The Quicksilver Workaholic

I'm just shaking my head, here. Just got a nice request to link to the tutorial Bet Borgeson created as a review of my book, Creating Nature in Watercolor, on the Mighty Art Demos site; that's the painting, above, "Hidden Falls, Poconos."

As you may know, I linked to that tutorial from my own website, with her OK, but here's the original link: http://www.mightyartdemos.com/mightyartdemosfrbks-c-johnson.html She did a terrific job with full permission and cooperation from North Light/FWMedia, and I was grateful to all concerned!  (The book has done very well, largely from the kind of positive press it's received!)

The fellow who asked my permission (with the offer of full links and info, by the way) said he'd found it on the web, and when I clicked on the link he provided, I discovered that it came from a *pirated* version, with no copyright info, no permission, no links to my site or Mighty Art Demos or North Light--nada!

I'm surprised they even bothered to put my name on it; that's how he found me. I wrote to Bet to let her know her review had been pirated, as well.

I'm not passing along that link, because they stole my work, Bet's, and that of a number of other artists; they have Google ads on their site and I don't intend to help them make money from piracy.

The original demo is from my latest book, Creating Nature in Watercolor: An Artist's Guide, as you can see: I've turned it over to my editors at North Light, who will be able to deal with it better than I can; thanks to one of my students we got contact information on the pirate site.





I do plan to write to Google and suggest they might want to be aware the site ignores US Copyright laws...I have no idea how they might police who uses their ads, but at least I can make them aware after the fact.

Siiiigh...the 'net DOES make this sort of thing all too easy, but we need to fight it whenever it comes to our attention...

Hi all!

Since I've had some trouble sending my art tip, I'm adding it here too in the hopes that if you DIDN'T get it and you wanted to, you'll find it here or on Facebook!  (And by the way, please feel free to visit me on Facebook for quick updates and announcements as well as general silliness!)

It has been wild busy around here, what with my online class and working on my latest North Light book, complicated by all our thunderstorms and resulting email and 'net interruptions.  So I really DIDN'T drop off the face of the earth...hope to get things working more smoothly SOON.  (REALLY soon...)

Welcome to all our new members here--quite an influx since the last tip went out.


Tip #91 is on Painting on the Spot--with more suggestions and demos.  As usual, you'll find it on my website at http://cathyjohnson.info --just click on Art Tips at upper left.  (As longtime newsletter members know, the previous tips are archived as PDFs at right--print them out, share with a friend, whatever--that's what they're there for!)

I even have a new slideshow demo up on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVTZ6S0wg-4&feature=channel_page featuring
one of these paintings.  Please, comment, rate it, let me know what you think!

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ART TIP NEWSLETTER--CHANGES UPCOMING

I'm trying to move this announcement newsletter to gmail or something like Constant Contact, but it's slow going getting all my mailing list transferred!  I'm about half finished at this point, since I pretty much have to transfer the email addresses one by one.

I've had so many problems getting things TO you--for a variety of reasons--that I'm hoping this will help, when I finally get the transfer
done.  I'll be able to add a few graphics, too...I hope you find it useful!

For some reason in transferring addresses to gmail I seem to be losing a few...so if you don't receive the next art tip (#92) within 30 days, check with me at kate@cathyjohnson.info and I'll see that you're on the list!

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ART TIP CDs

For those who prefer not to spend TOO much time online or like the convenience of working on your break or your vacation where the 'net may not be available, you can still get inspiration from the first 75 tips, which I put on CD 25 at a time.  I keep the price low on these, since they are also available on my website--these are more for your convenience!

You can find them at http://www.cafepress.com/cathy_johnson or on my website catalog.



This is the cover of the initial one, but you'll find all three currently available at the site!)
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WATERCOLOR ARTIST MAGAZINE'S AUGUST ISSUE

Watercolor Artist's August issue is out, and I've got a big article in the Studio Staples section on resists!  I've featured it on my blog, here:
http://katequicksilvr.livejournal.com/387762.html, including a picture of my featured painting and the magazine cover to look for.

It's a great issue, with articles by Danny Gregory on art journaling and one by Charles Reid, one of my favorite watercolor artists--and a lot more!

