ARTIST BIO

Penny Strong was born on the South Shore of Long Island and now resides on the North Shore of Long Island in Northport, New York.  She graduated from State University at Stony Brook Long Island New York, Empire State College with a Bachelor of Science and Associate in Science in Health Care Administration and Medical Technology.  She was on the job for 22 years at the Northport Veterans Administration Medical Center.

 

Her home "The New Victorian" sits atop the hill in Northport and is painted blue spruce, school house red, and teal. It has two levels of wrap around porches and a turret just like the very old homes built in Northport. She shipbuilders did barn raising Victorians and there were no plans for Penny to use.  So, she decided to build it from the ground up in 1987 to look like those grand ladies of times past.  People often ask how she came up with the colors.  She said the pink washed out from the corner the trim needed definition and could be seen from a distance white would look like it was going to fall over. Her home has been featured in The New York Times Home Section, Esquire Magazine, and Victoria Magazine in 1987.  A historical preservation award was given by The Historical Society for Huntington in the Township of Huntington, New York for design and preservation of style.  Penny owns the copy write as it is the first "New Victorian"  in the country.

 

Upon her retirement from the Northport VA, she looked to satisfy her thirst for color in her life. Light was very important to her painted furniture to canvas to handmade Japanese paper Penny looked to create shadows. She found watercolor paper that allowed her to experiment with value and spontaneous reactions. The quickness of watercolor brought her vision to life exactly what her eye sees.

 

Penny has a discipline for color.  People ask her, "How do you approach your work?"  She says, "You have to love what you are working on; Whether it is the color or the composition you have to start with love." Her product medium graduated from oil to acrylic to watercolor.  Her current process strives for translucency's sharp lines levels and energy with a flair for the unexpected. She is a member of The Firefly Artists of Northport.

 

People say it is no doubt that Penny would take on such a challenge since she comes from a long line of artistic and builder family members.  She simply put the two together and makes it all happen.

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