Foothills gallery hosts watercolor exhibition

More than four decades ago, in 1974, local artists approached Foothills Art Center with the idea of organizing a national watercolor show.

The idea and name were eventually expanded to Watermedia, which includes other water-based paint techniques: acrylic, gouache, casein and mixed media. And it draws a more unusual collection of works, including the precise Renaissance technique of egg tempera.

In 2015, the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibit will include 70 paintings, illustrations and collages reflecting a wide range of creative expression when it opens on Sept. 19. It runs until Oct. 25 in Foothills’ handsome gallery in a historic church, a National Registry of Historic Places building.

The arts center is at 809 15th St. in Golden. Call 303-279-3922 for more information.

Juror Mark Mehaffey, a nationally recognized painter from Michigan, is a member of the National Watercolor Society, American Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Watercolor West and Rocky Mountain Watercolor Society.

A retired schoolteacher, he conducts workshops and exhibits nationally and internationally. He was an award winner in the Shanghai Zhujiajao Watercolor Biennial in Beijing in 2010.

Entries from across the country were received in May for this show and Mehaffey, an experienced juror, made his choices, which include: “Hazy countrysides, lyrical abstractions, whimsical dreamscapes and exquisitely detailed still lifes,” according to Foothills publicist Kai Mazurczyk.

Our recollection is that it is always a strong, worthwhile show, especially strong in some lesser-known techniques.

Art lovers will want to include Golden in their fall itineraries.