Western Federation of Watercolor Societies
About WFWS
The Western Federation of Watercolor Societies (WFWS) was formed in 1976 by the New Mexico Watercolor Society and included nine other watercolor societies. The purpose was to make a large and prestigious watercolor exhibition available at low cost to members for small and often isolated watercolor groups.
Today, the WFWS includes over 5,000 artists in ten regional watercolor societies and guilds. The WFWS encourages and recognizes artistic excellence and works to increase visibility of watercolor as an artistic medium through our annual juried exhibitions. The exhibitions are sponsored by WFWS and hosted by a regional member society. Delegates meet annually (usually at the current show) to conduct general business and discuss the next year’s plans. Each society hosts the show on a rotating basis.
Exhibitions
An annual exhibition of water media paintings hosted on a rotating basis by the ten member societies from the western states. Entries are handled by Delegates from each Society.
Leadership
Leadership training is one of the hallmarks of our organization. We share knowledge of what works (and what does not) within the various organizations.
Enrichment
Communities benefit by hosting this excellent rotating exhibition. The hosts receive seed money from alliance dues to help sponsor the exhibition.
Participation
Members of each of the societies below are automatically members of WFWS. If your group is seeking information about joining one of our Western Fed Societies, please
48th Western Federation of
Watercolor Societies Exhibition
2023
Prospectus
WFWS48 Exhibition Schedule Hosted by SWS Dallas Tx 2022-2023
Oct 3, 2022 Call for Entries /Prospectus out to delegates
Jan 13, 2023 Entry Deadline to ArtCall
Feb. 3, 2023 Exhibition Juried by Mary Whyte
Feb 17, 2023 Art call results sent to all
Feb. 24, 2023 Delegate Lists, Images, Instructions Sent
Mar. 3, 2023 Hospitality information sent to delegates
Mar.17, 2023 Accepted paintings due to Local delegates
READ THE PROSPECTUS CAREFULLY BEFORE ENTERING
ELIGIBILITY
- The artist must be a dues-paid, current member of one of the societies of the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies (WFWS) and may enter through only ONE society.
WFWS Members: Arizona Watercolor Association (AWA), Colorado Watercolor Society (CWS), Idaho Watercolor Society (IWS), New Mexico Watercolor Society (NMWS), San Diego Watercolor Society (SDWS), Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild (SAWG), Southwestern Watercolor Society (SWS), Utah Watercolor Society (UWS), Watercolor Society of Oregon (WSO), and West Texas Watercolor Society (WTWS)
Participating Societies

Arizona Watercolor Association
Phoenix, AZ
Delegate – Tanya Lemma
Alternate – David Amsellem
AWA meets September through May in Phoenix, AZ.
Visit their website for contact information: www.azwatercolor.com

Colorado Watercolor Society
Denver, CO
Delegate – Beatrice Trautman
Alternate – Sandy Day-Selbert
Monthly meetings in the Denver, CO area.
Visit their website for contact information: http://www.coloradowatercolorsociety.org/

Idaho Watercolor Society
State Wide
Delegate – Dennis Hayzlett
Meetings in Boise, ID and other chapters.
Visit their website for contact information: https://www.idahowatercolorsociety.org/

New Mexico Watercolor Society
Albuquerque, NM
Delegate – Dave Cook
Monthly meetings in the Albuquerque, NM area and Las Cruces, NM.
Visit their website for contact information: http://www.nmwatercolorsociety.org/

San Diego Watercolor Society
San Diego, CA
Monthly meetings and workshops in San Diego, CA.
Visit their website for contact information: http://www.sdws.org/

Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild
Tucson, AZ
Delegate – Dennis Garrison
SAWG meets monthly, September through May in the Tuscon, AZ area.
Visit their website for contact information: https://southernazwatercolorguild.com/

Southwestern Watercolor Society
Dallas/Ft Worth, TX
Monthly meetings in the Dallas / Ft. Worth, TX area
Visit their website for contact information: https://www.swswatercolor.org/https://www.swswatercolor.org/

Utah Watercolor Society
Salt Lake City, UT
Delegate – Tom Howard
UWS meets monthly in Salt Lake City, UT and their Cache Valley Chapter.
Visit their website for contact information: http://www.utahwatercolor.org/

West Texas Watercolor Society
Lubbock, TX
Delegate – Neal Kleman
WTWS meets monthly in Lubbock, Texas.
Visit their website for contact information: https://wtws.org/

Watercolor Society of Oregon
State Wide
Delegate – Chris Stubbs
Conventions twice annually State Wide
Visit their website for contact information: http://watercolorsocietyoforegon.com/