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Our Fall 2026 featured artist is Debbie Turtletaub, whose work reflects her love of the medium of watercolor.  Debbie currently lives in Florham Park.  She enjoys painting landscapes, some florals, and especially snow scenes, "as the colors in the snow fascinate me".  Debbie also has experience with charcoal, oils, pastels and acrylics.  

In her own words, here is Debbie's journey:  

"I have been creating art for as long as I can remember.  I started art lessons when I was ten years old.  My first real piece of art I can recall was a charcoal drawing of trees.  How proud I felt when I saw it framed and hanging on my parents’ living room wall!  I have always loved drawing or painting landscapes.  

In college, I majored in Studio Art at Rutgers College and minored in Art History.  While there, I dabbled in a variety of media such as sculpture, photography, charcoal, pastels, and oil paint.  At Rutgers,  I participated in several art shows.  Then I went on to work in advertising and ended my advertising career as an art director.  

After I had children, I became an elementary teacher for 27 years.  I loved bringing art into my classroom on a daily basis.  My students created pictures to go along with their writing, projects to reflect their reading, and special creations to share with their parents.  

The first time I used watercolor paints was when I took a watercolor class years after I graduated college.  I have been painting primarily in watercolor for many years and enjoy the spontaneity of how the paint reacts on the paper.  I have displayed my paintings in many shows throughout my career and have won a few awards.  The most important part of my painting is how I feel while I’m painting and the joy it gives to others.

For more information about my work, please email me at:

[email protected]

Or check out my website:  https://sites.google.com/view/debbie-turtletaub

We are pleased to present our December Artist of the Month, June Fisher-Markowitz.  June is currently responsible for the beautiful, professional shows that our club presents each year, and we are very proud to feature her artwork this month. 

June is a NJ native, and currently lives in Wayne, NJ.  She has always had an interest in art, and studied painting and pottery and art education at William Paterson College.  She went on to pursue graduate work in painting, pottery and creative art therapies.  Most recently June is dedicated to working with watercolors, and has entered her work and won awards in various NJ  shows.  Most recently she had a painting accepted into the American Watercolor Society Associates show, and has been juried into the NJ Watercolor Society as a signature member.  

In her own words, June describes her approach to watercolor: "I have two favorite subjects.  First, trees and forests in various seasonal visual representations.  Second, old figurative photographs intrigue me as I reinvent the subject through color, texture and abstracted shape.  I can begin a painting with a simplified drawing, but I also enjoy starting without a drawing, creating something new by conversing with the tools of my craft-water, colors, wetting, spraying, salting...which is only finished when it feels right. I frequently complete a painting and I have no idea how I got there and will never be able to repeat the process again.  Each one is unique".

We are pleased to present our June 2025 Featured Artist of the Month,  the longtime member of EWCC and board member, John Wolff. Here is John's journey in watercolor in some of his own words:

John lives in Livingston, in northern NJ.  He does not have formal training as an artist, and says that he is "mostly self-taught supplemented by workshops, videos and organized classes…I really would have preferred to have attended one of the atelliers that have sprung up over the years, but I sort of ‘aged out’".

John's favorite subjects to paint are portraits and figures, as you can see from the samples of work displayed here. "The task of getting a likeness is challenging enough, so I have few examples of landscapes. Those are in the “clobbered” category" he says. 

When asked how long he has been painting in watercolor, John says "I guess it is technically about 20-25 years, but only seriously in the last 15-18 years. In my previous life as a corporate pilot, I had 7 days flying and 7 days at home as a schedule. During the time on the road, I brought a small travel palette and some paper and would dabble while waiting for a trip. After retirement in 2004, I jumped more into drawing and painting portraits doing a few commissions, ‘surprise’ gifts and entering shows."

John also uses other mediums like graphite, charcoal and, more recently, pastel, which he considers a very challenging medium. 

Here is how John describes what watercolor painting means to him:  "Well, I sort of fell into the medium believing it was going to be simple…just a practical way to get started. However, it has become my go-to medium and the one I have had the most success with. The fluidity of the medium and the ability to flow different colors together to make beautiful blends can be mesmerizing. Watercolor does have the reputation of being a difficult medium to correct. Though true to certain degree, I have found ways to fix the goofs. The best protection against mistakes is a strong underlying drawing which provides the ‘blueprint’ for painting. Before painting, I might spend several hours on the underling drawing before transferring to the paper. Scrimp on the drawing, the painting will suffer."  Wise words indeed!

