Try-it Dots from Daniel Smith Art Supplies

My friends at Daniel Smith art supplies sent me this wonderful new watercolor product called Try-it Dots. The product has 238 small paintable samples of Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors, and includes the description and properties of each color. One of the things I love about this product is that it enables me to see and test actual pigments, and allows me to try a huge assortment of colors without investing in a lot of expensive tubes of paint. The Try-it Dots is a fabulous full reference chart of actual colors, and it’s also a full set of usable paint samples.

As you can see in the photo, so far I’ve mostly tried the blues and greens and I still have a lot of pigments left to work with. Here are four small 5”x8” seascapes that I’ve created this week, using only the Daniel Smith Try-it Dots.

Some of the colors (like the iridescents, interferenscents, pearlescents, and duochromes) are too prismatic in appearance to work well with my traditional style of seascapes and landscapes, but these metallic pigments are a perfect addition to the palette that I use for my abstract watercolor paintings and will add a whole new dimension and exciting new trend to my series.

#PowerArtists Interview

I'm honored to be the first artist featured in the new #PowerArtists interview series! The interview and series is on Fine Art Tips, a website dedicated to empowering artists by sharing knowledge and skills.

Here's a brief introduction to the series...
Welcome to the first #PowerArtists interview. Last week, FineArtTips.com announced the first 10 #PowerArtists. This ongoing series is dedicated to acknowledging individuals for their excellence in the Arts and Social Media. This week I am proud to introduce one of the most influential artists on Twitter, the multi talented go-getter, Annie Strack – a true #PowerArtist.

“#PowerArtists are the social media ‘rockstars’ of the art world! Not only are they talented creatives, but they understand how to harness the power of social media and use it to promote their art careers. #PowerArtists are inspiring and freely share their knowledge with others.” ~ Lori McNee, Publisher, Fine Art Tips
Read the whole article here!



Excellence in

Art & Social Media

Also this week, I found out that I am listed as one of the top 5 artists to follow on Twitter! Another great honor that I'm proud to share! The full article is here, on Social Times - The Social Media Source.
"Anything arts-related, Annie is your go-to girl! She tweets advice for aspiring writers, and links to information on government grants for the arts in addition to promoting her written work and art-related events and workshops, both local and across the U.S."

Video Interview - Grants for Artists

A few months ago I was interviewed by Matthew Lesko for his My American Benefits Plan website. Lesko is a financial guru, specializing in helping people navigate the processes of applying for public grant funds, financial aid, and other available government programs and benefits. My interview is about how I used public grant funding to produce my DVD and TV show Painting Seascapes in Watercolor, and offers information and insight into the grant process.

The video interview can also be seen on Matthew Lesko's website, where you can find more helpful videos and information about numerous other government funding programs.

Be sure to check out the July/August 2010 issue of Art Calendar magazine to read my indepth article which details the funding, filming, editing, and production processes of my video.