Post 590: PWAS Meeting Recap 11/24/25

PWAS Meeting Recap 11/24/25

Monday, November 24, 2025. The Prince William Art Society met for their monthly meeting at 7:30pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Road, Woodbridge, VA. Our guest speaker was Christine Dixon.

Christine Dixon

Christine gave the members a view into her creation process of the wonderful original artworks. She brought examples of her works, which were absolutely beautiful and shared information on her painting surfaces, varnishing, planning the subject matter, and much more. 

Her art bio info is found here: https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2025/11/post-586-pwas-meeting-nov-24-guest.html 

And a few pictures from the meeting: 

The PWAS Meeting takes a break after the guest speaker, along with some snacks and a beverage. It is always a good few minutes of mingling with the members and learning what everyone is up to. The meeting continues afterwards with reports from the various PWAS officers on our finances, updates on our art shows, social media, website, art class news, etc. Members often ask questions, so Q&A can be a part of a meeting as well. 

Meetings are open to the public, so very often we meet new artists from around the area that want to learn more about PWAS. November is in fact the last official "meeting" of the year as the December get together is always a private member only (plus one adult) Christmas party. All members are to bring a pot luck dish and we ALWAYS have a great time. There is a Signup Genius link for the party that was sent out to members.

Now, I'm off to visit the family for a day or two, so Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! See you for the Christmas party!

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 586: PWAS Meeting Nov 24 Guest Speaker Christine Dixon

PWAS Meeting Nov 24, 2025 Guest Speaker Christine Dixon

The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) is a nonprofit art group in Prince William County featuring many local artists that meet monthly to enjoy the world of art in us and around us. Meetings often feature programs by area artists specializing in various media and processes as well as show and tell by our members, and other interesting projects.

Guest Artist Christine Dixon

This month the Prince William Art Society will host a presentation by contemporary realist painter Christine Dixon. On Monday, November 24 at 7:30 pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center (12298 Cotton Mill Drive, Woodbridge, VA 22191) you are invited to enjoy the free program which opens each meeting and stay to hear about the many ways our art society supports county artists as well as providing opportunities for those interested in classes and attending shows. Meetings are free and open to the public.

This month our guest artist Christine Dixon will provide samples of her work and share her painting process for still life painting. Though inspired by classical realism, she carefully arranges organic and man-made things in a way that is both nostalgic yet modern. Ms. Dixon’s talk will cover her method of setting up painting references as well as  her process of oil painting similar to the classical tradition of the Dutch Masters. More of her work may be viewed online at :  https://www.cadixonart.com/ ; https://www.facebook.com/cadixonart/ ; https://www.instagram.com/anartangel/ .

In some recent shows this year, I remember seeing Christine Dixon's name on the art labels and thinking, wow, she's good! But I wasn't sure I had ever met her...but I soon will. You can too, so come to the meeting on Monday, November 24, 2025 at 7:30 pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Drive, Woodbridge, VA.

 

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Author Emily Hawes

Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 581: PWAS Meeting with Jessica Pidcock

PWAS Meeting with Jessica Pidcock

Monday, October 27, 2025. The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) met and enjoyed a presentation by local artist, Jessica Pidcock. PWAS is a local nonprofit art group that meet once a month on the 4th Monday of the month at 7:30 pm (typically) at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Road in Woodbridge, VA.

Guest Speaker Jessica Pidcock

See Jessica's bio info here

We loved to hear how Jessica creates her most interesting art pieces that are such a combination of talent and ingenuity, including wood carving! She explores her thought processes to achieve meaning and reasons for how and why her pieces come together in such meaningful ways. She gave a great presentation that was enjoyed by everyone attending.

PWAS Elections

The Prince William Art Society had a really great discussion about our biannual elections coming up in November, yet we voted to move the actual voting to the January 2026 meeting set for Jan 26. Be sure and take care of your membership renewals in early Jan so that you have a vote.

The next meeting is Mon, Nov 24 at 7:30pm and is open to the public. The December meeting is always a private event for the PWAS members plus one guest. It is our annual Christmas part set for Friday, December 19. 

The Prince William Art Society is also having the Fall Tall Oaks Art Show at the Tall Oaks Community Center this Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 10 to 5 and the public is very welcome to attend.

Also on our radar is the upcoming Autumn Art Market on Saturday, November 22 at the ARTfactory in Manassas, VA and PWAS some members will be attending this art event as well. Mark your calendars and see you at the shows!!