John has a long and esteemed career with Essex Watercolor Club. "I cannot pinpoint the moment when I became a paid member since I often attended demos as a guest, but 2004 is probably the moment when I joined the club and eventually became an “Exhibiting Member”. Over the years I have volunteered to manage most all of the Club’s positions including Publicity, Programs, Exhibitions, Membership and President. Projecting and recording the demos, website development and YouTube videos were additional duties."  In other words, John has been a pillar of the club for may years, and we very much appreciate all of his efforts in making it a success over these many years!  Thank you John!

My work can be viewed at www.JohnBWolff.com and on Instagram @lairgraphics

Marian Jones is our November featured artist.  In her own words, here is how she describes her journey in painting:

Michele Kendler is our featured artist for April.  She has lived in Bloomfield for the past 30 years, and started to paint in watercolor in college.  After a 40 year break from painting, she decided to take up watercolor again.  Her exciting portraits of elderly people as well as animals are known for their intricacy as well as the emotion that they bring to the viewer.  It is clear from her images that she spends a great deal of time on the details that make the portrait come alive.  

Michele says of her background in painting: "My favorite subject is portraits (mainly wrinkled old people). I recently took a workshop in acrylics and been trying to get back into it, but find it frustrating, as I can't mix colors like watercolor and it dries too fast. I find watercolor a challenge, but when I finish a painting that I like..I feel like an accomplished artist."

We are very lucky to have Michele as a member of the Essex Watercolor Club and our April featured artist!

Amy Arons is our September featured artist.  She lives in Morris county, and has been painting with watercolor since she was 7 years old! Amy still has 10 of her paintings from childhood;  she started painting seriously as an adult 15 years ago.  

Amy likes to paint many different subjects:  portraits, landscapes, interiors and still life.  She has taken workshops with Ted Nuttall, Charles Reid, Mary Whyte, Linda Baker and others, honing her skills over the years to become the talented artist she is today.  Amy is a member of the Virginia Watercolor Society and the Baltimore Watercolor Society.

Her medium is exclusively watercolor.  Amy enjoys painting a variety of subjects, showcasing friends, family and her exciting world travels.  "I want to leave a legacy when I am gone.  A story of where I traveled, what I saw, those I hold dear to my heart and the beauty I have witnessed.  A memoir in paint.  I paint because I can relive the moment that moved me initially...because I enjoy the magic that makes the moment come to life".

You can see Amy's work featured here, and visit her website to see more of her paintings, at www.amyarons.com, Instagram at amyarons, and Facebook at Amy Goldberger Arons. 

Chris Van Houten is our January 2024 featured artist.  She is a longstanding member of the Essex Water Color Art Club and currently one of the co-chairs of our Exhibition Committee.  

Chris lives in North central New Jersey.  When she retired in 2010, she saw an article in the local paper for beginning classes in watercolor painting with our own Margie Samuels.  Chris had never painted before, but loved the look of watercolor.  Its has been her medium of choice ever since!

"I've noticed that since I've become a painter, my impressions of my surroundings have been reshaped;  a walk in the park becomes a floral landscape, a trip to the Tuscany countryside becomes a scene of a multitude of greens (and much more), a winter's day becomes one of shapes and shadows.  How delightful to see the world through a painter's perspective!"

Mark De Mos is our December 2023 featured artist. Mark has also taken over our Essex Watercolor Club Newsletter, and we are very fortunate to have such a talented artist work his magic in presenting such a lively, fact filled document each month!

Mark has lived in Morristown, NJ for 50 years. He was active with the Morris County Art Association where he served as President and Director. He has been influential with Essex Watercolor Club for years, bringing in new, talented members over the years. 

Mark has been painting in watercolor since the mid 1980’s, after doing pen and ink and etching. Mark also served as the founding president of the Pastel Society of NJ. Later he studied oil painting; as you can see, he has worked in almost every painting medium.  

Some of Mark’s accomplishments and awards include: Elected member of Allied Artists of America (NYC, past board member, newsletter), NJWCS (past president, newsletter), and Hudson Valley Art Association. He gained membership in the Garden State and Northeast Watercolor Societies. Mark has received numerous awards from NJWCS (including Silver Medal of Honor), AAA (including Jane Peterson Memorial award), NEWS and GSWS, as well as an award from the Salmagundi Club’s non-member shows in watercolor and pastel. His work has appeared in Splash 8 and 9, Watercolor Secrets (Splash), and he had a feature article in Watercolor Secrets (now WC Artist, “A Light Touch”).

Mark’s favorite subjects to paint are cityscapes of New York.  He also likes to paint a range of subject matter from gardens and farms to figuratives.  Though he usually works from photos, Mark likes to paint on location at nearby places such as The Wick House (Jockey Hollow), Knuth Ayers Farm (Denville), and Natirar (Far Hills).

