The Quicksilver Workaholic

It's always hard for me to write press releases about myself, but our artists association has been discussing the need for more PR for our Art Crawls. Thought I'd give it a shot...and I think it's working! I just sent it out today, and it's been picked up by the ArtistsNetwork blog, the EBSQ blog for tomorrow, and Best of Missouri Hands . I forgot that blogs can be a LOT faster than print.

I hope we ALL benefit from the extra press.  Here's what I sent:



North Light books artist and author Cathy Johnson will demonstrate her techniques for watercolor painting at the 2nd Friday Art Crawl in Excelsior Springs, MO.

Johnson is the author of 34 books, including 9 for North Light Books, (one of two major publishers of art books), the Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature and The Sierra Club Guide to Painting in Nature, for the Sierra Club.

She has judged art shows all over the USA, and done a number of presentations and workshops for arts associations from Maine to Nevada, as well as offered field sketching classes at statewide Nature Centers for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Johnson spoke to the first international gathering of the Sierra Club in San Francisco in 2005 on sketching and painting in nature.

She is currently working on a revision of her 1988 book, Watercolor Tricks and Techniques, and will be demonstrating some of the techniques included in that book.

Come see some of the innovative techniques in person, at 115 E. Broadway in Excelsior Springs, Friday, June 12.

Johnson regularly shows her work at Olde English Garden Shoppe, along with Polly Jaben, PhD, photographer of scenes from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales as well as the USA. Jaben's eye for the perfect shot and Johnson's watercolors and drawings work well with the boutique's offerings.

The 2nd Friday art crawl will include a number of other shops and galleries in downtown Excelsior Springs, including Gallery 105, Frame of Mind, the Mercantile, and others. There will be live music, wine tastings, and food--please join us for an exciting evening!

I suddenly realized I hadn't been doing much marketing of my OWN art, and then still didn't have time to take care of it for a week (well, yes, OK, we'd been playing, going on sketching day-trips and dealing with my new Facebook and Flickr groups for artists. Nobody's fault but my own!)

So last night and this morning, I added two pieces to my new "Cathy Johnson Fine Art Galleries" blog at cathyjohnsonart.blogspot.com/, and will add more in the coming weeks.  A girl's gotta eat and pay for those sketching trips, after all!

The painting above was done as a demonstration for my upcoming North Light book, the 21st century version of Watercolor Tricks & Techniques. (The original version was written in 1988, one of my bestselling books ever for North Light--but there have been many new techniques, materials and surfaces since then!) See what techniques you can discern here...of course much more visible in person. 

I was much taken by the Mission at San Juan Capistrano--I think I could have sketched and painted there for days. Here, you see the shadowy view through one of the buildings, a cool refuge within thick adobe walls. It's a place rich with history and feeling--explore it in person if you can, or check out their website: http://www.missionsjc.com/  It's magic.

I only had time for this one sketch on-site, in my journal, and of course it's not for sale:


If you're interested in the new artists' groups, here's the one for artists sketching in nature on Flickr--sort of back to my roots with this one: www.flickr.com/groups/nature-sketching/

And two new groups on Facebook, if you're a member there:
The Plein Air Artists' Group is www.facebook.com/home.php
and the Nature Artists group is here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/group.php?gid=47729652724 (and no, I have no idea why one came up short and the other long.  Go figure, .html!)

I'm aiming toward a new project involving nature artists--already had some wonderful response from some of my favorites, so watch for it!

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And in other news, I've just written to all the mailing list contacts I could find in harm's way in Australia; I'd love to hear that you're all right, please.  You're in my thoughts and prayers...