Free watercolor painting demo -- Kayaks

Here's the finished painting from my demo! I cleaned up a few edges, and I added in two extra kayaks in the background. I made the kayaks in the background lighter in value, color in temperature, and grayer in intensity to depict distance through atmospheric perspective. 

 If you missed my live online demo the other day, don't despair -- I just uploaded it to YouTube! It's one hour long from start to finish. Be sure to check it out, and subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the latest updates. Better yet, follow me on Facebook, too, then you can watch in real-time when ever I paint live online!

 

I used my favorite art supplies in this demo -- Sennelier colors, Dynasty brushes, and Hahnemuehle paper. These are my "go-to" supplies that I recommend to everyone! 

another demo coming up!

 Next Monday I'm doing another live demo on Zoom, this time for the Salem County Art League in New Jersey. I'm really loving the option of conducting my demos via Zoom, as it allows me to teach for art groups anywhere in the world! Even better, the audience can tune in from anywhere in the world! My last zoom demo of the koi was so much fun, and so many artists asked me to do it again that I'm doing a similar painting for this next demo. 

Once again, I'll be using my favorite art supplies! Sennelier watercolors, Leonardo paper from Hahnemuehle, and the Water Lily line of brushes from Dynasty Brush.  

Testing New Watercolor Papers from Hahnemühle!

I recently received a new paper to try out from Hahnemühle USA, the Harmony 140 lb. cold pressed block. The best way I know of to test new paper is to put it through all the paces -- heavy washes, lifting, masking fluid, and other forms of abuse that I inflict upon my paper in the course of creating a painting. Here's a step by step tutorial of my koi painting, and a review of the paper in the process.

The Harmony 140 lb CP watercolor block from Hahnemuehle. 

Here's my drawing of koi with masking fluid protecting parts of the paper. I also outlined the koi with a thin line of masking fluid to allow me to work the background really wet and control the flow of water better. The masking fluid reserves the white of the paper, and the thin outline helps to keep my heavy wet washes from running out of control.

I used a variety of dark colors for the backgound, and a lot of palette mud, too. You can see from the puddles and sheen how wet the paper still is at this point. While the paper was still damp, I splashed a few drops of water onto it to create a few tiny spots of blooms. 

Next I painted my lightest values on the fish, the yellow colors. Notice my background wash is still wet -- I used a lot of water!

Here I added my medium values to the koi, namely the orange and red colors -- cadmiums, vermillion, quinacrodone rose, violet, and a little sepia for the darks. Notice how light the background appears in this photo, compared to the previous photo? That's because it is now dry. I used a lot of water to create the background, and the more water you use, the lighter the watercolor paints will dry. Adding water to watercolor paint is akin to adding white paint to oils or acrylics -- it lightens the colors. 

More dark values are added using ivory black, sepia, indigo, and violet to create form and roundness to the fish. The masking fluid comes off easily, revealing perfectly preserved paper on which I can now paint.  

The koi have a freckled appearance to them, which I added with my darkest colors of ivory black. I scrubbed and lifted some areas that I had previously painted, to show some of the lighter patterns in the fish's colors.  

And finally, this is my finished painting of the koi. 

The Harmony paper from Hahnemuehle responded beautifully, and held up perfectly despite my abusive painting techniques. It naturally buckled under my heavy washes, but then dried flat. I really gave it a workout and didn't expect it to perform as well as it did, and I was pleasantly surprised that the paper far exceeded all of my expectations. The texture is quite nice, slightly toothy. The paper is surface sized and the amount of sizing appears to be quite generous, giving that the amount of water that I used and the lifting techniques all worked quite well. The color is soft white -- not overly bright, but no hint of any yellow or cream color. 

This paper is new, and is currently available at Art Materials Online. It will be available at other retailers soon. 

Keep up with all of Hahnemuehle latest products by following them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

How to make a quick and easy shelf for a watercolor easel!

Many watercolor artists paint flat -- using a table to paint upon rather than an easel. I prefer to use an easel, and I like a watercolor easel because it allows me to tip the painting flat when I'm laying in a wash, and tip it vertically for other techniques. The drawback to these easels is that there isn't anywhere to place a palette and other supplies-- so a table is still needed.

I came up with a new idea for an attachable easel shelf, that's simple and easy to make. And really inexpensive!

This is a wire closet shelf. It is 12 inches deep, and I cut it to 16 inches wide. I choose that size because it is the same size as a 12x16 block of watercolor paper, so it will be easy to pack it with my blocks when I'm traveling. 

It is simply hung on the bracket screws on the easel's legs. The bracket screws are made to hold the canvas shelf (aka stabilizer shelf). My easel has two pairs of these brackets, and I hung my new shelf on the lower pair. My canvas shelf is right above it, on the other pair. 

