Nicholas Simmons represents Americas in Shanghai

Back in October, Nicholas Simmons (Innovative Watermedia) came home to find an invitation from the Chinese Government on his doorstep. It asked him to be a juror in the Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Watercolour Biennial, which coincides with the 2010 World Expo.
“It’s probably the biggest honor I’ve received in watercolor,” Simmons wrote of his invitation to jury the largest watercolor exhibit in the world. You read that correctly – the largest in the world.

Nick recently returned from Shanghai where he represented the Americas on a jury that included David Paskett, president of England’s Royal Watercolour Society, renowned Australian artist David Taylor, and Singaporean master Ong Kim Seng. The exhibit received more than 2500 entries. Nicholas and his fellow jurors had their work cut out for them with the several hundred they judged. The paintings were juried in two separate categories: Chinese entries and international entries. ”We were seated,” Nicholas writes, “at what looked like an altar, as young Chinese girls wearing white gloves brought out unframed paintings from the international entries for us to vote on.”

Nick’s visit wasn’t all work. He enjoyed exploring China, including visiting villages more than 1000 years old. “Everyone shot tons of photographs, many of which I imagine will end up as painting material,” writes Nick. “Luckily it was raining the whole time, which made for even more atmosphere and color.” Nick also visited the World Expo district, which is expecting more than 70 million visitors during the World Expo between May 1 and October 31.

He took part in a lecture about how and why he makes art. “Looking out at the unbelievable talent present was a bit daunting,” writes Nicholas, “but I did my best.” To read more about Nick’s incredible trip and to see a lot of beautiful photography from Shanghai, visit his blog.