Northwest Watercolor Society (NWWS) has announced that Elizabeth Kincaid and Molly Murrah, both Kirkland watercolor artists and instructors, have been chosen as two of the 86 artists selected for the NWWS 75th annual International Open Exhibition that will be on display from July 1 through Sept. 30 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.

Art enthusiasts, collectors, students and everyone interested in the arts are invited to the Open Exhibition Artists’ Reception from 4:30-6:30 p.m.on July 11.

Kincaid and Murrah were chosen by internationally known juror, Judy Morris, out of more than 600 entries from seven countries and 24 states.

“Every artist accepted in the 2015 NWWS 75th Exhibit has an exceptional painting. This outstanding show features artists from near and far. Expect to see paintings that represent the best painting styles, the best painting techniques, and the best choice of subject matter. Also expect to learn, love, and smile as you view this celebratory exhibit,” Morris said.

Co-juror Alvaro Castagnet, also internationally known, will decide with Morris who will receive the more than $15,000 in awards and merchandise. The announcements will be made at the Gala Awards Banquet following the reception at the Crowne Plaza-Seattle hotel across the street from the Convention Center.

Murrah is an experienced watercolor artist and freelance graphic designer, who has lived and worked in Kirkland since 1982. She has studied with many well know artists from around the country.

She has created several courses that she offers to artists and budding artists. The first was a half-day seminar on how to work with digital media. She later taught two live, online webinars streamed to a combined total of 2,000 beginning watercolor students around the world. Locally she has taught classes and workshops to beginning and intermediate students at Daniel Smith Artists’ Materials in Bellevue, Cole Gallery in Edmonds, and Tsuga Gallery in Bothell. She teaches private lessons in her home studio.

A Signature Member of the Northwest Watercolor Society – one of the top watercolor societies in the country – Murrah is very involved as a volunteer and served as President of the society in 2013-2014. She recently designed and managed the production of a 128-page, hardbound book – “A Fluid Tradition: Northwest Watercolor Society… The First 75 Years” celebrating the colorful history of NWWS. It is now available online and through brick and mortar bookstores.

Her strengths as an artist lie in composition, color harmonies, and the representation of light. These skills have been greatly influenced – and honed – by her years of experience as a graphic designer and she finds the balance between design and fine art very fulfilling. She continues to love teaching, and will be a workshop presenter at NWWS’ 75th Diamond Anniversary Convention to be held at the Crowne Plaza-Seattle on July 11. Her website is www.mollymurrah.com.

Kincaid earned a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Washington and worked as a graphic designer for South Seattle Community College. She has taught watercolor classes and workshops in her home studio, at Kirkland Art Center and in California, Hawaii, British Columbia, Florida, Pennsylvania,

and around Washington State. She has paintings in hundreds of corporate and private collections, coast to coast.

She has been an active member of Women Painters of Washington and is a signature member of Northwest Watercolor Society and Philadelphia Water Color Society. A Kirkland Artists Studio Tour artist for many years, she shows her work at the Women Painters of Washington Columbia Center Gallery, and in other galleries in Washington, California, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Kincaid has won many prizes in juried shows, and is the author of “Paint Watercolors That Dance With Light” (North Light Press, 2004). Her work has been published in a number of the highly respected “Splash” series of books, also by North Light Press.

She paints a variety of subject matter in watercolor, including flowers, birds, animals, and landscapes. Working in a realistic style that is strongly graphic and impressionistic, she builds paintings from many thin glazes of brilliant and luminous color. Her website is http://home.netcom.com/~andrewsl/edk/.

Artists interested in attending the 75th Diamond Anniversary Convention workshops and Gala event that same day can purchase tickets at www.NWWS.org.

The Washington State Convention Center is located at 800 Convention Place in Seattle. Parking is available at the Center and nearby parking garages.