This photo shows how the shelf rests on the easel. I added a larger washer behind each of the screws to help hold it more securely, but it really didn't need it. The two parallel horizontal bars of the shelf are what is holding it flat against the legs, and keeping the surface of the shelf level. The vertical connectors between the horizontal bars are spaced 12 inches apart -- the perfect width for bracing against the screws.

Want to learn more? Watch this short video for the full details on how to make and attach this shelf! Not sure how to attach it with only one pair of bracket screws? Watch the video to see how it can be secured with a bungee, instead. 

And here's another wire shelf. I found a small stack of these at the Habitat re-store, already cut to 16 inches wide and ready to hang. Best of all, they were priced at a buck a piece. Absolutely perfect.

More Plein Air!

A few more paintings from last the Brandywine Plein Air festival last week!

Frolic's Ford, 8x10 oil 

Pasture at Big Bend, 8x10 oil 

 During the exhibit at Winterthur, I demonstrated plein air painting in the main tent to entertain visitors. Here I am with my half-finished watercolor demo on Saturday. The painting sold before the paint was dry!

On Sunday I demonstrated watercolor painting again, this time using a photo from my recent plein air workshop in Calella de Palafrugell as my reference. Both my demo paintings are on the "Cezanne" 140 lb rough watercolor paper from Hahnemuehle. I was demonstrating alongside my co-organizer of  Plein Air Brandywine, Yvonne Mucci; and I invited my house guest Gerilyn Gaskil to join us. I gave each of them a block of the paper to use, and both of them loved it every bit as much as I do.

Plein Air Painting Workshop in Pennsylvania

 September proved to be the perfect time to teach a plein air workshop in Pennsylvania! The weather was mild with temps in the 70's and the sky was clear when my students and I gathered at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. The location was perfect, as well. I chose a spot under the canopy of trees where my students could take advantage of the shade and the picnic tables, and had a wonderful view of several compositional subjects to from which to choose.

My students, working hard on their watercolor plein air paintings. 

My demo painting from my plein air workshop.

  The tower that I chose to use for the subject of my workshop is not "made up" -- it's an actual folly in the garden of the Art Center, as you can see in this photo!

 Al of my students use Value Finders. Here, Carol is looking at me to see if I have any values...

 More photos of my workshop students working on their paintings...

My next class at this location begins in January. Be sure to follow my updates to get the latest info.

All of my students worked on these 12x16 blocks of "Cezanne" watercolor paper provided by Hahnemuehle. I love when companies send products to me to try, and I love it even more when they send products to all of my students! I love the paper, and my students all got to try it out for themselves and experience the nice texture, outstanding brightness, and perfect sizing of this paper first-hand. Thank you, Hahnemuehle!

New Workshop just added! Plein Air painting in Watercolor!

New workshop just added! I'm teaching a 1-day plein air watercolor workshop at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford in September! This workshop is already starting to fill up, so sign up now if you want to get in before it's too late.

Students will learn how to break through the confusion of choosing a plein air painting subject, and learn how to plan a landscape composition by eliminating distractions and focusing on their subjects. They will learn how to capture light and shadow in their paintings, and how to see the landscape in simplified shapes of colors and values. They will learn how to mix colors with a limited palette, and depict a variety of perspective techniques to create depth and dimension in paintings. Students will learn how to sketch quick value studies, and add buildings, architectural elements, and gestural figures to the landscape to create drama and interest in their paintings. A variety of techniques will be demonstrated, and students will receive lots of hands on individual instruction and critique.

• This workshop takes place outdoors, so please bring a folding chair.
• Rain date will be September 19.

Instructor -- Annie Strack
Annie Strack has earned Signature Membership in 9 artist societies including the International Society of Marine Painters, and she is an Official Authorized Artist for the U.S. Coast Guard. Her paintings are exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the world and have been featured in over 20 solo shows. She is the author of the art instruction video Painting Seascapes in Watercolor which is broadcast on television stations worldwide and also available on DVD, and since 2005 she’s been a Contributing Editor for Professional Artist magazine. She teaches painting at Artists Network University, and she travels around the world to teach workshops, jury art exhibits, and paint en plein air. Her artwork has received hundreds of awards and hangs in over 1,000 collections worldwide including U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Pentagon, U.S. Senate, Veterans Administration, and many more.

