Watercolor Artist Laurin McCracken Racks up Awards

To study one of Laurin McCracken's watercolor paintings is to second guess your own perceptions. "Most people think they're something other than watercolor," McCracken admits. "Watercolor is not so difficult, that's a myth put forth by the oil painters," he says. His modesty is noble, but unnecessary paired with such talent. "I find it fun, energizing, relaxing, you can correct your mistakes as long as they are not too major." What gives McCracken's achievements even more weight is that he had no formal instruction in watercolor until December of 1999, when at the age of 57, he took his first watercolor course. Since then, he has been in 26 juried shows and has brought home 14 awards.

McCracken's most recent distinction is his induction as a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society in Brea, California on October 15th of this year. His advancement to this state is extraordinary considering he has only been a member for the last two years. Typically it takes artists years of submitting work before they get selected for this distinction. This year the National Watercolor Society received 1,100 submissions for the show, and out of this field only 100 paintings were selected for the exhibit. Fifty-three artists were asked to submit portfolios for review as Signature Members, and from that narrow field, McCracken became one of only 43 to be honored this year with that distinction. "The importance of Signature Membership is recognition by your peers. For me, it is also a validation my paintings are getting to be as good as I want them to be."

McCracken captured this Signature distinction for his painting "Glamis Castle Rose," which is in the genre he is best known for; still lifes of silver and crystal in the Dutch and Flemish 16th century style. "One of my instructors early on told me that I would become known for something, and that I would have no control over that. I just fell into this style. I started painting florals, then moved into still lifes. I plan to paint through all the major genres of watercolor. I see things in a high level of detail, and I'm willing to put the time into capture it in my watercolors. McCracken has studied with Gwen Bragg at the Art League School in Alexandria, Virginia and with Alain Gavin at the Art Institute in Chicago. His paintings hang in corporate and private collections, including McGraw-Hill s Corporate Collection and the Urban Land Institute. He also has photographs in the Graphics Arts Collection, Princeton University. He is now moving into teaching himself, having recently conducted a workshop in Pasadena, Calif. for American Artist magazine, a publication which featured him in its current fall issue.

McCracken's background as both an architect and photographer undoubtedly plays into his fascination for detail. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University and a Masters in Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University. He has traveled extensively in Europe, the Middle East and Japan, both as a practicing architect, a photographer and a painter. His photographs have been widely published in architectural journals and as book covers and book illustrations.

In McCracken's short, but illustrious career, he has sought progress aggressively, approaching his next move more like a businessman than an artist. He is after all the Marketing and Strategies Officer of Looney Ricks Kiss Architects in Memphis, Tenn. "I'm on track for my business plan," McCracken affirms. "One reason for entering shows, is to have the qualifications that would interest major galleries." The shows and subsequent awards extend to juried shows coast to coast including the Philadelphia Watercolor Society, Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society, Pittsburgh Watercolor Society and the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors, California Watercolor Society, Southern Watercolor Society and the American Watercolor Society.

He currently has work in a number of major galleries throughout the country with access online to his work through Buyoutsidethebox.com an online global marketplace dedicated to the arts. "We are very pleased to represent Laurin," says buyoutsidethebox's Ruth Mitchell. "His work is magnetic. The longer you examine it, the more you marvel, and his induction as a Signature Member into the National Watercolor Society is a real feather in his cap."

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