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ART CRAWL DEMO

July 10 is the date for our Art Crawl in Excelsior Springs, MO--I'll be at Olde English Garden Shoppe at http://englishgardenshop.com/, and since my article was featured in the magazine, I decided to do the demo on resists this time.  Who could resist?  (OK, groaaaannnnn...)

There's going to be live music again, Liberty Rising this time will be in the shade near Olde English, so I'm looking forward to being able to HEAR! Dr. Polly Jaben will have her photos on the platform this time--they are always gorgeous!

I'll be demonstrating watercolor techniques between 5:00 p.m. and 8 p.m.--and as always there will be lots more artists as well as treats, wine, and more in the various shops and galleries involved, all up and down Broadway.

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SKETCH CRAWL

We're planning our monthly sketchcrawl on the next day, July 11, as usual, at 1:00 p.m.--if the weather is nice, we may try to meet at Tryst
Falls again, but if it's HOT, we'll meet at the Hall of Waters in downtown Excelsior, right next to Olde English!  I've been promised they'll have it open for us--it's a great Art Deco building from the 1930s, and it will be AIR CONDITIONED--cool in more ways than one!

If you're interested, let me know and I'll add you to my SKETCHCRAWL ARTISTS list, so I can get you the latest info on where and when!

You could plan a weekend, come for the Art Crawl, stay over at The Elms Hotel (check out http://www.elmsresort.com/) or The Inn at Crescent Lake Bed and Breakfast at http://www.crescentlake.com/, have a great prizewinning BBQ dinner at the Wabash just across Kansas City Avenue from the Elms, a classy dinner at Ventana's, or pizza (or calzone!) at Ryans, both on Broadway, then join us for the Sketchcrawl on Saturday afternoon!

My friend and fellow artist/naturalist Maria Hodkins and I try to get together once a year when she's in the area--she and husband Evan always stay at the Inn.  It's lovely!  Check Maria's website at http://www.windword.net/index.html

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STRETCHING PAPER FOR WATERCOLOR

I don't much like stretching paper, and haven't, really, for years--I just tape mine down with masking or drafting tape and paint.  But for the North Light book I'm working on, my editor wanted to show how it was done.  I created this illustration to show one of the classic ways of doing it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathy-johnson/3596210284/  (The comments are helpful, too!)

One of my contacts saw that on my Flickr album, and shared their home made rig--it's cool!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kwhcoaster/3666915226/in/set-72157618810155973/?addedcomment=1#comment72157620721604894

And of course from there, you can find the link to Ken Bromley's version, which also demonstrates pretty clearly what I DON'T like about stretching paper!  He's solved the problem well, though.  Find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z2zeS0oVi4

I have to admit, though, my method of taping the edges with masking or drafting tape leaves a lovely clean border when you remove it that almost gives the effect of a double mat.  I guess I won't be changing any time soon!

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THE OLDEST ART IN AMERICA?

I've always been fascinated by cave art and other creative endeavors by our oldest forebears.  This story on the National Geographic page is right up my alley, and I hope you're interested too!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090610-oldest-art-mammoth-picture.html

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Hope you're having a wonderful, productive summer--I know I am!

I had fun with this one yesterday...I wanted a freer, fresher effect than I sometimes get with watercolor pencils (let's face it, a pencil point is a good deal narrower than a nice wash-filled 1" brush!). This time I did quite a bit of blending with clear water on the cat herself, then made scribbles of blue gray and black in the background to suggest the dark cave on top of my computer that's her favorite napping spot.

I used plenty of water to blend that area, then dripped more water in from the tip of my flat Niji waterbrush after running it over the tip of an ultramarine pencil to add more cool color.

I let this fall into the background and blend spontaneously, too. Then I tipped the paper to encourage runs, and finally spattered three different colors into the wet wash and the area to the lower right, by flicking color from the tip of a pencil with a round Aquash waterbrush.

Any brand would do, of course...I'm just playing with this one since it's new! A regular watercolor brush dipped in clear water works just fine, as well. 

