Plein Air Brandywine Valley

I had a busy week painting in the Plein Air Brandywine Valley last week! I also hosted two visiting artists in my home, my friends Mary Monk and Laura Fischer Saxon from New Orleans.

Mary Monk and Annie Strack at Winterthur 

Laura Fischer Saxon and Annie Strack at Winterthur

 I painted from sunrise to sunset during the 4-day event, and finished 10 paintings. Each day, artists were allowed to choose from a list of 4 or 5 locations in the Brandywine valley area. The locations are different each day, and always full of gorgeous sites scenery. Many are vast private farms and estates, and some are more public like museums, gardens, or towns. This year, I painted the main street of Marshallton, Meyer's farm in Kennett, Winterthur, and Coverdale Farm. All the paintings were exhibited the following weekend at Winterthur, with a portion of the sales benefiting the Children's Beach House charity.

Merchant of Menace, 5x7  

Blacksmith Shop, 8x10 

Coverdale Entrance Road, 8x10 

Hay Bales at Coverdale Farm, 8x10  

Coverdale Fenceline, 8x10  (SOLD)

Entrance Road at Meyer's Farm, 8x10 

Hay Bales at Meyer's Farm, 8x10  

Farmhouse at Winterthur, 9x12  

Pond at Winterthur, 8x10  

Tree at Winterthur Pond, 8x10  

Much thanks to all the staff of the Children's Beach House and the volunteers of Plein Air Brandywine Valley for making this event so wonderful again! And special thanks to Janssen's Market for providing all the artists with delicious gourmet lunches every day of the event! 

Hands on Creativity!

Once again I had a wonderful time demonstrating painting during the Hands On Creativity event at the Plaza Art Store in Philadelphia! This year I demonstrated watercolor painting, using Daniel Smith watercolor paints, Fluid 100 watercolor paper, and Escoda Brushes. Tons of artists and art students stopped by to try these materials for themselves and learn from my painting demonstrations. This is a big annual event, and several other professional artists and product representatives were on hand to join me in this fun filled event. If you missed it, be sure to mark your calendars for next year! and be sure to check out the Plaza Art blog to keep up with their latest news, too!

Thomas Atkinson demonstrated his Super Power (drawing!) with Copic Markers

Gamblin Artists Colors -- a favorite with plein air painters (I bought a few items while I was there!)

Marta Kepka of The Fine Art Collective demonstrating Liquitex Artist Materials!

Kyle demonstrated the different types of totally awesome palettes from New Wave Art!

Plaza Artist Materials & Picture Framing employee extraordinaire Sarah showed artists how to have tons of fun with Sculpty Clay!

Art students from all over the city stopped to try the DANIEL SMITH: Artists' Materials watercolors, Escoda Brushes Pinceles Pinzells brushes, and Fluid 100 watercolor paper demonstrated by Philadelphia Water Color Society - PWCS board member Annie Strack.

New Tutorial! How to Paint the Scooter!

I always try to remember to shoot plenty of photos when I start a new painting, but I usually forget. When I do remember, I use those photos to write a step by step painting lesson and post them on the internet, either on my own blog or for one of my sponsors or affiliates. I love to share my techniques and help other aspiring artists hone their skills. Check out my latest tutorial on Artists Network and follow along as I paint this landscape with a scooter from start to finish. My tutorials are always filled with detail descriptions of all my techniques and each step is illustrated with photos. 

Annie Strack painting tutorial

This short tutorial is packed with tips and secrets for mixing dark colors, reserving whites and highlights, planning compositions, lifting paint, choosing colors, and more! Be sure to check it out, and leave a comment and share it with your friends!