ORLANDO — Florida in October isn’t like autumn up north – it can actually feel like paradise.
Gone is the sweltering heat and high humidity that bakes Florida during the sweaty summer months when air conditioners are on full blast and people hibernate. Suddenly there’s a cool air in the morning, and the days are warm but pleasant. Suddenly people want to be out and about.
That’s the reason I found myself at the Orlando Museum Of Art on Saturday afternoon, to check out more than 100 watercolors on display as part of a special exhibition, To Catch A Dream, featuring the works of the Florida Watercolor Society.
This group, which has been around since 1931, provided OMA with a series of watercolors that, in many instances, capture what all of us love about summer — in an exhibition that celebrates the natural beauty of Florida with the images that instantly evoke those summer vacation months in our minds.
With everything that locals dislike about summer now long gone, the exhibit seemed particularly inviting. It felt like a stroll back to the joys of our childhood vacation months, enjoyed while inside a well air-conditioned museum.
What Is the To Catch A Dream Exhibit at OMA?
To Catch A Dream: Florida Watercolor Society 54th Annual Exhibition, is the fall exhibit at OMA, but it feels more like a step back into summer, for plenty of reasons.
The exhibit “brings together a remarkable collection of works that showcase the astonishing range and versatility of watercolor today,” OMA’s liner notes stress. “The subjects explored are as diverse as their creators: ordinary objects, personal memories, natural phenomena, and imagined worlds. From meticulously rendered photorealistic scenes to expressive, abstract compositions, the paintings on display reflect a plurality of voices and artistic approaches.”
I agree with OMA that many of these watercolors transport the patron “to a distant place, a quiet moment captured in a domestic setting,” while evoking a strong sense of nostalgia, and memory.
“Pardon My French” by artist Lori Pitten Jenkins is a fine example. It reminds us of something we loved as kids during summer whether we were at the beach, an amusement park, or during a night out: French Fries. This watercolor captures a handful of French Fries on top of a crossword puzzle, with a container of ketchup next to them. Who among us didn’t love sitting at the beach doing a crossword puzzle, while dipping fries into ketchup after a stop at the nearby concession stand?
Another beautiful work, “Farewell To the Beach,” was made by Matthew Bird, who selected the watercolors for this exhibition. This evocative watercolor features a little girl in a bathing suit, sitting on the sandy shores of the beach, with the ocean waves and clouds in front of her. Again, the splendor of summer is sublimely captured in this simple but striking watercolor.
Steve Rogers’ “Chios Caiques,” winner of The Jim Carpenter Memorial Award, features several small fishing boats on the shore, the ocean in the background, while Rita Szopinki’s “Fall Fishing” presents us with a man fishing in his rowboat on a lake, with two small cabins surrounded by trees on the nearby shore. Kerry Sratton Waltz’ “Hidden Dunes” is intriguing for the way it presents white sand dunes, which at first almost look like a snowy landscape in the midst of a cold winter.
Taken together, they’re a reminder of what kids like me, raised in cold winter Massachusetts, loved about the arrival of summer, not matter how hot it got: the carefree times we had exploring the beaches and lakes in the t-shirt weather.
Other watercolors are colorful in the way they capture people who will seem instantly familiar. Gary Green’s “Savannah Blues Street Musician” presents an older African American man sitting on a city street strumming his guitar, while Lyn M.Bechtel’s “The Irony Of Her Imaging The Freedom of Flight” has a little girl on a step ladder, preparing to take flight, as a bird in a cage watches from the side. Both feel like scenes we could walk right into.
Not all works capture people. Kathy Simon-McDonald’s “It Was So Good” was fun in what it evokes: the pleasure of a fine meal. This watercolor gives us a purple plate with crumbs on it, a folded napkin placed on top, and two spoons equally covered in crumbs. The meal, we can assume, had been delicious.
“What unites these works, more than the medium, is the shared commitment from these artists to observation, experimentation, and expression,” OMA notes. “These artists extend the boundaries of tradition while honoring watercolor’s rich history, embracing its unpredictability and versatility to reveal something profoundly human and contemporary.
“In presenting these varied perspectives, the exhibition affirms watercolor’s ongoing relevance in the 21st century, as a dynamic and evolving form of artistic expression that resonates with the complexities and curiosities of our time.”
What is the Florida Watercolor Society?
The Florida Watercolor Society held its first exhibition in 1931, but it wasn’t until 1972 that the group was incorporated, with 26 charter members. Today, their membership has blossomed to more than 1,000 artists.
“We offer workshops, demonstrations, and instruction by renowned national artists and local professionals,” the Society notes on its website. “We offer both juried and non-juried shows open to all members that meet the Florida Residency requirements. Our juried shows include our Annual Exhibition for the past 54 years and our Associate Members Online Show.”
Today the Society is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. To learn more, call toll-free at 1-800-help-fla.
OMA noted its excitement at showcasing watercolors created by the Society members. “Long celebrated for its delicacy and luminosity, watercolor continues to surprise and inspire, adapting with each generation of artists who explore its potential in exciting and unexpected ways,” the museum notes.
Where Can I See To Catch A Dream?
To Catch A Dream: Florida Watercolor Society 54th Annual Exhibition is at The Orlando Museum Of Art, 2416 N. Mills Ave. in Loch Haven Park in Orlando. To learn more, email info@omart.org or call 407-896-4231.
OMA is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. and closed on Mondays and holidays.
Admission is $20 for the general public and $12 for seniors.
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright, and author of the book A Christmas Eve Story. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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