Required supplies for this course:

• Palette containing your favorite (or standard) watercolors
• Assorted watercolor brushes (natural hair such as sable and squirrel preferred)
• Sketchbook or journal for sketches
• Several pieces of 140# CP or rough watercolor paper, small sizes, no larger than quarter sheet (Watercolor Blocks preferred)
• Water container
• Pencil
• Value Finder (you may purchase one from instructor for $5 if you don't have one)
• Optional: Watercolor easel, plein air umbrella, hat

Acrylic Painting Demos at Plaza Art Stores!

Come join me at the Plaza Artist Materials & Picture Framing stores in Washington, DC, Fairfax, Towson, and Baltimore for free acrylic painting demos with Amsterdam Acrylics! These are hands-on demos, meaning you can try the paints and mediums for yourself! I'll also be giving away free samples and there will be special sales in the stores to celebrate these awesome events. You won't want to miss it!

More new paintings and demos from Plein Air Brandywine Valley festival!

The last couple of weeks I've been busy with the Plein Air Brandywine Valley festival. The event kicked off with a reception for the artists at the Marshallton Inn, where everyone received their welcome packets with the event schedule and artist info, and swag bags full of wonderful goodies donated by our generous sponsors. Artists started painting the very next morning and continued for four days. We started the week off by painting at farms and estates in the Greenville, Delaware area on Monday, then Marshallton, Pennsylvania on Tuesday (including a Quick Draw event!), then Chesapeake City, Maryland on Wednesday (followed by a Nocturne painting event), and finished up back in Delaware on Thursday. On Friday, we hung the show at Winterthur and the paintings were judged by Steve Doherty, editor of Plein Air Magazine and prizes were awarded during a gala reception. 

I demonstrated landscape painting using Mission Gold Watercolors provided by Martin F. Weber Fine Art Products on both Saturday and Sunday for visitors enjoying the exhibit at Winterthur.  

Painting away in Chesapeake City. Busy Bridge, 5x7 watercolor on canvas, SOLD. 

I finished 8 paintings during the event, and sold 3 of them before the paint was dry. 

Me, with Steve Doherty after the judging. As one of the event organizers, my paintings were not included in the judging, but I did get to participate in all the events and sold several paintings! 

New Paintings, Upcoming events, and lightfingered artists

Last weekend I demonstrated plein air painting at Marshall Square park in West Chester to promote the upcoming Plein Air Brandywine Valley. I painted two paintings of the fountain, one in oils and one in watercolor - using my new palette of watercolor pans from Mission Gold. The travel set of Mission Gold watercolors was a gift from the Weber company, who generously gave me samples to give out to all the artists who registered for Plein Air Brandywine Valley and also to all the artists who attended my demo for the Philadelphia Watercolor Society. 

They also gave me a set of paints to use during my demo, but another artist intercepted my box of samples when it arrived at the PWCS event and took everything, including my set of paints. She boldly announced that she was the one who got the samples for all the PWCS members, and then began handing out my samples to the audience. She even generously offered to give two of my samples to me! I was so flabbergasted by her outrageous behavior that I couldn't find the words, and I walked away. Not to worry, as I work with the Weber company on many projects and they sent me another set in the mail a few days later. It arrived in time for me to use in this demo and also the one I did for Jerry's Artarama last Friday. 

Marshall Square Park Fountain, 8x10 oil, SOLD

 Both paintings were sold off my easel before they were finished.

Marshall Square Park Fountain, 9x12 watercolor, SOLD

 Tomorrow night, I'll be at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia for the opening of the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Juried Show. I'm thrilled to be juried in this show, which had over 5,000 entries!

 Saturday, I'll be demonstrating plein air painting at Winterthur, beginning at 9am. If you're in the area, be sure to stop in and check it out! I'll be right near the main entrance of the museum, so you won't have to go far to find me.

Next weekend, I'll be demonstrating acrylic painting with Amsterdam Acrylics and conducting "make n take" classes at the Plaza Art Store in Towson, Maryland. This is the store's annual Hands On Creativity event, which features over a dozen different art supply companies and manufacturers displaying new products, offering free demos, and giving away samples. You won't want to miss this awesome event!

Paint with me in Spain!

I've just been booked (yesterday!) to teach a watercolor workshop in Costa Brava, Spain -- and it's already selling out fast! There are only 8 spaces left! This plein air watercolor painting workshop is May 1 - 8, 2017. The itinerary includes museums, medieval villages, botanical gardens, castles, fishing villages, and the beautiful coastal seashore of the Costa Brava in northern Spain.

Sign up NOW to reserve your space, before it's all sold out! Contact Jackie at French Escapade tours for more information or to sign up!

Do you know how to identify a good art instructor?

