3rd Place Winning Entry, 2024 Watercolor Competition
Laurin McCracken, Magnolia and Silver, watercolor
Laurin McCracken
Laurin McCracken is a Fort Worth-based realist watercolorist whose award-winning paintings are largely influenced by the 16th and 17th century Dutch and Flemish still life painters.
McCracken's paintings reach the highest level of detail when he records the world around him. With close observation of the reflective objects in the painting, the viewer can also find numerous reflections from other objects, adding an intensified depth of realism to his work.
A signature member of more than a dozen watercolor societies, including the American Watercolor Society and National Watercolor Society, his paintings have been included in numerous shows and published in esteemed art magazines.
Laurin McCracken, Objects on a Quilt, watercolor
McCracken has won 3rd Place in our Watercolor Competition for Magnolia and Silver. Here he discusses his style and approach to art:
"I see things with a high level of acuity and translate what I see in the world around me into watercolor on paper. I use historic influences to record the beautiful things in our lives - flowers, ornate crystal, silverware, clouds, glassware, toys, and anything that attracts my eye and spurs my imagination.
"When I look at the world and think about what I might paint, I am reminded of the quote from Henry David Thoreau: 'It is not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.' Then I ask myself, 'Can I paint that in watercolor?'“
Laurin McCracken, Four Pears on Foil, watercolor
"Painters may not always see things uniquely, but it is imperative to see things differently and with a certain clarity that others might not see. That is the value we bring to our craft. It is the combination of those abilities and a fundamental mastery of the craft that makes us artists. "My inspiration is simply being able to paint wonderfully detailed objects just as I see them."