Event Registration Page for PWAS Members ONLY is at https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/register  in order to show, if you haven't already. 

Follow and Comment on the PWAS Blog!  

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 578: PWAS October 2025 Program

PWAS October 2025 Program

A very busy meeting is planned for the Monday, October 27, 2025 Prince William Art Society (PWAS) Meeting scheduled for 7:30pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center in Lakeridge. The public is welcome to attend at 12298 Cotton Mill Road, Woodbridge, VA and our guest speaker is Jessica Pidcock.

 

Guest Artist Jessica Pidcock

The Prince William Art Society will host a program by Fine Artist Jessica Pidcock on October 27 at 7:30 pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Woodbridge, VA  22191. Programs are free and open to the public who are cordially invited to attend. Enjoy the free program which opens each meeting, and stay to hear about the many ways our art society supports county artists as well as providing opportunities for those interested in classes and attending shows.

This month our guest artist Jessica Pidcock will share some of her work, which "is all about exploration of the self and the unseen vastness within our beings". She uses the visual language of the natural world - flora and fauna - to explore the many facets of her own psyche and invites her viewers to do the same. Her process is one of ritual, solitude, and loss of time and place, while her work attempts to offer a space to explore the self with loving curiosity. Her work can be viewed at JessicaPidcock.com  as well as on her instagram account:  instagram.com/jessicapidcockart/ . 

Coming up soon is the PWAS Fall Tall Oaks Art Show on Saturday, November 1 from 10-5 which will be held at the Tall Oaks Community Center as well so mark your calendars for that too. The Art Show goes on rain or shine.

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm (typically, but check the website in case of any changes).

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 563: PWAS Meeting with the Todds

PWAS Meeting with the Todds

Monday, April 28, 2025. The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) had their monthly art group meeting at the Tall Oaks Community Center in Woodbridge. PWAS meetings cover the ongoing projects that the art group is up to and there is often a featured artist. This meeting focused on two artists, a husband and wife team - Charles and Holly Todd.

Special Artist Guests

Read the about our guests, Charles and Holly Todd on this Blog Post https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2025/04/post-pwas-monthly-meeting-and-guests.html

You know a presentation is really, really good when a roomful of people are as quiet as church mice yet they are all straining their necks to see what the artists are showing. This was so very interesting! Their artwork was exquisite! And I agree with Larry Burch who said, "I want those socks!"

 

Click on an image to enlarge

I wish I had gotten a close up of those socks too!!

Thank you so much to Charles and Holly for showing us your work and telling the stories behind the pieces. That was so very fascinating! What do the other PWAS members think? did anyone else capture any pictures?

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Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

Photography/Video Credits: Donna Liguria

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Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 558: PWAS Monthly Meeting and Guests Charles and Holly Todd

PWAS Monthly Meeting and Guest Artists Charles and Holly Todd

Monday, April 28, 2025. The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) will meet at 7:30 pm at the Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Woodbridge, VA  22191 for the monthly meeting and the public is welcome to attend. Our guest speakers are Charles and Holly Todd.

Guest Artists Program

Guest artists Charles and Holly Todd will share their work, their processes and the way in which they inspire and influence each other through their very different arts. Charles is a COO for architectural firm Little. Over the past 25 years he has intensified his artistic focus on capturing stories and experiences with urban sketching and watercolor. Holly has a background in computer engineering and medical services, piloting a large family, dog rescue, and knitting which enables her to explore her passion for color, patterns and complexity. The Todds have found that working in tandem serves to build their sense of purpose in their art and supports their artistic evolution. More of their work can be viewed at:  https://www.knitsketchschematics.net/ . 

PWAS monthly meetings and programs are free. The public is cordially invited to attend, enjoy the free program, and stay to hear about the many ways our art society supports county artists and the arts.

Meeting Agenda and Art Updates

PWAS has some big events that will be discussed that are on our radar including 2 shows to be held in May and June at the ARTfactory in Manassas, Virginia...

• Call for Art Deadline for the Best of the Region Show is April 30 11:59pm 
• Juried by Catherine Hillis
• The PWAS Member Art Show May 15-30
• PWAS Member Art Show Web Gallery 
• The Best of the Region Fine Art Show and Sale June 3-15
•  Apply Here

Also upcoming are the...

