New Paintings and Plein Air Workshops!

It's been a busy Spring season for art, with workshops, demos, classes, and shows every week. I've conducted so many events that I can't post them all in one blog post, so here's just a small sampling of paintings from recent events. 

SS United States, 6x6 watercolor on panel $75.

The SS United States is an old derelict ocean liner on the riverfront in south Philadelphia. Every time I drive by, I stop and marvel at it's beauty. This 6x6 painting is mounted on panel and displayed in a floater frame. It is a bargain at $75, but there's a catch -- the painting is not available for sale until 10am Saturday, May 20, in my studio during the Chester County Studio Tour. So if you want it, you have to come and get it, and -- be first in line. But there will also be 4 other artists displaying and selling their paintings in my studio that day, so you can also find great deals on fabulous artworks by Jeanne Kirby Bruneau, Tom Dempsey, Karen Frattali, and Carrie Barcomb. The studio tour is Saturday and Sunday, so be sure to stop by! We'll have wine and nibbles, painting demos, door prizes, and great artwork! The studio is at 105 Kabob Lane, Kennett Square, PA.

Chilly, $195. 11x15 watercolor on 140# CP Stonehenge Aqua paper

 More great paper has arrived from the awesome folks at Legion Paper! They sent me a case of the 300# Stonehenge Aqua to try out and share with my students. I loved the 140# paper they sent earlier, and didn't think it could get any better -- then I tried the 300#, and it's twice as nice! This paper is bright white and holds up better than I thought was even possible. No buckling or warping at all, not even with the heavy wet washes I used to create these paintings of skies and seascapes. The bright white color of the paper keeps my colors vibrant, clean, and fresh.

Sunset, $95. 11x15 watercolor on 300# CP Stonehenge Aqua paper

 I taught watercolor workshops for the Art Educators of New Jersey and for the Baltimore Watercolor Society last month, and used the new Stonehenge Aqua paper and also gave away free samples to all my students in both of them. I haven't photographed all the paintings yet, so there's still a few more besides these!

Beach, $125. 11x15 watercolor on 140# CP Stonehenge Aqua paper

 Last weekend, I conducted a plein air painting demo for the Audubon Society during their grand re-opening of their museum. This is John James Audubon's house at his farm "Mill Grove," in Audubon, Pennsylvania. The house is a museum and has been closed for the last couple of years for renovations, but finally reopened last month. Tons of people came to watch my demo, and I had a wonderful time painting in perfect weather at a beautiful location!

Audubon House, $95. 9x12 watercolor on 140# Stonehenge Aqua paper

 The Audubon House plein air demo painting is on the new Stonehenge Aqua watercolor paper, which now comes in blocks! I absolutely love painting on blocks -- the pad of paper is gummed on two sides, which firmly holds the paper down flat while painting. The blocks are ideal for plein air painting, as it provide a stable support for the paper and makes it easy to place on the easel or carry around to painting locations. I've packed several of the blocks in my gear to take to Spain later this week for my plein air workshop. In fact, it's the only paper I'm taking, so I suppose we can say that the Stonehenge Aqua blocked paper is the Official Paper of the 2017 Annie Strack Plein Air Painting Workshop in Spain! I also found out that this workshop also sold out last month, so my long standing record of filling every workshop still remains unbroken!

New watercolor blocks of Stonehenge Aqua paper!

 Here's some of the art supplies I've packed for my plein air workshop in Spain -- in addition to the Stonehenge Aqua paper blocks, I'm also taking a sturdy easel and umbrella, spare glasses, value finder, and the usual paints and brushes. I always bring gifts to give to my students, and one of the items that this class will receive is small spiral bound sketch books that they can each fill with the scenes from places we visit and paint during our workshop, and keep as a wonderful memento of our trip!

Packing for plein air painting in Costa Brava, Spain!

I'm fixing to leave out for Spain now, and I'll catch up with more news when I get back. See ya then!

Plein Air Painting at the Brandywine Museum of Art

I had a wonderful day last week at the Brandywine River Museum of Art during their "Inside Out Plein Air" event. Three other artists and I were invited to paint inside the museum, which was especially nice since the outside temperature was in the high 90's with a heat index in the triple digits. I quickly painted a couple of watercolors of my view of the river, and then a small watercolor of the vase of white hydrangeas in the lobby.

