Cover Art: Winner of the 40th Illinois Watercolor Society Exhibition for Award of Excellence I. Janet Doll, IWS Rossini’s Last Opera.
Runs 1–4 p.m. Enjoy an afternoon filled with talented artists from the USA, Canada, and beyond. The show runs May 1–May 31, 2025, at The Next Picture Show (TNPS) in Dixon, Illinois.
A CASH BAR with soft drinks, beer, and wine is available during this event.
THE EXHIBITION RUNS Friday, April 5th until Friday, April 26th During the artists’ reception on Friday, April 5th, guest judge presented the awards for the 75th Phidian Art Show.
THE EXHIBITION RUNS February 22nd, 2024–March 30th 2024 During the artists’ reception on Friday, March 1st, guest judge Heather Baker presented the awards for our Shades of Gray Exhibition with an audience of over a hundred.
This exhibition is sponsored by Ken Nelson Auto Group of Dixon, IL.
Shades of Gray – Award Recipients
Best of Show | “At the Sea Shore,” Acrylic on canvas | Kelly Broitman, Sterling, IL
First Place | “Twilight,” Film photography on gelatin silver print | Les Allen, Dixon, IL
Les Allen (Right) talking about his winning piece with our judge, Heather Baker(Left).
Second Place | “S. L. L. 7/30/2022,” Photography | Jon Wildman of Dixon, IL
Third Place | “Jamaal,” Graphite, carbon pencil, and charcoal powder | Ryan Jandry of Dixon, IL
Honorable Mention | “Repetition,” Oil | Laurie Friemuth of Oregon, IL
Honorable Mention | “Finding My Light” Oil | Michelle Jagitsch of Sterling, IL
Honorable Mention | “Home Sweet Home” Photography | Bob Logsdon of Dixon, IL
Awards handed out at the 19th Regional Survey of Art
THE EXHIBIT RUNS January 11, 2024–February 17th 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, January 26, guest judge Robert Krajecki presented the awards for our largest and longest running show.
This exhibition is sponsored by Hicks Insurance of Dixon, IL. The next juried art exhibition scheduled is Shades of Gray. The show will run from February 22 to March 30, 2024.
The 19th Regional Survey of Art – Award Recipients
Best of Show | “Thunder in the West,” Oil on canvas | Carol Bingham, Sycamore, IL
First Place | “Wisconsin River in the Beginning,” Watercolor | Ellen Mumford, Dixon, IL
Second Place | “Living Proof #5.4,” Cold wax & oil | Kent Broadbent of Annawan, IL
Third Place | “Winter’s Tender Embrace,” Photography | Bob Cholke of Rockford, IL
Honorable Mention | “Dawn Mist,” Photography | Charles Kerr of Dixon, IL
Honorable Mention | “Storyville,” Pen, ink, colored pencil & pastels | Dan Bowman of Dixon, IL
Honorable Mention | “Chance of Rain,” Acrylic/ Mixed Media | Jayne Rose of Dixon, IL
Awards handed out at Winter Scenes & Holiday Dreams opening reception
THE EXHIBIT RUNS November 30–January 9, 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, December 8th, guest judge Nora Balayti presented the awards for a brand-new art exhibition.
The next juried art exhibition scheduled is the Regional Survey of Art. The show will run from Nov. 30 through Jan. 9, 2024.
The Winter Scenes & Holiday Dreams award recipients
Best of Show | “Snowfall on the Church Road,” Oil on wood panel | Carol Bingham, Sycamore, IL
First Place | “Farm in Frost,” Mixed Media | Karen Tucker, Dixon, IL
Second Place | “Ice Under the Sun,” Photography | David Bingaman of Dixon, IL
Third Place | “Lowell Park Winter,” Watercolor | Ellen Mumford of Dixon, IL
Honorable Mention | “Snow Laden,” Acrylic | Julie Young of Oregon, IL
Honorable Mention | “Snow Day,” Acrylic on wood panel | Kelly Broitman of Sterling, IL
Honorable Mention | “Dixon Winter,” Watercolor | Betty Predmore of Dixon, IL
Awards handed out at Aqua Expressions opening reception
THE EXHIBIT RUNS October 27–November 25, 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, Nov. 3, guest judges Glenn and Tim Boles presented the awards for a brand-new art exhibition.