• Saturday, May 3 Art in the Garden 9-12 9535 Linton Hall Rd, Bristow VA
• Saturday, May 10 Spring Tall Oaks Art Show at the Tall Oaks Community Center in Woodbridge
  

And several other shows to be discussed as well.

You miss a meeting, you miss a LOT!

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Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 543: PWAS Meeting with Valerie Larson, Guest Speaker

PWAS Meeting with Valerie Larson, Guest Speaker

Monday, February 24, 2025. The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) meets on the 4th Monday every month at the Tall Oaks Community Center on the corner of Cotton Mill Road and Hedges Run - right down from the Giant off Old Bridge Road in Woodbridge, VA. At our art group's meetings, we usually have some sort of art program, typically featuring a local artist, on all types of art topics. Manassas artist, Valerie Larson joined us for our February meeting.

Valerie's Artistic Journey

Valerie told of her inspiring artistic journey that has shaped her life and art to where she is today.  Her story has led to many commissioned watercolor portraits of pets, and her art on display truly made you understand why she is much in demand by her clients desiring an artwork of their furry children...aka pets. She explained the communication involved with a client to capture just the right light and life of the pet subject's relationship with their human family. 

As one member said, "You can see the personality of the dog, looking out from the portrait." 

She shared many examples of her work, her commission process, and some of the extra touches she builds into each of her 'works of art'. 

Valerie also shared her approach to the process of art video making with music, marketing and social-media posts on Facebook and Instagram that help getting her art "out there". She loves to use Aquabord artist surfaces, the Inshot app, InDesign, Photoshop, and she often uses Jerry's Artarama as an art supply source.

The PWAS members thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and getting to know Valerie. Many questions were asked and everyone was enthralled by her artwork.

After light snacks and beverages, the business part of the meeting proceeded, including reports from the various Board members, information on upcoming art shows, events, and the need for a Nominating Committee for the end of year PWAS Board elections. Contact the Member at Large if you want to be on that much needed committee.

Are you an artist in Prince William County? Don't miss the next guest speaker - you may miss the exact art topic of interest to what you do! Join PWAS

What did you think of the meeting?

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Author, Photographer: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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Post 540: PWAS Meeting with Guest Valerie Larson Feb 24

PWAS Meeting with Guest Valerie Larson Feb 24

The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) art group meets on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Road, Woodbridge, VA and the public is welcome to attend. Meetings, which begin at 7:30pm, often include a guest speaker giving a presentation of various sorts and art topics followed by a short break and then the business portion of the meeting. The meeting for February is on the 24th, so mark your calendars!

 

"Breathing Room" by Valerie Larson

Guest Speaker Valerie Larson

Valerie Larson is a Manassas artist specializing in watercolor paintings and pen-and-ink drawings. She loves both mediums for their immediacy and freshness. Favorite watercolor subjects include local landmarks, historic buildings, animals, and nature. She tries to capture the beauty around her, and quality of light and how it reveals three-dimensionality is always a key element in her work.

 

"Manassas Love" by Valerie Larson

Valerie's painting time is devoted largely to commissioned watercolor portraits of pets and meaningful places (wedding venues, favorite vacation spots, etc.). She'll be sharing examples of her work, her commission process, and how she helps customers develop their ideal portrait. Valerie will also share her approach to marketing and social-media posts.

 

"Tower of Yum" by Valerie Larson

 

"Eva" by Valerie Larson

 

"Papa and Farah" by Valerie Larson

See also: Learning from the Masters, Learning from Life: Valerie Larson, Artist

We hope you can join us for the PWAS monthly meeting at Tall Oaks Community Center at 7:30pm on Monday Feb. 24th.

Interested in (Re-)Joining PWAS?

The Prince William Art Society has been in existence since 1971. Our members have benefited from the experiences, friendships and encouragement over the years! See this post which includes a list of benefits and what we do.

On the PWAS Website is the easiest and quickest method, so please go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership 

if you would like to include a Showcase page with an about you and your artwork, see Showcase 

If you want to learn more about PWAS, see About Us and for an indepth PWAS History, see our PWAS Artistry Spin Blog About PWAS A History

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Authors: Valerie Larson, Larry Burch

 

Author: Donna Liguria
Artistry Spin Blogmaster and an artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA, specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com, her Donna's Esty site and her Blog at Donna’s Cave Paintings.

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Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

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