Mark states: “What I like about watercolor is how it helps you, painting quickly using water and fresh paint to create direct statements that create the feeling of reality, though hopefully better...” 

Mark is represented by Swain Gallery in Plainfield and Studio 7 (just closed). 

Chris Van Houten is our January 2024 featured artist.  She is a longstanding member of the Essex Water Color Art Club and currently one of the co-chairs of our Exhibition Committee.  

Chris lives in North central New Jersey.  When she retired in 2010, she saw an article in the local paper for beginning classes in watercolor painting with our own Margie Samuels.  Chris had never painted before, but loved the look of watercolor.  Its has been her medium of choice ever since!

"I've noticed that since I've become a painter, my impressions of my surroundings have been reshaped;  a walk in the park becomes a floral landscape, a trip to the Tuscany countryside becomes a scene of a multitude of greens (and much more), a winter's day becomes one of shapes and shadows.  How delightful to see the world through a painter's perspective!"

We are delighted to present Lisa Zablocki as our February featured artist!  Lisa is a retired pediatrician living in Hoboken. She says " I’ve been there for 12 years, and living there has inspired some skyline paintings of Manhattan and contributes to my desire to do more urban paintings. I have a view of NYC from my living room  that often  presents me with gorgeous light-filled visions."

She goes on to say "I started painting in watercolor after spending a 6 month sabbatical with my family in Florence, Italy. I hadn’t done any art since junior high school but was always interested in. Just got side-tracked by a career in medicine and a family. I chose watercolor because it is so portable but also because it is so luminous. I was influenced by Sargent after visiting Venice 6 times while we were living in Tuscany."

Over the years, Lisa has taken numerous short workshops with well-known teachers including Charles Reid, Eric Weigardt, Janet Rogers, Andy Evanson, Iain Stewart, and Vlad Yeliseyev. 

Lisa paints mostly  landscapes but also enjoys still life painting. She belongs to NYC and NJ Urban sketchers, and they have recently done a feature on Lisa in their newsletter. Lisa's sketches are mostly in ink with watercolor washes. Here is a link to her recent participation with the Urban sketchers....

We look forward to seeing more of Lisa's artwork displayed in future Essex Water Color Club shows!

Jill Vondervor-Frank

Biography

Jill retired from the business world and rediscovered a joy and passion taking a watercolor course at the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts.  During her life she has consistently taken art classes in the evenings at the New York School of Visual Arts, du Cret School of Arts, South Orange-Maplewood Adult Night School, School of Advertising Art and private lessons studying oil painting, charcoal portraits, sculpture, pastels, acrylics, pen and ink, studied Chinese Brush Painting with Shirley Poo Wills and painted in Sicily with Valerie Larko. Studied watercolor  with  W. Carl Burger, Angelito David and Elizabeth Horowitz and on location with Ed Havas.

She designed pen & ink drawings of the common buildings for the Lake Wallkill Community in Sussex County, New Jersey as a fund raiser and has done over 60 commissions of interesting homes in that medium and watercolor.  She keeps a camera in the car to capture just that something in a scene that makes her want to paint it.

Jill is an exhibiting member and past president of the Essex Watercolor Club where she is the treasurer, member of the North East Watercolor Society, Drew Art Association  and a signature member of the Garden State Watercolor Society.

She has displayed her works at various outdoor shows in Westfield, Livingston, Short Hills-Millburn, Springfield, New Providence and Madison.  Jill has exhibited at Children’s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside, New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, the Morris County Library, Overlook Hospital in Summit, Bernardsville Library, Walsh Library at Seton Hall University, Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council, Center Gallery at Old Church , Café Metro in Denville, Crane’s Mill Retirement Community in West Caldwell, the Papermill Playhouse and the Morris Community Theatre. Jill resides in Maplewood , New Jersey. 

Jill Vondervor-Frank

Phone 973-699-6174 E-mail

[email protected]

[email protected]

Diane Veros is our June featured artist. Here is the story of her watercolor journey, in her own words...

