverly balanced. The shapes are interesting--curved and geometric at the same time--and work together in a very harmonious way (hence the title on the painting!) It wasn't until later that I noticed a bird shape in the middle! Not sure if that was intentional but it was a nice surprise.
Passing Storm
Dianne Hicks
Judge: "This painter won another award for a portrait painting, but this landscape painting is yet another example of her abilities. Her treatment of landscape and her sense of perspective in this painting show us that she understands just what watercolor can do. The soft violet/orange sky reflected in the water below is skillfully done. The tiny house in the distance tells us that someone is fortunate to live in this secluded and peaceful place.
2026 Wild Over Watercolor Annual Gallery Show
View our WOW! Art Show on Computer or Pads only.
