Derek McCrea 

Derek McCrea is a US Army Infantry Combat Soldier with two tours in Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division, and this is his stress relief. He has always loved to paint; it allows him to express emotions on paper and relax. Derek paints in a whimsical impressionistic style in plein air settings. He was born in Albany, Georgia on February 19, 1969. He presently resides with his wife, Sheila, of 20 years and his two sons. He first started painting with oils in the summer of 1984. From 1985 to 1986 he painted under the instruction of Jimmy Peterson, a well known artist from Georgia. In 1986 he won 1st place in the Georgia Arts Exhibition. Derek joined the United States Army in 1987 and continued self study and painting on landscape subjects in France, Holland, Germany, Italy and Hungary, painting in the plein air style. He won the artist of the week in August for Art Gallery Online while competing against 11 other artists. He has completed over 20 commissions in the past couple of years.His art was selected for the cover of The Eclipse. The Eclipse is a publication where poets write about the artwork of a selected artist once per quarter. 6 of Derek's works were selected for this publication. Derek's works can be found in Fayetteville, NC in PJ's Fine Art Gallery and the Graphic Design Firm. His works were most recently placed in B'zzzzz Expressions in Douglas, Georgia, in The Market Square Gallery in Varnville, SC, and in "Just What I Like" in Lawrenceville, GA. Derek's works were featured in LIA Life is Art Magazine in Aug 02. His last exhibition was in October 2002 at the Chateau Elan Vineyard in North Georgia. His works were most recently featured in Lighthouse Magazine (June 04), Skyline Magazine (May 04), Shadow Poetry Quill (March 04), and New Works Review (March 08). Derek has donated several artworks to non-profit and charitable organizations in the past, the most previous being in February 2007 to Christian Mission Hospital in the ward for HIV children run by Joyce Meyer Ministries in India. My website is at http://www.derekmccrea.50megs.com My blog is at http://watercolorpaintingart.blogspot.com/

Derek is a member of the following societies:

Southern Rivers Guild, GA
North Carolina Watercolor Society
Fayetteville Arts Council
Plein Air Florida - Space Coast Plein Air Painters
Plein Air Georgia

Derek's works were published in the following:

The Big Book of Contemporary Illustration, Anova Books, Chapter 2, 2009
C2F Art Pads Cover Art - 2008-2009
Art Space, Issue 1, July 2008, Cover Art and Featured Artist
Seminole Florida Womens News, July 2008
Art World Project Charity Conglomerate, Europe, 2008
Watercolour Gazette, Issue 16, Nov/Dec 2007, Magazine Published in Canada
ATC Quarterly, Issue 8, Winter 2007, Art Trading Cards Magazine Published in Canada
Watercolour Gazette, Sept/Oct 2007, Issue 15, Magazine Published in Canada
The Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, October 2007, Volume 3, Issue 2
The Artists Bluebook, 2005, AskART.com Inc. - Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson (Editor, 479 pages)
The Eclipse, Poetry about Art, USA, 2002
LIA, Life is Art Magazine, USA, Aug 02
Lighthouse Magazine, United Kingdom (June 04)
Skyline Magazine (May 04)
Shadow Poetry Quill (March 04)
New Works Review 3 issues (March 04, July 07, and Oct 07)
Ken Again Literary Magazine 4 issues (May 2002, Winter 2003, Fall 2005, and Fall 2007)
Painted Poetry - Poetry about Art (2002)
Voices (Spring 2002)
Perpetual Magazine, Featured Artist, March 2008
Earth Stories, Pachamama Press, Volume 3, Issue 2 (Summer 2004)
Contributing author, TOC in Combat, Infantry Magazine, 2003
Contributing author, Prepare a Mechanized Infantry Task Force for Combat, Infantry Magazine, 2004
Decorating a Room Around a Piece of Art - (Article) by Rhonda Morin, The Decorating Bible

Derek has won the following awards

Winner for 1st Issue Cover Art, Art Space, 2008 The Gallery Grand Champion 2007, No. 1 Artist Online
Digital Consciousness Digital Color Artist of the Month OCT 2007
Digital Bits Artist of the Month AUG 07
1st Place GA Arts Exhibition - 1985
Artist of the Week in August 2001 for Art Gallery Online