new paintings

This is the last week to come and visit me while I paint live on location at Interiors & Imports, 813 Florida Street in Mandeville. I started this one last week, and hope to finish it tomorrow. I've painted the water and most of the reflections, and now I'm working on the motors and hulls.

Also painted these two seascapes last week, and I'll be mounting them on cradled art boards as soon as the varnish dries. The weather always turns extra humid here when I'm trying to varnish!



Next week I'll be going to Negrotto's Gallery in Biloxi to drop off another painting. If you're in the area, stop in!

Also in November is the annual St Bernard Art members show in Chalmette. I'll be there, of course, and you are all invited to come and spend the day at one of the area's largest art shows. Thinking of entering? Click here for the prospectus.

Last Sunday I had a great time at the polo match in Folsom, sponsored by Inside Northside Magazine!

Here's me, and artist friends Valerie Melancon, Mary Andersson, and Kelly Landrum-Hammell enjoying the fantastic weather!

Newest painting, raku firing, & other events!

I had a very productive week, and finished this painting while at Interiors & Imports painting on location. I'll be there this Friday and Saturday again, so be sure to stop in!

Yellow Dinghy, 14x20 watercolor by Annie Strack

Monday I hosted Kelly Landrum-Hammell's pottery class for a day of raku firing in my backyard. Kelly came and set up the kilns on Sunday, and we began firing at 8am the next morning and didn't finish until 10pm. 14 kiln loads of raku! Here's a photo of Kelly transfering a red hot pot from the kiln to the reduction can...

more photos from the raku class can be seen posted in this online album

Also donated two paintings to the local Habitat for Humanity this morning.

One painting is for the auction fundraiser on November 20th in Slidell, and the other painting will be given to a new Habitat homeowner. Habitat has helped hundreds of families become homeowners in this region, and I'm proud to give a donation to the auction and an extra painting that will go directly to one of the hardworking and deserving families that Habitat serves.

I drove to Biloxi last week and had a wonderful time meeting the great folks at Negrotto's Gallery! Negrotto's is now carrying a selection of my seascapes and abstract paintings, you can check them out online here or visit them at 2645 Executive Place in Biloxi, behind Edgewater Mall. Be sure to tell them I sent you!

painting 'live' at the gallery

This weekend I painted on location at the gallery again, and I finished this painting of dinghies that I started the week before. When I saw this group of dinghies tied to the boardwalk in Christiansted I loved the way the shadows reflected on the water and contrasted with the white hulls. But the thing that caught my attention most was the name of the blue dinghy, 'FLUFFY'. It seemed so intimate, like the name of a beloved pet.

I'll be at Interiors & Imports again this Friday and Staurday, painting on lacation in the store. This week I'll be working on more new paintings in my dinghy series and I'd love for you to come by and visit with me while I paint!
see you then,
Annie

Painting on location at Interiors and Imports

Every Friday and Saturday in October I will be painting on location at Interiors and Imports in Mandeville. Come by and visit with me while I paint!

I painted this one last week, and I'm almost done with it. After I got home I realized I forgot to paint in the name on the yellow dighy, which is Homer. The name of the boat was one of the things that initially charmed me about this scene when I came across it in the Virgin Islands. I finished it up today, painting in some more of the little details and the name on the boat.

I've lived all over the country and traveled around the world, and when people ask me where I'm from I usually answer that I currently live in Louisiana. The next question is always 'yes, but where is home?', and I never really have a good answer for that, because I don't feel that I've found 'home' yet. It could be the next place I live, or it might be the one after that, or maybe I would never find that place that would evoke that elusive feeling in me of the place I wanted to return to. The first time I went to the island, I saw these little boats and the name on the yellow one seemed prophetic. I think I'll title this painting The Odyssey.