Brandywine River Plein Air, 12x9 watercolor 

Brandywine River Plein Air, 9x12 watercolor 

Brandywine River Museum Interior, 6x4 watercolor 

I don't often get the opportunity to practice painting live figures, so I was thrilled to be able to get out my sketchbook and fill several pages. People standing around and walking about the museum lobby were perfect models, and because I was there with permission I was able to paint to my heart's content without any intrusions. Afterwards, some of my students saw my plein air figure sketches and have asked me to add the lessons to my schedule. Ask, and you shall receive! Figure Sketching in Watercolor is being added to the curriculum of my upcoming workshop in Spain, and one-day classes will be added to my lineup of studio classes.

Plein Air Figure Sketching in Watercolor

 In other news, merchandise is still arriving for the Plein Air Brandywine Valley event in October! Cheap Joe's Art Stuff just sent us a $100 Gift Card and fashionable painting apron that some lucky artist will win as a Merit Award at the event. The name of the comapany -- Cheap Joe's -- is quite an oxymoron as anyone who's ever done business with them knows they are as generous as the day is long.

We're now up to 14 Merit Awards, in addition to the top awards which total over $10,000 in cash! There's still time to apply, although the entries will close in a week so that notifications can begin.

$100 Merit Award for Plein Air Brandywine Valley from Cheap Joe's

Painting in the footsteps of Andrew Wyeth

On Wednesday I joined my friends in the Philadelphia Watercolor Society at Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford for a day of painting en plein air. A total of a dozen artists participated in the event, some driving from the other side of Pennsylvania and others from as far away as Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Kuerner Farm is famous for being the favorite painting location of Andrew Wyeth, and it's buildings and fields are the subjects and backdrops in hundreds of his paintings.

Sarah Yeoman, Janet Means Belich, and others painting in the shade of the farmhouse at Kuerner Farm.

Chris Krupinski painting the scenes that were once painted by Andy Wyeth.

The doghouse at Keurner Farm is a charming subject for artists to paint.

The Kuerner Farm springhouse provides a rustic feeling to the landscape.

Kuerrner Farm Doghouse, 8x5 watercolor and ink (sold)

 I sketched this scene of the doghouse using pen and ink and layered a watercolor wash over it using my Sennelier watercolors. The paper is handmade 140# from Garza Papel. Like all fine handmade papers, it has four deckled edges and an extremely bright white surface. The cold-pressed surface is a little softer than other brands of papers, giving it a velvety feel. I found it to be easy to work on, nice texture, wonderful color, and it has perfect amount of sizing which made it easy to move the paint around on it.

Kuerner Farm Springhouse, 5x8 watercolor

The Springhouse at Kuerner Farm was my first painting of the day. The sky was overcast most of the day, and the sun didn't come out until mid afternoon. When it did, the temperature soared into the nineties and it quickly became blistering hot. I painted this on 90# paper from Garza Papel, which of course did not perform as well with water as did their heavier paper. It is much softer, and much more absorbent. However, it is still a very fine handmade paper and perfect for drawings and sketches, and it is also brilliant white in color with four lovely deckled edges.

I found these papers from Garza Papel to be superior to machine made and mold made papers, particularly the brightness of the paper, the sizing, and deckled edges. Thank you, Garza Papel, for sending me these samples of your lovely papers!

Painting at Kuerner Farm

I have wonderful news! I just found out I've been invited back as a jury-exempt artist in the Plein Air Brandywine Valley this year! This prestigeous painting competition will be held in October, with the artwork exhibited at Winterthur Estate and Gardens in Wilmington, Delaware. This is my fourth year in this event, and because I am consistantly one of the top selling artists, it's my second year as an invited artist. The painting locations include the famous gardens and sites near my studio, as well as several private estates and gardens belonging to Du Pont family members. Even better, some of my old plein air painting buddies from New Orleans -- Carol Hallock and Mary Monk -- are coming up to paint with me, and will be staying at my house during the event. The event is currently accepting  artist applications fro jurying, if you're interested in applying you can click on the link for more information. 

In the meantime, I'm getting ready for my next plein air event of the summer -- the Philadelphia Watercolor Society Plein Air at Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford next Wednesday. This is a small one-day event, and it's non-competitive -- painting just for fun! I won't be giving any formal lessons during this event, but you're welcome to come and watch and me paint! 

Chester County Studio Tour is this Weekend!

I almost forgot to tell you -- this weekend is the annual Chester County Studio Tour! My studio is one of the 47 studios on the tour, with over 100 artists participating. I'll be open 10-6 pm on Saturday and Sunday, and  the studio is stocked with tons of food and drinks for the weekend. There's lot's of art, painting demonstrations, door prizes, and more! Be sure to come on out and visit me at Annie Strack Art Studio, 105 Kabob Lane, Kennett Square. 

My studio is number 43 on the map pictured below. It is right off of Creek Road (SR 82), between Hillendale and McFarlan Roads. See ya there!