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The abstract-expressionist painter Willem de Kooning called watercolor painting 鈥渢he first and last thing an artist does,鈥� since many people paint with watercolors as children, but true mastery takes practice and finesse.

Beginning on Saturday, May 2, art enthusiasts can view approximately 100 watercolors by members of the New Mexico Watercolor Society at the annual juried Spring Exhibition at Expo New Mexico.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 start painting until I retired. And actually, I didn鈥檛 even know I could paint,鈥� Marcia Birmingham, N.M. Watercolor Society public relations chair, said. 鈥淭his has been one of the most wonderful surprises of my life. ... A friend of mine invited me to take a lesson with her, and I jumped in and never looked back.鈥�

Birmingham encourages anyone with an interest in watercolors to attend one of the society鈥檚 monthly meetings, which are free and open to anyone. Meetings are usually held on the first Saturday of every month, but anyone interested in attending should visit  for dates and locations.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need to bring anything,鈥� Birmingham said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 actually paint at the meetings. We watch somebody else paint. And if this is something you鈥檇 like to do, you just show up, and there鈥檚 a person who will greet you and introduce you to a few people there and help you (get started).鈥�

Birmingham advises new members against buying supplies without first talking to existing members.

鈥淒on鈥檛 do what some people do. They go out and buy a bunch of cheap stuff they鈥檒l really regret using,鈥� Birmingham said. 鈥淭he quality of your paper is really important. ... You don鈥檛 need to have super expensive brushes 鈥� the synthetic brushes work great 鈥� but good paint and good paper matter."

The New Mexico Watercolor Society has over 300 members, about three-quarters of whom live in the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 area, Birmingham said.

鈥淭hey are the most welcoming, wonderful people,鈥� she said.

Tom Cassidy became a member in 2010 while working full-time as an architect. After retiring, he had more time to devote to painting, and he found that he loved painting old buildings.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like painting a portrait of a person. They鈥檝e got a lot of character,鈥� Cassidy said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have wrinkle lines, but they鈥檝e got missing boards and rust and all of these components that make them very compelling. As a matter of fact, I have four paintings in the show ... and three of the four are old grain elevators.鈥�

As an architect, Cassidy made renderings with colored pencils and studio markers but rarely used watercolors. Compared to the precision of his architectural renderings, he said he enjoys the relative looseness of watercolor.

鈥淎 lot of people look at my paintings and say, 鈥極h, there鈥檚 so much detail in them,鈥欌�� Cassidy said. 鈥淏ut if you look at them closely, the detail is implied. It鈥檚 not actual. ... With wood siding or metal roofs, you鈥檙e not drawing every little line in there. You give a hint and let the eye of the beholder fill in what鈥檚 there.鈥�

Junko Nakao loves old buildings, too, and has a painting in the Spring Exhibition depicting the interior of the historic machine shop building at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Rail Yards with its iconic multicolored windows.

鈥淚鈥檓 into old buildings ... that are no longer in use, because they will make you imagine what they were like when they were populated with people,鈥� Nakao said. 鈥淣ow that they鈥檙e gone, but the building still remains, there鈥檚 a sort of nostalgic beauty in it.鈥�

Nakao has also painted castles while traveling in Europe and shrines in her native Japan. Many of her Japanese paintings hang in Nagomi, a local sushi restaurant.

鈥淚 really appreciate the people organizing everything to make this show happen, because without this show, my audience is very small 鈥� limited only to the people coming to eat sushi,鈥� Nakao said.

Tina Stallard grew up on a hog farm on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada, and has many childhood memories of farm animals and neon signs 鈥� motifs that reappear in much of her work. Stallard鈥檚 most recent series of watercolors depict neon-fronted restaurants and hotels along Route 66.

To achieve the effect of neon lights glowing at night, Stallard said she uses a method of pouring wet watercolor paint onto a clay-coated surface called Aquaboard.

鈥淎quaboard鈥檚 a difficult surface to use. It lifts very easily ... so it鈥檚 a challenge,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I like the way the colors are very bright on the board. Natural watercolor paper has a little bit of a tint to it, and the colors soak in. These sit on the surface more, and we can get some really interesting effects with it.鈥�

Stallard teaches watercolor workshops and says there are many teachers in the Watercolor Society who can help new members learn essential techniques.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e interested in painting in watercolors, it鈥檚 a great organization to join because there鈥檚 lots of stuff happening. You can accelerate your learning,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t gives you access to renowned watercolorists who come here to do workshops. There鈥檚 a lot that they do for people who are just getting started.鈥�

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the sa国际传媒官网网页入口. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at .