“EAGLETS”: Artist Doris Ettlinger, who created this painting, will be one of the participants as the Garden State Watercolor Society (GSWS) and D&R Greenway Land Trust celebrate GSWS’ juror and top award winners from “Out of the Wild,” their 50th Anniversary Juried Exhibition. The virtual happy hour is Wednesday, August 26 from 5 to 6 p.m.

On Wednesday, August 26 from 5 to 6 p.m., the public is invited to pour their favorite beverage and join others who appreciate the varied and vital connections between nature and art as the Garden State Watercolor Society (GSWS) and D&R Greenway Land Trust celebrate GSWS’ juror and top award winners from “Out of the Wild,” their 50^th Anniversary virtual juried exhibition. Via Zoom, viewers will discover which wild settings and what interactions with wild creatures inspired the chosen winners of the exhibit’s top prizes. The first presentation of the land trust’s new D&R Greenway James Fiorentino Nature Award will also take place that evening.

Register for this free Zoom event at rsvp@drgreenway.org.

GSWS President Tess Fields will discuss the role of art in 21^st-century conservation, and address art in the time of COVID. D&R Greenway CEO and President Linda Mead will moderate the nature-focused discussions. She will speak about how the land trust’s management of their preserves uses conservation data to ensure protection of wild creatures.

Internationally renowned artist and D&R Greenway Trustee James Fiorentino will speak of birdwatching and bird-banding expeditions with Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and the Raptor Trust, which inspire his action paintings of New Jersey animals including threatened and endangered species. 

The watercolors of “Out of the Wild” were selected by Steve Zazenski, renowned for his own award-winning landscapes. Zazenski will share insights on his process of jurying a show. Exhibit prize winners who will participate in this insightful conversation include Joan Capaldo, Doris Ettlinger, and Richard Hoffman.

“Our virtual happy hours are fun ways, in their brief format, to learn about places and people who care about the conservation of land in our region, in our state,” said Mead. “Now that the virtual has become the norm, D&R Greenway is increasing the conservation community through opportunities that prove pleasant, informative, and restorative at the end of complex days. We are told that our happy hours catalyze interesting dinner conversations!”

GSWS President Tess Fields looks forward to hearing of the prize-winning artists’ inner realities as they worked on “Out of the Wild.”

“I always find it interesting to hear stories about how artists create,” said Fields. “Feelings, atmosphere, and technique combine to produce fresh, sometimes unexpected, results that speak to a specific time and place. This happy hour with our friends at D&R Greenway and their audience will allow artists to connect newly during this time of seclusion.”

At any hour of any day or night, GSWS’ array of “Out of the Wild’s” nature art may be enjoyed, indoors or out, with piano accompaniment, through September 30. Visit www.drgreenway.org.