Painting Workshop in Delaware!

Let's get out and paint this summer! You can join me in a fun workshop in Milford, Delaware, June 8-9. I'll be teaching all my secrets for painting fantastic seascapes and gorgeous beach scenes. We'll spend a day in the studio, followed by a day painting en plein air on the local beach. Contact the Mispillion Art League to sign up NOW!

I'm excited to report that I'm featured on ArtistsNetwork.com as the winner of the Watercolor Artist magazine's Creativity Challenge!

This painting and several other from my Dinghy Series are featured. Want to paint like me? Read my step-by-step painting process for this painting!

I have a lot of events coming up in the next couple of weeks, including plein air, juried exhibits, demonstrations, and workshops. Be sure to check out my Calendar Page to keep up, and come out and see me in person!

New Classes and Events Start Soon!

My next class at Artists' Network University starts next week! Once again I'll be teaching Watercolor for the Absolute Beginner, which is ANU's most popular course. This 4-week course is taught online, so I get students from all over the world in my class.

Here is a great example of coursework painted by Lynn Jacobs in my last class. This was the last assignment of the course, and Lynn had already successfully completed a myriad of lessons that included mixing colors, negative and positive painting, value studies, perspective exercises, painting techniques, and more. In this exercise, Lynn mixed a full palette of colors and values using just a basic triad of primaries, and created this gorgeous painting using the techniques she learned in the class. Pretty amazing work for a beginner, isn't it?

Watercolor painting completed in class by my student. Lynn Jacobs, 2013

Also coming up soon is my Watercolor Painting Workshop in Milford, Delaware, June 8th and 9th. This 2-day event will consist of painting in the classroom and learning the various techniques for painting water, surf, sand, and skies, follwed by a day on the beach to paint on location and apply all the techniques that were learned the previous day in the classroom. Come ready to paint to your heart's delight for two full days!! (Information available for local B&B or motel options)
$165 MAL member/$185 NM (One day option available for $105/$115)min 8/max 20
Register by June 1.

The 1st weekend in June I'll be painting at Valley Forge National Historial Park, where I'm chairing the annual Plein Air paint-out for the Philadelpia Watercolor Society. I'll be there all day Satuday, June 1st, so be sure to come up to me and say "hi" if you see me out there!

Philadelphia Watercolor Society juried exhibit

I'm thrilled to announce that this painting was accepted into the Philadelphia Watercolor Society juried members show. Thank you to juror Jill Rupinski. The reception is this Friday, March 29, from 7-9 pm in the Boyer Gallery of The Hill School in Pottstown. I hope I see you all there! I'm also co-chair of this event, so I expect all of you to make an extra effort to attend!

Fluffy Near the Edge, 14x20 Watercolor, Annie Strack



My 8th Signature Membership!

This week, I'm proud to announce that I've been juried into the Baltimore Watercolor Society as a Signature Member! It is my 8th Signature Membership, and I'm flush with the honor.

I'm also happy to announce that the Louisiana Watercolor Society will be awarding my DVD "Painting Seascapes in Watercolor" to some of the winners in their 43rd International Juried Show in May, 2013. I'm thrilled to be a sponsor of this event, and I hope you all can come out to see the exhibit!

 



If your in the northern states this spring, be sure to come visit me at the Philadelphia Watercolor Society exhibit, March 29 to May 11 at the Boyer Gallery in the Hill School, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. I'm also the co-chair of this exhibit, so you will see me at the opening and at all of the events.

Also starting this week, is another 4-week online watercolor painting course at Artists Network University. I've been teaching the beginning watercolor course at ANU for a little over a year now, and I love that my students are able to take this class from anywhere in the world. So far, I've had students attending classes from every continent except Antartica! How cool is that!

Be sure to check out my Calendar Page for information about all my upcoming exhibits, classes, and workshops. I'd love to see you at my next event!

Louisiana Watercolor Society Exhibit



Yay! This painting has been accepted into Louisiana Watercolor Society 43rd International Juried Exhibit! This is the 3rd time my work has been juried into the LWS exhibit, so I have finally earned Signature Membership in the society. This is my 7th Signature Membership, total. I just got back from New Orleans after teaching a workshop there, and I don't think I'll be able to make another trip right away. But I'll be shipping this painting so it'll be there soon!

 

 

Yellow Dinghy, Annie Strack

Painting and Traveling in Louisiana

I just got back from a exteneded trip in the south, where I judged an art show, attended a few exhibit openings, and taught a sold-out workshop. Here's a few photos from the trip!

