August news

 We are almost done unpacking and getting ourselves set up for business. I still have about a dozens boxes to go, but that's because we are also doing a LOT of home improvement projects as well. Did I mention that the house in Pennsylvania sold right away? We had multiple cash offers well over our asking price within hours of it being listed, and we closed on the sale last month. We paid off the mortgages on both houses and now we're totally debt-free! 

our 40' container arrived in July!

We just had the roof redone and we have new sliding glass doors (with impact glass!) arriving soon. I planted bananas, papayas, pineapples, coconuts, a garden, and several ornamental plants, and I work on cutting back the jungle and improving the general landscaping plan a little more each week. We changed out doorknobs and bathroom fixtures and installed a new water heater. I've installed some smart lighting, and ordered a few more that should be here soon. Right now we're working on doors and closets -- most of the interior doors need to be cut down to fit, and the closets all need hanging rods and shelves (several closets still need doors, too!). And everything has to be painted, which is not exactly the kind of painting I was hoping to be doing right now.

Our temporary pool 😎

Next week we have a crew coming to remove a huge Kennip tree in front of the house, and the construction of the new swimming pool with deck and added bathroom is scheduled to begin in about a month. 

View of Gallows Bay from the bypass

Every day is another trip to the hardware store in Gallows Bay. We always seem to need one more thing to complete what ever project we are working on that day. 

In other news, I'm thrilled to report that my painting "the Teacher" juried into the 1st annual North American Watercolor Society International Exhibition. 

The Teacher, 14x20 watercolor

and my painting "the Scream" juried into the Red River Watercolor Society 33rd international Exhibition. Both exhibitions are online. 

The Scream, 12x16 watercolor

Between the unpacking and the home improvement projects, I'm running behind in setting up the reservations page for Caribbean Art Escapes. Give me a few more weeks. I don't think I will have all the extra bedrooms finished by the time season begins, so I think our first group might be limited to just four artists. But on the plus side, it looks like the new pool will be ready early! Be sure to follow me on facebook to catch when the registrations open. 

St Croix!

 We're here! We arrived at our new home in the Virgin Islands a little over two weeks ago, and we haven't had a moment's rest. Our house has been vacant for about a year so it was absolutely filthy -- I've been cleaning around the clock and I'm still not done. We also took time to get new driver's licenses, car registrations, post office box, and daily trips to the hardware store to get odds and ends. Today our plumber is here installing an ungraded filtration and purification system for our cistern water, and we are waiting on a load of gravel to level out the driveway. 

We have a small sea view from our patio where we like to have our morning coffee and watch the sailboats go by. 

Some of the wildlife that comes to visit us, right in our yard. The deer are small -- this little spiked buck is about 40 pounds!

The centipedes are mildly venomous. That's my size 12 foot for size reference!

Iguanas are plentiful. We also have a couple of different types of bats that come out en force at dawn and dusk. They are too fast for me to photograph in dim light. We have all types of birds, too!

Mongoose are everywhere. They eat the centipedes, so there's that...

This is the back of our house on St Croix. Notice the bright blue skies -- the weather here is amazing and although it is hot during the day, up to 90 degrees, there is a strong breeze so we keep the windows open and it's quite comfortable. Until yesterday -- a Sahara dust storm blew in and is covering the Caribbean with a dusty haze that is expected to last another day or two, so we closed the windows and turned on the AC to keep the dust out. 

Our household goods are on a very slooow boat, and won't arrive until the end of July. That is setting my schedule back by a few months, but I still hope to get everything up and running by the end of the year. 

final week before the big move

 We are down to the last week before we go to our island home. Our movers come and pack us out in a few days, and then we fly off to the Caribbean. Here's some last pictures of our house in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, which will be listed for sale in a couple of weeks with Lisa Lyons of EXP Realty. 

It's a big house, with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, large studio/rec room, living room, family room, eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, fireplace, 2+ cars garage, and an acre of park-like landscaped yard in a horsey neighborhood. 

It's a beautiful house, but I won't miss it. I love our new house in the Virgin Islands much more! 

Our cars shipped out over a week ago and they will arrive on the island next week as well. 

our cars on the bottom level of the transport truck, heading to the port.

I can hardly wait to get there! Our suitcases are packed and we are ready to start the next leg of our adventures. 

the kitchen in our house in the Virgin Islands

In other news, I just learned that my painting "The Scream" won a Merit Award in the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies 51st Annual Juried Exhibition. 

The Scream, 12x16 WC

One week from today I'll be on this beach. I've been planning this for over twenty years, and it's finally coming to fruition. 

more exhibits

 I'm thrilled to learn that BOTH of my entries were juried into the North Star Watercolor Society National Exhibition! I'm still in the process of moving overseas so I can't ship paintings right now, but this national exhibition is online only so I am able to participate. 

