The 85th Annual International Open Exhibition returned this fall with fresh work from around the world. On display in person at the Yuan Ru Art Center, in Bellevue, Washington through December 1, the exhibition brought together 80 watermedia paintings selected by juror Frank Eber.
“A painting tells a story or narrative.” — Frank Eber
At the November awards reception, Eber spoke not about painting rules or formulas, but about genuineness. Why enter exhibitions at all? For him, the answer is simple: To share real feeling — and to do it with mastery.
When he announced the 15 award winners, he emphasized how clearly their emotions came through in their watermedia handling. “A painting also tells a story or narrative,” he reminded the crowd, underscoring that the strongest works merged technical excellence with truthful storytelling.
First Impressions: A Master at Work
The first painting that greeted visitors at Yuan Ru was Winter by Z. L. Feng, a work so atmospheric that one viewer confessed it made them physically shiver. That instinctive reaction — the collision of craft and emotion — was exactly what earned Feng the $2,000 First Place Award. “The technical parts and design are all there,” Eber said. “This is someone worthy of being called a master painter.”
Faces, Skies & Enigmatic Stories
The Second Place Award of $1,300 went to Kate Aubrey for First Fiddle, a portrait alive with presence. “You can feel his enigmatic look staring right at you,” Eber said.
Third Place, and $800, was awarded to Jack Dorsey for Clouds Rolling In, which Eber praised for its powerful composition.
Across the gallery, viewers found works that lean into narrative, others that revel in design, and many that weave together memory, environment, and imagination. Together, they showed just how much today’s artists are pushing watermedia.
A Painting for the Permanent Collection
One of NWWS’s most meaningful awards each year is the Purchase Award, a $1,000 cash prize for the painting added to the society’s Permanent Collection, housed at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
This year’s selection — presented by NWWS president Deborah Roskopf — went to Yidan Guo for The Mother and Her Baby.
“The story in this painting drew us in,” Roskopf said. “It was an easy choice among the works artists permitted us to consider.”
It’s Not Too Late to Catch the Exhibition — From Anywhere
Although the in-gallery show closed on December 1, the full exhibition is available online at nwws.org.
