Just Skies! Watercolor Workshop

Just Skies! -- Watercolor workshop at my summer studio in Kennett Square, 10-4pm Aug 4, $68.

In this workshop, artists will concentrate on painting a variety of skies with watercolors. Daylight, sunsets, evenings, as well as different types of cloud formations and light variations. Skies as they look on sunny days, and in foggy conditions, haze, rain, and stormy weather.

Lunch, beverages, and watercolor paper are provided. The class runs from 10am to 4pm.

Students need to bring their own watercolor paints and brushes. I suggest:

Ultramarine blue, Cobalt, Payne's Grey, Indigo, Sepia, and both a warm and cool selection of red and yellow, and any other colors you like to use. For brushes, you need to have a large flat (preferably 1" or so) and a large round (about #16 or larger). I like to have students bring both soft and firm brushes if they have them -- soft brushes for loose work, and firm brushes for control. You do not need to purchase anything special or specific for the class. Colors can be approximate. Brushes do not need to be any brand or specific hair -- just as long as they are good quality and not too small.

Paper is provided by Twinrocker Handmade Paper - because I insist on using the best!
Send me an email to register for this workshop, or check out our calendar page for other workshops.

Lovely Book Commemorates the 125th Anniversary of Sennelier!

Whenever a package arrives at my door from Sennelier, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. The wonderful folks over at Sennelier make the best paint in the world, and they've been doing it for 125 years. To commemorate their milestone anniversary, they've come out with a fascinating and informative book that details the company's journey and history. The book is full of stories and photos of the many famous artists that worked with Sennelier art materials over the years, along with delightful insights and reminiscences about the company and the products. I particularly loved reading the various correspondences between the immpressionist painters and Gustave Sennelier, as they described the colors and qualities that they wanted when they placed their orders for supplies.

But the best thing I love about this book is the inscription, hand-written by Dominique Sennelier - current head of the company and grandson of founder Gustave Sennelier:
"To Annie Strack. We share the same love of art and the passion for colors, Louisiana to Paris. Best regards, D Sennelier"

Like everything from Sennelier, the book is beautiful. But the inscription makes it precious, and I will treasure it, always!

Watercolor Workshops and More!

Whew! This summer seems to be just flying by! Workshops and classes in my summer studio in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania have been keeping me busy, as well as the online courses I teach at Artist Network University. I get lost in the moment when I'm surrounded with eager art students! There's still a few spaces open in some of my up-coming workshops, so send me an email if you're interested in signing up. Check out my Calendar Page to see the full schedule. If you can't travel to one of these scheduled workshops, you can organize one yourself -- or contact your local artist organization and ask them to host a workshop. I love to travel!

Twinrocker Handmade Paper

In other news, Twinrocker Handmade Paper is not only my favorite paper for watercolor - it's the ONLY paper I use! Twinrocker is providing the paper for all my students in my workshops and studio classes. From now on, my students will only be using the best watercolor paper in the world! I'm very pleased that everyone who studies with me will now be using the same high quality professional artist papers that I use. The best way to get great results, is to use only the best products!

St Croix Beach (c) 2012 Annie Strack

Here's a recent painting on Twinrocker paper. This paper is brighter and whiter than other brands of watercolor paper, and comes in a huge selection of sizes with deckled edges. It's textures, color, weight, and sizing make it far superior to all other watercolor papers, and I'm thrilled that my students will be using it in my workshops!