On December 15, 2013, Racine Art Museum's Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts continues a longstanding Racine tradition with the opening of Watercolor Wisconsin 2013. As one of the museum's most popular annual shows, this exhibition brings together the works of artists from throughout the state. Featuring 125 pieces by 95 artists from communities in all corners of Wisconsin, this year's show will be on view at RAM's Wustum Museum through April 26, 2014.

Tom Kubala, Cedarburg, Cedarburg Sidewalk, 2011 Watercolor, Photography: Jon Bolton, Racine

Organized by the museum since 1966, Watercolor Wisconsin exhibitions have established RAM's Wustum Museum as a center for watercolor activity in the Midwest. Encouraged to experiment and explore all the possibilities of painting on paper, the artists in the show have created works as diverse as their own imaginations. Online entry has continued to expand the diversity of cities represented. Watercolor Wisconsin 2013 includes artists from as near as downtown Racine, and as far as Lake Tomahawk.

Of 303 pieces submitted by 165 artists, approximately one-third of the pieces were chosen for this year's show. Two new works from this year's competition will be purchased for the Racine Art Museum's permanent collection, adding to RAM's holdings of extraordinary Wisconsin artists. The museum's Curator of Collections makes these choices. Cash and merchandise prizes will also be awarded on December 15 to the artists whose pieces are selected as the best in the show by the jurors.

Exhibiting Artists by Wisconsin Community: 

Appleton: Gary Hanks; Bayside: Connie Hoogerland; Brookfield: Julia McMurray, Jean Pascek, Janet Roberts; Burlington: Dave Jewell; Cedarburg: Patrick Doughman, Bruce Hustad, Tom Kubala; Delavan: Sandra Willard; Eagle River: Louise Engelbrecht; Elm Grove: Karen Finerty; Fontana: Susie Williams; Franklin: Carol Christ; Franksville: Sue Horton; Genoa City: Marilyn Olson; Germantown: Mary Boettcher; Glendale: Pat Hidson, Roselie Rentz; 

Grafton: Wallace Coffman; Greendale: John Vlaj; Hartford: Harold E. Hansen; Hartland: Barbara Sorenson Rambadt; Kenosha: Dennis Bayuzick, Sande Jensen, Beverly Mich, Carlotta Miller, Amy Misurelli Sorensen, Rebecca Venn; Lake Geneva: Sybil Brauneis Klug, Nancy Newcomb; Lake Mills: Amy Arnston; Lake Tomahawk: Joanne Nock Olsen; Madison: Theresa Drinka, Randal Feig, Carrie Hunkel, Elizabeth Ivers, Brian McCormick; Mequon: Jan Effinger, Kathleen Nelson, Alice Struck; Milwaukee: Joyce Eesley, Steve Horvath, Madeline Martin, Gene Mihleisen, Jeanne Nikolai Olivieri; Mount Pleasant: Robert W. Andersen, Sarah K. Andersen; Nashotah: Alice Rossman; New Berlin: Rebecca Moczulewski; North Prairie: Margaret Schumann; Oak Creek: Al Minzlaff; Oconomowoc: Marilu McCartney; Oshkosh: Maxine Nobbe, Huey Peckerhead; Racine: Jerrold Belland, Joseph Church, Doug DeVinny, Lisa Englander, David Garner, Nancy Greenebaum, Jane Hobbs-Baldwin, David Holmes, Christopher Johns, Edwin C. Kalke, Jeff Kosmala, John Krewal, Deb Marett, Christine Patten, Thom Petersen, Lance Raichert, Don Ricchio, Suzanne Schackelman, Susan M. Sorenson, Jean Thielen, Dyan Tishuk, Donald Tobias, Maggie Venn, Sue Wolff; Rubicon: David Bielot; Salem: Harry Wirth; Shorewood: Terry Kumakura; Thiensville: William Davis; Waterford:

Norman Abplanalp, Linda Gerard Dzik, Edith Kubicek; Waukesha: Bruce Boeck, Peggy Thurston Farrell; Wausau: Diane Shabino; Wauwatosa: Carolyn Simpson; Whitefish Bay: Beth Costello, Anne Miotke; Whitewater: Nikki Knudsen, Linda Tump;

Williams Bay: Lynne Railsback

Experts from outside the state jury each annual competition, selecting the works to be included, as well as the awards. Carrie Breitbach and Kristi Dahm chose the 125 pieces by 95 Wisconsin artists that are represented inWatercolor Wisconsin 2013. Breitbach is Curator at the Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, Illinois. She has co-written a book about the history and collection of Rockford Art Museum as well as curated the exhibition Through the Ages: 100 Years of RAM [Rockford Art Museum] (on view Aug 23-Jan 26, 2014) to commemorate the museum's centennial year. Dahm is Associate Conservator of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. She has co-authored two catalogues detailing the watercolor materials and techniques of American masters: John Marin's Watercolors: A Medium for Modernism, (2011) and Watercolors by Winslow Homer: The Color of Light, (2008).

The opening reception for Watercolor Wisconsin 2013 will be held at RAM's Wustum Museum, 2519 Northwestern Avenue in Racine on Sunday, December 15 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. During the reception, Bruce W. Pepich, Executive Director and Curator of Collections will host the awards presentation beginning at 2:30 pm. Refreshments will be served.

This exhibition is made possible by: Presenting Sponsors - Karen Johnson Boyd and William B. Boyd, SC Johnson, Windgate Charitable Foundation; Gold Sponsors - Sam and Gene Johnson Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Racine United Arts Fund; Silver Sponsors - Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation, W.T. Walker Group, Inc., Wisconsin Arts Board; Bronze Sponsors - CNH America LLC, Corner House, Craft in America PBS Series,  E.C. Styberg Foundation, Inc., Educators Credit Union, In Sink Erator, The Norbell Foundation, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, Real Racine, Ruud Family Foundation, Carol C. Saunders.