Born in Meridian, Mississippi and currently living in Fort Worth, Texas, Laurin McCracken holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Architecture from Rice University and a Masters in Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University. As a registered architect, he has practiced in several states and has been the Principal in Charge of Marketing for a number of large architectural and engineering firms.

He is the past president of the Watercolor USA Honor Society and remains a signature member of more than a dozen watercolor societies, including the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, Southern Watercolor Society, Watercolor West. He is an Elected Member of the Allied Artists of America in their Watermedia Category and has served as an Exhibit Juror for many art organizations and watercolor competitions around the globe.

Laurin’s award-winning work has been featured in major juried shows and exhibits around the world. Several of his paintings are included in the permanent collections of the National Museum of China; the Asian Museum of Watercolor Art in Haikou City, Hainan Province, China, the Watercolor Museum of Fabriano, Italy and the Art Museum of the University of Mississippi.

His work has been also published in many national and international books and magazines, including Artist’s Magazine, American Artist, Secrets of International Watercolor Masters Vol 1, and Masters of Realistic Imagery.

“As a realist watercolorist, my work is largely influenced by the Dutch and Flemish still life painters from the 16th and 17th centuries. My goal is to record the world around me with a high level of detail. This painting style is not typically associated with watercolor. Look closely at one of my paintings and you’ll see not only the primary objects, but also the reflections of other objects within. I use my ability to record the beautiful things in our lives – flowers, ornate crystal and silverware, clouds, the glassware I grew up with, toys and anything else that attracts my eye and spurs my imagination. It is imperative that a painter see things differently and with a certain clarity that the average individual 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.”