Richeson75 International Competitions

In 2020, the Idaho Watercolor Society hosted the Western Federation Of Watercolor Societies annual show. There are 10 societies in the Federation, including IWS, and it was IWS's turn to host. They held the WFWS show in lieu of the usual IWS annual show in 2020. This was my entry, "Doe and Fawns at Fall River":

It was rejected! I was thrilled with it and felt it was a breakthrough for me, since I always struggle with backgrounds on larger paintings. This one is 12" x 16". I thought I would go with a fauvist/Paul Klee influence with simplified shapes and pastel colors in the background with more realistic deer. I mostly achieved what I wanted, although I thought the background got a bit busy. Here is the 5" x 7" study:

So, I entered the deer family in the Richeson75 International Competition for Animals, Birds, and Wildlife. I cannot imagine how many entries they had, since it is international and online only, but I am sure it was a lot. This painting did not make the Finalist List of 75, but it did make the Meritous List and has "been recognized as having artistic merit". It will not be included in the online exhibit, but will be included in the exhibit book as of Meritorious Entries. The online exhibit will open for viewing on December 1st and can be found at richeson75.com. These things are always so subjective, but it is nice to be recognized. I noticed (well okay I counted) only 5 watercolors in the top 75, so I sense the judges were not big watercolor fans.