(I finally got around to updating the art supplies section of my Books and More online shop so I have reviews on that section, too, and recommendations of watercolor pencils and waterbrushes--couldn't find the Aquash there, though!)

I was using Strathmore paper, which has a good tough surface, a Derwent Blue Gray watercolor pencil (that's a necessity in my kit!), and Faber Castell's Albrecht Durer Burnt Sienna, Black, Walnut Brown, Ultramarine, and some pale pink for the ears and nose.

Click on the image, if you like, for lots more notes on technique!
 

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And I decided to try to find a new home--for the painting, not Rags!--she's on my gallery blog, Cathy Johnson's Fine Art Galleries, here --I guess you'll need to look for the entry for Friday, May 29, if you look at this post later, I couldn't figure out how to link directly...

This one will be short, but both concepts are very important to me, and I hope they help you, too. Neither is specifically selling-oriented, but both add a lot to our satisfaction in what we do. Both enhance and enable creativity, too, I think.

First--do what you can live with. And even more than that, do what you love. Remember what Joseph Campbell said--"follow your bliss." Making art may not always make me blissful--God knows sometimes it's frustrating and tiring!--it IS what I want to do with the rest of my life. I do it to earn my living, I do it for fun, I do it to relax, to cope, to celebrate, to focus. It's how I respond to the moments of my life.


Paint what you care about. Create what you love. It can't help but shine through your work, and someone will respond in kind. At a recent art crawl, someone walked up to me with one of my large framed pieces and his checkbook in hand...and I was delighted, because it was one that I loved doing. It was the painting above, done on a country road I visit and paint often. (You can click on the image to see notes on how I worked, on my Flickr album.)

If you love landscape, florals, horses, people--concentrate on those things. Get at the heart of them. Explore them fully. LOVE them, and let that show. Paint what you feel deeply about–even if it’s painful. You will find an audience.

Doing what I love has allowed me to write and illustrate books like Creating Nature in Watercolor, below, and I'm happy to say it's found a responsive audience.  I've gotten lots of comments from people who tell me how they love doing just this. 


This is not just about making art, of course. If you're a songwriter, write what moves you, what you're all about. If you're a poet, share your deepest feelings, or your humor, or insights. Writers are often told to write what you know. This doesn't necessarily mean the mundane details of everyday life, but what's in your soul.

And if commissions make your stomach hurt (they do mine) try to keep them to a minimum. The money's nice, sure, and it can help pay the bills--we ALL have to do work we're not wild about from time to time--but if you're miserable? Not worth it. Find another way.

The other important thought involves the most important advice anyone ever gave me. “Pass it on. Help someone else along the way.”

When I was very young, I was trying desperately to get a job in art. I had no experience so couldn't get hired, and couldn't get experience without a job–the classic Catch-22. Finally a very kind gentleman in an advertising agency told me that although they had no openings at that time, he’d help me learn the ropes, the lingo, the procedures and tricks–and then told me I could say I had "worked with" his agency,. (Which technically I guess I had--just not paid..)

I was overwhelmed by his kindness, and when I asked what I could do in return, he simply said "pass it on." I have, whenever I've gotten the opportunity. And it’s paid off a thousandfold throughout my life–as did his kindness to me, like ripples in a pond.

...from our 10-day trip to California, with a quick side trip to see my sis and brother-in-law, and I'm too wiped out to scan any of them. 

Sketching helps keep me sane, or what passes for it.  My poor exhausted husband and all the emotion surrounding illness in the family, plus the stress of travel and business hassles..he's catching the rehab-facility cold and I'm too tired to function, but oh so glad to be home.  He wrote at greater length in his journal at kateslover , and I'll try to do better tomorrow, at least to share some of the sketches or photos.  Right now we're just trying to take care of eachother, a bit!

Lots of baggage from various hospitals throughout my life, so I often sketched through tears--I truly believe drawing or sketching or making art of some sort or another is healing.  It helps us to focus, to step away from the turbulence a bit, to meditate, to get outside ourselves...the article I wrote on painting through pain in Watercolor Artist (then called Watercolor Magic) got the most feedback of anything I'd ever done in my writing life. 

I remain committed to the practice, and to the idea.