Egrets Waters Edge – Rettig
“Local Watercolor Masters” is the featured show for February 2017 in the Studio Gallery at ARTWORKS around town. It has been curated by a watercolor instructor and artist at Artworks, Wheeling attorney, Janet Sheehan. All First Friday shows at Artworks are at the Centre Market Gallery, 2200 Market Street, from 5:30 to 8:00pm. The public is invited to come and browse the galleries and see the three new shows. In the North Gallery, the “Friends and Family” show will be displayed along with a fresh grouping in the North Corner Project.
Janet Sheehan, the curator for this show is also one of the participants along with two other Janets, who are also watercolor painters, Janet Hart and Janet Rodriguez. Joining 
the three are Jennie Siebert and Bill Rettig. This show features a variety of ways watercolor can be used to create some exceptionally skillful and beautiful artwork.
Watercolor has a firm and extensive artistic following in theWheeling area. Exceptional local watercolor instructors and visiting workshop presenters have been enthusiastically received in this area. For many years Janet Rodriguez and Bill Rettig both taught watercolor painting at Artworks and at the Stifel Fine Arts Center.
Geranium – Hart
Janet Sheehan now teaches watercolor at Artworks. Janet Hart is a watercolorist and pen and ink artist designing a number of well know greeting cards of Wheeling’s Victorian architecture and of the Centre Market. Jennie Seibert, well known as a local realtor is a creator of many “wet watercolor” works using techniques she learned from local watercolor instructors Kathy Thompson, Janet Rodriguez and Bill Rettig. Jennie is an excellent example of what a serious local watercolor student can create studying with our Wheeling area watercolor instructors. Bill Rettig, transplanted master watercolor teacher from Pennsylvania, has taught watercolor techniques at Artworks, the Stifel Center and in many local workshops. He is a proficient creator of works shown in corporate and home venues in the area and outside.
These five area watercolorists create a show of varied ways that watercolor can be used to
Untitled – Seibert
create atmospheric pieces that exhibit the spectrum from “dry work” to “wet work”. Dry work is detailed and exacting and usually opaque. Wet work uses the technique of floating watercolor pigment in a prearranged but not precise pool of water. It’s a tricky way of creating artwork. It’s also chancy in that sometimes the intended result is not what the artist was working towards. That’s the beauty and fun of creating any artwork. Each piece of artwork has a life of its own. The artist may begin with one intension and the finished product may not be what the artist intended but a completely different product which the art work itself has decided to become.
Blue Herron – Sheehan
Each artist has their specific reason for using watercolor. They love the color, the movement, the idea that it doesn’t take that much equipment, it isn’t “messy” like oils or pastels. Janet Hart even loves the “wet dog” smell of wet Arches watercolor paper.
Wheeling has some skilled painters and artists. LOCAL WATERCOLOR MASTERS is showcasing five of the best in the field of watercolor.
Falling Waters – Rettig