(Annie Strack teaching plein air painting in Spain)

My new watercolor class started yesterday at a local arts center. I started my course with the basic lessons about art materials -- I explained the different types, grades, uses, properties, and care of the various materials we use in class -- paper, paints, brushes, and more. How the materials are made, what the ingredients mean and why they are added, explanation of art and painting terms, and on and on and then moving on to drawing and design before getting into painting techniques.

(Annie Strack filming for television)

Most of my students have been taking watercolor painting classes from other art teachers at that center for years, and after the class they confided in me that everything I taught was new to them! Their previous teacher/teachers just SHOWED how she painted, but never EXPLAINED her processes -- like what makes a good composition, or why she choose certain colors, or the importance of values, or how color temperatures work, etc., -- nothing.

(Annie Strack giving the keynote address at the Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society)

My students lamented that their other teachers had never explained the differences between artist grade and student grade materials. Or the difference between washes and glazes. Or how to mix colors, or clean their brushes properly, or the difference between opaque and transparent colors, or, well, anything. They were so grateful to finally have an experienced professional teacher, and they eagerly soaked up knowledge. 

(Annie Strack's students at Nunez College)

Sadly, I've seen this all too often. A person can be a great artist, and at the same time, have little or no knowledge about art. There's nothing wrong with that. But being able to paint beautifully does not mean that they automatically possess the ability to teach art. I’ve watched lots of talented self-taught artists paint, and many of them have no idea how they create – they “just do it.”

(Annie Strack teaching at Delaware Watercolor Society)

Some of these artist can enjoy great success, and their paintings are featured in magazines and even win top awards in major juried exhibits. These are the idiot savants of the art world. People who were never taught how to mix colors or hold a brush, and yet they can produce a beautiful work of art through intuition -- without understanding how they did it.

(Annie Strack teaching watercolor painting techniques in New Jersey)

It’s like the people who can play an instrument “by ear,” but can’t read a note of music. Their music can sound perfect, but if they don’t know what key they used, or can’t tell you the name the chords, or show you the difference between flat and sharp, then they can’t teach you how to play the instrument.

(Annie Strack's workshop students in Mississippi)

Anyone can call themselves an artist, and any artist can call themselves an art teacher. This is why it’s so important for students to make sure that their teachers are good teachers, as well as good artists.

(Annie Strack's students at the Bayou Lacombe Art Center)

I'm seeing some of my former students are advertising that they are now teaching workshops and classes, even though they've only been painting for a short while.

(Annie Strack teaching a workshop in Ocean City, Maryland)

Although I make it look easy to my students, art and teaching both require training and practice. Someone may copy my lessons or paintings, but they can't teach from experience that they don't possess.

 (Annie Strack's students and Yves-Marie Salanson of Sennelier in France)

I have decades of training, knowledge, and experience, and spent years perfecting lessons and developing instructional materials for artists. It's better to learn my material directly from me, rather than from someone who has taken a workshop from me or just watched me demonstrate a technique.

(Annie Strack teaching at at Rowan College)

Before you sign up for an art class, make sure the instructor has demonstrated knowledge of whatever it is that she is teaching. Besides experience teaching in legitimate and prestigious venues such as schools, art centers, arts supplies stores, and artist organizations, look for teachers who have glowing references and recommendations.

(Annie Strack's workshop students in Charleston)

Most art instructors publish tutorials and lessons, and you can usually find samples online and in print. Look at their online videos and check out their DVDs. Read their tutorials that they wrote for art magazines, for art supply companies, and online blogs. You need to see evidence like these examples that prove the artist's teaching abilities. If you can't find any evidence, then it probably doesn't exist -- and that is a BIG red warning flag! 

(Annie Strack teaching artist materials at Plaza Art Stores)

The funny thing is, the bad classes are often the same price as the good classes. Would you rather spend your time and money in a class where you won’t learn anything, or would you rather spend that same time and money taking a class from a professional artist who has the knowledge, experience, references, qualifications, and credentials that prove her worth as an extraordinary teacher?

(Annie Strack teaching for the Louisiana Watercolor Society)

Don’t sign up for a class just because the artist is a remarkable painter, make sure the artist is a remarkable teacher, too! 

(Annie Strack teaching workshops at Jerry's Artarama's annual Art of the Carolinas)

Same goes for those of you who book the workshop artists and hire the art instructors – the good teachers don’t cost you any more than the bad ones, so do your homework and get the good ones!

(Annie Strack teaching for the Philadelphia Watercolor Society)

There are a lot of art teachers to chose from -- make sure you choose an artist who has a strong background in teaching art, has demonstrated her abilities by winning tons of awards, is recognized as a top artist by her many prestigious Signature Memberships, has actually studied art, and is vastly knowledgeable about artist materials and supplies. 

Annie Strack helping students learn how to make paint in Italy