"I moved to Florham Park, NJ  about a year and a half ago after living in upstate NY for the previous 40 years.  I went to Montclair State as a music major and taught in Montville, NJ for 5 years. I left teaching and pursued a Master’s degree in Public Administration, then worked at Universities as a Research Administrator for over 30 years.  I retired in 2019.  I was diagnosed with Amyloidosis in 2017, a rare disease that impacts my nerves and is progressive.  While recovering from a stem cell transplant, I was home-bound, so decided to start painting.  I had always dabbled, but not seriously. My feet and hands don’t work well, so sadly, I had to give up playing piano and guitar,  but I needed a creative outlet. I tried colored pencils (too tedious), acrylics (too messy), and pastels (love them but I can’t deal with the dust getting everywhere.) So I returned to watercolor.  I had a palette that was 35 years old with some dried up tube paint.  It worked!  During COVID, I painted almost every day and I have stacks and stacks of paintings.  I learned a lot from watching You Tube videos and visiting artist websites.  I joined CaFE, and I entered several paintings in an international show for Artists with disabilities at Bryn Mawr hospital in Pennsylvania and sold several paintings.  I was hooked!  The next year I won two awards, People’s Choice and Best Watercolor - there were over 400 artworks in the show and I was validated and “over the moon”.  I paint mostly landscapes and florals and keep trying to get looser and larger.  

The wheelchair is limiting, as I can’t stand up and it’s difficult to move a large sheet around.  So I’ve resigned myself to a half sheet as my largest (I did purchase a block of Arches 18 x 24 a year ago, but have yet to use it.) I am gradually losing strength in my hands, and I don’t know what I’ll do without the ability to paint.  Painting is my life saver.

I joined FineartAmerica as a place to post my paintings as it only costs 30$ per year for unlimited paintings."

The website is:   Diane-Veros.pixels.com

We are pleased to introduce our September Featured Artist,  Marleen Valdes.  Marlene has enjoyed living in Nutley, NJ for more than 50 years and started painting about 20 years ago.  In her own words she describes her journey:

"I really don’t have a favorite subject to paint. I just have to see “something” I love about a subject,  and focus on that.
I started painting about 20 years ago, and went to some wonderful workshops, watched a whole lot of youtube tutorials & set up a messy corner in my living room..
I do not use other mediums..I feel like I’ll never finish learning this one!
Watercolor has always been therapy for me..through all life’s crises I’ve been able to zone out and get lost in the process. I’m thankful I’ve been able to do that. It’s been a wonderful journey!"

Marleen's work with florals and landscapes is impressive, and she recently won an award in our Crane's Mill show for her painting "Sun-Dried".  

"I live in Morris County, NJ, and just recently retired from my career as a Scientist / Engineer.  I mostly enjoy painting landscapes, as I love the outdoors. Sometimes I will paint florals and garden scenes as well.

I remember getting started in watercolor when I was 15 and bought my first set of watercolor tube paints. From then, I have been painting ever since! I took many evening classes and workshops over the years to learn  more about this lovely and challenging medium.

I initially started painting in oil after I found a set in my parent’s basement. It was fun! I still paint in oil, and will sometimes try painting the same scene in both oil and watercolor. The results can look quite different!

Watercolor washes can be so beautiful and cannot be replicated in other media. The transparency  of the paint and glow of the white paper really make it unique."

Jan has lived in Nutley, NJ for twelve years, and lived most of her life in southwestern Ohio. Since retiring, she has taken workshops for nearly twenty years: eight years in the medium of colored pencil, and twelve years in watercolor. Jan first studied watercolor with Ann Taylor, and for the past seven years, she has studied with our own Mark deMos.

In her own words, Jan says about painting "I do not have a favorite subject to paint.  I love to impulsively choose a subject that attracts me at the moment. I have been painting in watercolor for twelve years.  Watercolor as a medium is almost the antithesis of colored pencil work, and it has taken me years to undo my focus on fine detail and control to be more successful with fluid watercolor. Occasionally, I revert to colored pencil painting.Watercolor painting is a way of expressing myself and allowing myself to be creative.  It also has taught me to enjoy the loss of control that is inherent in the medium.  A side benefit, a large benefit, has been the friendships I have found through the study of watercolor." 

Jan is the Membership Chair of Essex Watercolor Club, and is always ready to pitch in when help is needed.  

Rita Feeney is our August featured artist.  She lives in Morris county, NJ, and has been painting with watercolor and gouache for many years.  Her former occupation as a textile designer served her well at a time when these designs were painted by hand.  

Rita uses watercolor, acrylics, inks, pastels and casein.  She loves painting florals, particularly roses (as you can see in her collection!), citing the joy and positive energy the subject brings to her.  

Rita tells us "Watercolor is a way that I express my inner world from observation or imagination.  I'm inspired by the excitement of color and texture that I find alive in florals and other vivid displays of shapes in nature.  I strive to always maintain a balance between the usage of striking color and docile sensitivity in my still lifes, florals and landscapes. Every painting is a learning experience of light, color and compositional harmony."

You can see more of Rita's work on her Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/rita.riekstinsfeeney and https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=rita%20riekstins-feeney%20art or on Instagram at rita_riekstins_feeney.