Into the Darkness, 12x16 wc

Old Friends, 16x12 wc

I also just contracted by the Rhode Island Watercolor Society to jury their National Exhibition in 2027 and to travel there to teach a workshop next summer. We'll be painting shore birds and beaches in Rhode Island!

And here's the most exciting news -- our moving company has finally confirmed a date for our move to the Virgin Islands! We'll be in our new home at Caribbean Art Escapes in three weeks! 

painting demostration

 Here are my three paintings from my 90 minute online painting demonstration for the Philadelphia Watercolor Society...

In other news, we are almost ready to move! We are working on getting the Pennsylvania house ready to sell, and we have spruced up the yard and gardens, scheduled contractors to paint the interior and replace the floor coverings, contracted a realtor, etc. We received all the estimates we needed from movers and shippers and we will get those contracts drawn up later this week. We expect to be in our new home by the end of May, at the latest! 

Sneak peak of our little island villa

Awards and demos

 I'm delighted to announce that my painting "Into the Darkness" won Honorable Mention Award in the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society Annual Member Exhibition! 

Into the Darkness, 12x16 WC

And don't forget -- my online painting demonstration for the Philadelphia Watercolor Society is this Saturday! Register on their website HERE to watch it live or to get access to the recording afterwards. 

more exhibition news

 I'm thrilled to announce that my painting "The Scream" juried into the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies 51st International Exhibition!

The Scream, 12x16 WC

I'm also pleased to announce that I am the judge of Philadelphia Watercolor Society Annual Member Exhibition. 

and I will also conduct a painting demonstration. 

I'm delighted to see this ad for my new business in the Spring issue of Plein Air Magazine, 

and excited that my painting "Surf's Up" was featured in Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. 

Surf's Up, 16x20 WC on board

Florida Keys Watercolor Society

 After many flight cancelations, delays, and rerouting, I finally arrived home after my week in Florida, teaching for the Florida Keys Watercolor Society. 

This workshop was lessons on seascape painting in watercolor, and my students and I completed a total of six paintings. 

some of the artists in my workshop at the FKWS

I had a full class of 24 artists but everyone was able to keep up the pace. 

Annie with student at FKWS 

Here are some of my paintings from my demonstrations at the workshop.

The primary lessons were painting water movement, techniques for creating perspective, creating compositions, color choices, subject editing, and adding figures. 

Annie demonstrating techniques for the FKWS

This workshop sold out before I had a chance to advertise it or offer it to students outside of the FKWS, but we plan on scheduling another one soon so keep and eye on my website for details.

A New Year!

 The new year is off to busy start! In preparation for my move to the Virgin Islands, I haven't entered any juried shows or scheduled any events for the next several months. It will be late Spring or early Summer before we will be fully settled in our new home in the Caribbean. In the meantime, I'm so busy organizing and packing for this new adventure that I've no time for anything else. I will begin taking reservations for the first season (November 2026) of Caribbean Art Escapes as soon as we are settled in, so get ready!

Sandy beaches on St Croix

Next week I'm off to Florida to teach a workshop for the Florida Keys Watercolor Society. This workshop sold out instantly - with an overflowing waiting list - before anyone even had a chance to promote it, but maybe we can add another one in Florida in the future. Brian is going with me on this trip -- did you know that he graduated from Key West High School? We haven't been back there in nearly 40 years, so it will be nice to enjoy it again. 

Brian in Key West with his first car!

And coming up, the Philadelphia Watercolor Society has chosen me to be their Judge of Awards for their Annual 2026 Member Exhibition and I will also be conducting an online painting demonstration in conjunction with the event. The dates and details are still pending and I will announce them when I have more information. 

winter news

 We finally closed on our villa in the Virgin Islands! It will be a while before we move in, as I now have to schedule the movers and ship our household goods, cars, and my studio. I also have to transfer insurance, banking, billing, and a lot of other details for the move. My goal date is Springtime. 

We've been planning for this move for 20 years, and we finally started packing and setting the wheels in motion when Brian retired from the National Park Service earlier this year. 

Because I've been so busy with these moving preparations, I haven't entered any art exhibitions or plein air painting competitions this year. However I did enter the Southern Watercolor Society 49th juried exhibition, and I'm thrilled to learn that my painting "Into the Darkness" was accepted. I would have earned Signature Membership in Southern with this acceptance, however Southern merged with Missouri Watercolor Society earlier this month, and my Signature Status and Life Membership in MOWS carried over to Southern, so I didn't need this extra point after all. 

Into the Darkness, 12x16 watercolor by Annie Strack

I'm thrilled to report that I am now an ambassador for Fuumuui, a leading artist supplies and materials company producing brushes, paints, papers, and other fine materials. Check out my first article "How to choose the perfect brush for watercolor" on their website HERE.