Carrie Waller and I at the Louisiana Watercolor Society members show reception

 Carol Hallock and I took a side trip to the beach -- here's Carol gathering shells in Pensacola.

 My workshop in Madisonville was fantastic! 26 very talented students created 3 paintings, each, in 2 days! I'll post photos of our paintings later...

I sat in on a few of Kelly Landrum Hammell's classes at Pottery Studio KLH in Slidell -- Here's Carolyn Finnell looking on as Kelly demonstrates throwing a pot.

Paintings from my Plein Air Weekend

The weather for the Chadds Ford Plein Air was less than perfect. In fact, it was unbearable! Friday started off with light snow, that quickly blew away as the wind gusts reach 50 mph. Combined with an overcast sky, and tempertures in the low 20s and teens, and it's a wonder that none of the artists suffered frostbite. I managed to get two paintings done on that first day. Saturday was colder, but the sun came out for a while and the winds died down, and I was able to finish off three more small paintings and get everything framed and turned in before the opening reception began at 5pm. The paintings will remain on display at the Chadds Ford Historical Society visitor's center, on Creek Road in Chadds Ford. If you're in the area, stop in and check out the show! All the paintings in the exhibit are for sale.

 

Barns-Brinton House, 5x7 oil



Brandywine River at the Museum, 8x10 oil

Painting En Plein Air

The forecast for this weekend is looking pretty good, and I expect some decent weather when I go out to paint in the Chadds Ford Plein Air event on Friday and Saturday. I hope to see many of my friends out painting, and meet lot's of new ones! Be sure to come out to the artist reception and wet paint sale on Saturday night, and introduce yourself to me.  An “Exclusive Preview Party” will take place on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. Preview ticket holders will be treated to a first look and sale of wet paintings, hors d’oeuvres, and wine. After the preview party, the event is open to the general public from 6-9pm. The Art Exhibit stays up until February 22, 2013 at the Chadds Ford Historical Society's Barn Visitors Center.

In other news, I'm getting ready to go to New Orleans to teach a workshop and jury a show for the Arts For Madisonville. My workshop sold out a long time ago, but you can still enter the art exhibit. This workshop sold out so quickly, that we've decided to add an extra bonus for the many artists and fans who were turned away when the event sold out. So, on Friday evening of February 22, I will be conducting a live painting demonstration at the exhibit. The event will be free for members of Art For Madisonville, and a small fee (I'll let you know when I find out) will be charged for non-members. For more information about entering the show, go to Art For Madisonville and download the prospectus.

And, be sure to check out this new feature about me on The Artistic Blog,
and this wonderful new article in the Times-Picayune,
and this lovely new blogpost from Artsy Shark!

Painting Snow!

My next workshop is coming up soon in my Kennett Square Studio! This time I will be teaching How To Paint Snowy Landscapes in Watercolor. Students can bring their own photos to work from, or they can choose photos from my archives. Here's a couple of photos from my reference library, which I shot a couple a weeks ago at my studio.

This is a one-day workhsop on February 8, from 10-4 pm. The cost of the workshop is $68, and lunch is included. Email me for more details, or to sign up. Workshops sell out quickly, so don't wait too long!

This is one of my watercolors of a snowy landscape. Notice how the colors of teh landscape are repeated in the shadows on the snow -- Snow is reflective, and that is why the shadows match the sky colors or the elements nearby. A bright sunny day will cast bright blue shadows, a dark overcast day will cast dark grey shadows, and shadows in pine forests will have a green cast to them. The tiny ice cystals of snow refracts and reflects light and color.

In other news, be sure to come out and watch me paint at Chadds Ford Plein Air, February 1-2. There's a reception and wet paint sale on Saturday, Feb 2, from 5-9 pm. I hope to see you there!

The Top Artists to Watch in 2013 – Part 2!

These artists are the top Rising Stars in the art world, setting the world on fire with innovative works that are gaining the attention of curators and collectors throughout the world.  These talented people share several qualities besides outstanding talent, including great business and marketing skills and impressive knowledge of the materials they use and the subjects they paint. Most of all, they possess a willingness to share their skills and knowledge with others in order to help artists everywhere achieve a higher level of professionalism.  The respect they are earning in the art community is quickly propelling them to the top of their fields.

Be sure to click on the names to visit their websites and learn more about them, and follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and their blogs!

I posted the first half of my list a week ago, and now, here is Part 2...

1.       Lori McNee

2.       Kathi Peters

3.       Becky Joy

4.       Leslie Saeta

5.       Jason Nelson

6.       Rick DiBiasio

7.       Karyn Meyer

8.       Paula Lewis

9.       Carolyn Edlund

10.   Ken Powers