THE EXHIBIT RUNS September 8-October 19, 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, Sept. 15, Carolyn Lee McKee-Freese, art educator, and the show’s guest judge, presented the awards for this year’s Farms & Barns art exhibition.
THE EXHIBIT RUNS July 21 – September 2, 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, July 28, Chloe Metz, Oregon artist and the show’s guest judge, presented the awards for this year’s Absolutely Abstract art exhibition. After the award presentation, TNPS’ new executive director, Letha Catalina, was introduced. Catalina starts her position on August 8.
This show’s sponsors are Ellen and Carl Mumford.
The Absolutely Abstract award recipients
Best of Show | “The Summer of 2020,” Acrylic | Perry Paliga of Dixon, IL
First Place | “Kaleidoscope,” Acrylic Mixed Media| Jayne Rose of Dixon, IL
Second Place | “Every Day is Undone #9,” Photographer | John Wildman of Dixon, IL
Third Place | “Woman with Child,” Cold Wax Medium and Oil | Kent Broadbent of Annawan, IL
Honorable Mention| “Urban Renewal,” Collage and Acrylic | Debbie Thompson of Dixon, IL
THE EXHIBIT RUNS JUNE 2-JULY 15, 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, June 9, Amy Sikyta, TNPS executive director, presented the awards for this year’s The Human Form art exhibition. Debra Cleary, artist and art educator, served as the guest judge for this exhibition.
Meet the juror and demonstrator for this year’s IWS show
Beth Shadur of Highland Park, Illinois, is the 39th Illinois Watercolor Society National Show juror and demonstrator. The show runs April 28-May 28, 2023, at The Next Picture Show (TNPS) in Dixon, Illinois. Shadur is set to demonstrate her watercolor technique during the show’s opening reception on May 6, 1-4 p.m.
Shadur is an artist who has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including at the Art Institute of Chicago; the Drawing Center in New York City; the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY; the Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown, Ohio; and at the Colorado Springs Art Museum, Colorado Springs, CO.
Shadur has created over 150 large public murals as public, private and community art projects in both the United States and Great Britain. She was an Artist-in-Education for the Illinois Arts Council in Chicago, IL. She has taught and served as a visiting artist at many colleges and universities, including Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; Northeast Missouri State University, Kirksville, MO; and as a visiting artist and scholar at Paradise Valley Community College in Scottsdale, AZ.
Shadur’s work appears in many publications, books, and catalogs, including Twentieth Century Watercolors, Abbeville Press; The Special Unit, Barlinnie Prison, Its Evolution Through Art, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow, Scotland; Community Murals: The People’s Art, Associated University Press, NJ; and Art and Cartography, Art Institute of Chicago. Her mural work in Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow, Scotland is included in the archives of the Peoples Palace Museum in Glasgow.
“Sky Drama,” Watercolor on Yupo, 11″ x 13″ | Beth Shadur
An educator
Shadur has lectured widely on community arts in both the United States and abroad. She has curated numerous national exhibitions, including the ongoing ‘The Poetic Dialogue Project,’ which has traveled throughout the United States. Collaborative Vision: The Poetic Dialogue Project, featuring collaborative works by pairs of poets and artists, was exhibited at the Chicago Cultural Center in January-April 2009, and will travel to various university galleries.
In 2006, Shadur presented at the International Conference on Arts in Society in Edinburgh, Scotland, and her Poetic Dialogue Project was published in the International Journal on Arts In Society. Shadur has been awarded numerous Ragdale Fellowships and is a Thomas Watson Fellow from Brown University; from 2004-6, she served as Executive Director of ARC Gallery, Chicago. She participated in the Cool Globes Public Art Project in Chicago in 2007, and in 2008, was Artist-in-Residence at the Burren College of Art in Ireland through a Governor’s Award for International Arts Exchange from the Illinois Arts Council.
In 2009, she participated in ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI. In 2013, Shadur was a fellow at the Leighton Artist Colony at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Banff, Alberta, Canada. In 2016, she was awarded a residency at the Harfnarborg Art Center in Harfnarjardur, Iceland. She is currently working on her National Park Project, partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, creating works that are traveling throughout the state of Illinois.
Since 2012, Shadur serves as the Gallery Director at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, IL. In 2016, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Illinois State Museum. In 2022, she was appointed to the Board of the National Watercolor Honor Society. Her work is owned in many private and public collections.
