42nd Annual Capitol Rotunda Art Show Visitor’s Choice Award Winners

This year, we received over 1,200 public votes for our 42nd Annual Capitol Rotunda Art Show Visitor’s Choice Awards, the highest participation we’ve seen to date. Even more meaningful, every painting in the show received votes, reflecting how widely the work resonated with visitors!!  We’re happy to share the 2026 Visitor’s Choice Award winners:
1st Place ($200) “Ol’ Blue Eyes” by Carol HasBrouck Browning
2nd Place ($100) “The Poser” by Shelly Johnson
3rd Place (Blick Art Materials Merchandise Award) “South of Cascade” by Sharon Herther
4th Place (The Merri Artist Merchandise Award) “Henrietta the Hedgehog” by Tamara Burnett
Honorable Mentions
5th Place: “The Family That Digs Together” by Beth Trott
6th Place: “Catching Some Z’s XVIII” by Lauren Johnson

A special thank you to Blick Art Materials and The Merri Artist for supporting this year’s awards!!! And a sincere thank you to all participating artists. This show is entirely volunteer driven and truly a labor of love. It exists because IWS artists are willing to share their work with the broader community in such an open and accessible space.

SHOWS and EXHIBITS

Southwest Members:

SW Regional Show.  Visit an array of paintings by IWS artists at the downtown Boise Cascade Building – first floor lobby Nov 2-16.  A reception and refreshments will be held on Nov 5th from 3:00-5:00.

Look for work by Jean Ah Fong, Susan Kluksdal, and probably others from IWS at “Art That’s Small at Eagle City Hall.”  The show runs all of October from 8am to 5pm M-F, with a reception and award presentation on October 29th from 5:30 to 7 pm.  There are usually some very clever small pieces (less than 12 x 12)!

Connie Pepper currently has abstract and realistic paintings on display in the Magic Valley Arts Council’s Full Moon Gallery in Twin Falls.  The show is on display through October 30.  Using the theme “Touched by Fire” and “Waterworld”, Connie’s paintings use dark and vibrant watercolors to depict the chaos and destruction that comes when touched fire.  The second theme, Waterworld, her paintings show the beauty of rain and rivers, and the serenity and calm that can be associated with water.  To see the exhibit, visit the second floor at the Twin Falls Center for the Arts. The Gallery is open Tuesday – Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00. p.m.

Joyce Green, AWS, NWS will be exhibiting at the Garden Plaza at Valley View Retirement Center during the month of November, with a reception and meet and greet on Wednesday, November 18th from 5 to 7 p.m.  “I will be filling the exhibition area with about 40 different framed art works.  Half of the venue will show traditional watercolors featuring Basque culture and Idaho life and landscape.  The other half will feature abstract and experimental works with an emotive aspect.  I am calling the exhibit “Both Sides Now,” as it stresses the two different ways I work:  plan and design ahead with the idea in mind, or, alternatively to dive in and plan as you go intuitively.”  Valley View is located at 1130 n Allumbaugh, Boise 83704.  Off Fairview south on Allumbaugh.

“Note:  I will be moving out of state in the spring, so this may be the last time to acquire one of my paintings directly from me.  I am needing to reduce my inventory prior to moving, so I am offering a 30% discount off any framed work during the opening reception.  If you have a specific work you know of and would like to revisit, contact me at 208 409 5469 to be sure I have it available to see on that night.”

“I am so grateful for the years of knowing all of you in the watercolor society.  You are my people!  I will miss you.”  Joyce Green

Anne Watson Sorensen is thrilled that her watermedia painting “Threshold of Silence” was juried into the NWWS International Exhibition by juror DongFeng Li.  The online only exhibition will be held Oct 30 – Dec 11th by registering at NWWS.org. The NWWS International Exhibition and Awards Reception online on Friday, Oct 30th from 6-8 pm.  http://www.nwws.org.   Anne Watson Sorensen is also pleased to have 2 paintings accepted into the juried Sun Valley Airport show with the opening reception Nov 18 from 5:30-7:00 in Hailey.

Carrie Cornils will be the featured artist of the month of November at the Watersedge Gallery inside the Riverside Hotel.  Opening reception is Sunday November 8, 2026 5:30 – 7:30pm. Please join us to celebrate all of the artists displayed in November. The reception includes the PAPI show on the first floor!  Carrie also has two paintings in the IWS Boise Cascade building show Nov. 2 – 16. Her hand painted Christmas ornaments will be on display at Create Gallery and Frames and the Riverside Hotel in November and December, and her painting “Forest Harmony” will be on display at the Sun Valley Airport November 2026 – May 2027.

Meredith Bobb, from the East Region, will have a solo show at The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho in the Corridor Gallery. The show features her collection of abstract meditative paintings and runs from October 29 through November 21.

Porter Gregory has been accepted into the NWWS 86th Annual International Open Online Exhibition. The Exhibition opens October 30, 2026 with an Online Awards ceremony from 5 to 7 pm, PST. and closes December 11, 2026.

Loretta Barra will be selling her Unique Watercolor Paint Strip Kits at The Eagle Holiday Bazaar at Eagle High School on November 7th 9-5 and 8th 10-3pm. Hope to see you there

Eastern Members:

Tamara Burnett has three paintings accepted into two prestigious juried art exhibitions:  1) “To Be or Not to Be” has been accepted into the Cincinnati Art Club’s annual national juried exhibition “Viewpoint 58”: https://cincinnatiartclub.org/viewpoint/. The Cincinnati Art Club is the second oldest art organization in the USA and is very well respected in fine art circles. The Host gallery website is https://shop.artclecticgallery.com/shop?rs=1  2)  “Buttons the Boston Terrier” and “Mr Riker- Maine Coon Cat” were juried into the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine International Exhibition on Animals in Art in Baton Rouge.  Tamara won the 2026 Associate Online Exhibition Best Handling & Technique Award from NOAPS (National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society) https://www.noaps.org/2026-member-on-line for “Mr Riker- Maine Coon Cat”. Lastly, Tamara won the Sponsor’s Choice award for her painting “Curious Friend- Alpaca” which is in the IWS East Region Fall Exhibition at the Carr Gallery in Idaho Falls. tamara@tamaraburnett.com

View the 2026 IWS Juried Membership Exhibition, juried by nationally renowned artist, JJ Jiang. Click any image to enlarge it and view in the slide show. 

Partners, Sponsors, & Donors

IWS would like to thank our partners, sponsors, and donors for the 2026 Juried Membership Exhibition

Partners: Roots Family History; The Riverside Hotel and Water’s Edge Gallery

Sponsors: Blick Art Materials; Jerry’s Artarama; M Graham and Co.

Donors: Catalyst Arts Collaboration; Cheap Joes Art Stuff ; The Merri Artist; Idaho Art Gallery; QOR Artist Watercolor; Holbein; Studio 77; Princeton Art Brush Co.; Strathmore