Finding value

Whoo hoo! I just got a new shipment of Value Finders, including GREEN ones! 

Value Finders are translucent colored plexi. They help artists correctly distinguish values by canceling out color. When an artist looks at their subject or their painting through the Value Finder, they see only the lights and darks without the distraction or confusion of colors. 

Red and Green Value Finders

I began selling Red Value Finders many years ago when I realized they were hard for my students in find in art supply stores. This started as a service to provide a source for a much needed artist tool for my students, but now anyone can order them through my website. Red is used for landscapes and seascapes, and is the most common. I've been looking for many years for the right shade of green that could be used for portraits and figures, and I finally found it. I now sell both options on my website for $5 each plus shipping and handling. 

Ordering is easy on my main webpage.  https://www.anniestrackart.com/ 

The Value Finders are 4"x6", and can also be used as View Finders. Artists can draw grid lines on them as well, making them perfect drawing aides. Another nifty trick is to hold it up in front of your subject and trace the subject directly onto the Value Finder with a dry erase marker -- this provides the artist with a fast and easy compositional sketch of their subject. 

Our house in Brittany, upgraded again!

 The house we had previously rented for our Brittany trip was double booked and we had to find another -- not an easy task to do on short notice! But it worked out better than ever, as we upgraded to a fabulous little castle that's easy walking distance to both the beach and the village! 

Our grand little chateau features 6 bedrooms and 5 baths -- plenty of room! Gorgeous views from every angle. It's a 2 minute walk to the sandy beach with access to windsurfing, kayaking, and paddle-boarding. The village is just a 12 minute walk away with plenty of shops, pubs, and cafes to offer. There's a nearby harbor with plenty of boats and other subjects to inspire our paintings, and it's a lovely place to stroll after dinner. There's even a golf course less than a mile away! 

New workshops just added!

 My workshop last weekend for the Hawaii Watercolor was tremendous fun. Everyone finished three complete paintings in 2 days! 

Annie Strack workshop, HWS

Because this workshop sold out so fast and we had so many people on the waiting list, we've added another one. The next workshop is April 2 - 3, and it only has a few spots left. We will be painting water surfaces and reflections again, but we are going to use totally different reference photos so we will be painting completely different subjects. Sign up here!

Here's what we painted last week:

Beach, 12x16

Sunfish, 16x12

lighthouse, 12x16

In other news, I'm currently assisting the National Watercolor Society's annual members exhibit, and we just finished vetting the entries on CaFE' to send them to the juror, Tim Saternow. Whew! What an exciting job! It's a lot of work, but the opportunity to administer such a large and prestigious exhibit is more than worth it. I can hardly wait to do it again this summer for the International Exhibition!