James Gurney and Thomas Kinkade's book is out again!

What a delight to hear last year that The Artist's Guide to Sketching was coming out in a new, updated edition.  When James asked a few months ago if I'd be willing to write a blurb, I was more than happy to agree.  It's been one of my favorite books forever. 

And now it's here!

 

 

I've owned the original edition since it first came out in 1988.  I have bought many, many art books in the intervening years, and a great many of those I've passed along to family and friends and younger artists...but Artist's Guide to Sketching is one I will keep forever.  

It's a delightful and inspiring ramble of two young college friends who took to the back roads and rails to explore America in their sketchbooks, and it's as much fun to read as it is to explore with them, page by page.  Plus it's a treasurehouse of drawing and sketching techniques, instruction, and inspiration that's stood the test of time.  I may be simplifying and into Discardia at this time in my life, but this one sticks with me! 

When I got the package with the new book, I was as excited as a kid at Christmas.  Not only is the book itself gorgeous, but the inscription made me giggle!   

 James also included some promotional material, a brochure, some background on how the original book ans the update came to be, postcards, AND some wonderful stickers...one is already in the front of my own sketchbook!  (One favorite says ANALOG FOREVER!)

They were able to scan the original art, so the new edition has crisper, cleaner images, many of them now in color. There's also a LOT of new material in the updated version. Take a peek!

 And that's just a small sample!  

The book is still full of the same clear instructions and demos as always, and it's even more inspiring.

Once upon a time when I was a good deal younger, I had given up on farm life (going back to the land you didn't come from in the first place is HARD, and EXPENSIVE and COMPLEX), my dream was to buy an old bread truck, retrofit it as a traveling home and studio and take to the roads...no wonder this book resonated with me!

Thank you, James, I am more than delighted, and honored to be asked to review.

 

These two young lad went on to do incredible things...James to create the world of Dinotopia, among other things, and the late Thomas Kinkade to become known as "the painter of light," as James says inside the back book cover.  

Good job, you guys, and thank you for  37 years of inspiration and pleasure.

A course on dealing with Traumas...

 

 ...I found on the Daily Om site.

I'm finding it helpful, in identifying traumatic experiences from childhood and beyond, and in identifying my triggers then and now, as well.

And how to deal with them, or overcome them. I've known I have them, and sometimes I react all out of proportion to the initial cause...and I hate that.  I want to respond, not react.

But one thing I've found especially enlightening is that there are some things I have no intention of overcoming.  I have never understood, much less condoned, bigotry.  

I was brought up in an era where white women spat at little girls trying to go to school, young men were being hanged for nothing more than the color of their skin--or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  When women decrying their husband’s murder were burned alive, or wise leaders assassinated for speaking of love.  I saw newsreels on the liberation of concentration camps, and learned about the depths of human inhumanity. In more recent times I’ve seen people murdered for nothing more than loving whom they love.  I don't understand.  I never will.  I don't want to.        

I lived near the riots in Kansas City after Martin Luther King's assassination, and I was shaken to my core, by the assassination itself and by the pain of that small neighborhood. I could hear the gunfire, and saw the sullen glow of the fires in the night. I couldn't wrap my mind around it, or us, and I needed to find a way to HELP.  

I called the pastor my mother had loved, before her death, a man we all respected, though I had long since left that church.

Do you know what he told me?  "Those people deserved it."  

That is NOT a Christian response, any more than some of what we are currently seeing.  Please, let's not go there again.  By all that's holy.  Let's not.


Yes, that is a trigger, for me.  Bigotry, racial inequality, inhumane cruelty to anyone, of any color, creed...or who they choose to love, or be..  

Cruelty to animals, as well.

And I realized there are some traumas I don't want to heal. I don't WANT not to be triggered by inequality and mindless cruelty. And don't intend to.  I fought it then, in my twenties; I'll fight it now, in my 80s. Maybe differently.  I'm too old and too crippled up to march.  But yes, any way I can.

Am I angry we have to do this again?  Hell yes.

Consequences

Deceptively cute, isn't she...

 When I was a little girl, we had an old porch swing on our front porch, with huge, sheltering forsythia bushes all around.  I used to love to swing, madly, feeling the wind in my hair.  It was like flying!

One day I was enthusiastically swinging back and forth and hopped off the swing at its apex.  And WHACK, it swung back and nailed me right in the tender 5-year-old shins!

I was furious, insulted that it should do such a thing, and hauled off and kicked it a really good one right back.

 "That'll teach you," I thought!

Guess what happened?  Yes, the pendulum swung back again and nailed me a second time, harder.  Equal force to my revenge kick.

And that's when I learned a very clear lesson about the consequences of hasty action, revenge...and temper.

Would that some politicians could learn that same lesson...

I seem to have wandered off...

 

...and now I'm back.

No idea how frequently I may post.  Depending on my mood and the state of my arthritic hands and rotator cuff, probably not all that often.  

But I'm feeling the urge to write in another venue besides Facebook (which I have no intention of leaving.  Too many friends and family, classes, and important communities there. I feel there's a possibility that people are being chased off in order to break up those communities and the ability to communicate, and I don't intend to comply.)  

I AM on Bluesky as of a month or two ago, but so far don't find it user friendly, and the fact that it has no privacy settings is...UNsettling.  Nonetheless I am katequicksilver2@bluesky.social.  (For my old Live Journal blog name!) 

So...here I want to write honestly and courageously, perhaps, and even vulnerably.  I'm too old to pussyfoot aroundI am.  Again.

Some will be about my life, now and in the past.  Some will be current.  Some will be art.  Some simply because I need to get it out. 

A few years ago,  Sonya Morgan of Morgansites and I redesigned my old website (she's a wonder, and it looks great.)  When we did, I added this on the home page.  I stand by it.

What makes sense to me now…

the coming of the morning * the hunger of birds * the pleasure of observation * the turning of the seasons * the alertness of animals * the sleeping landscape * the concept of rest * the promise of trees * the warmth of the sun * the scent of rain * the gift of animals * the presence of bedrock * the fertile earth * the promise of seeds * the abundance of nature * the wheel of the year * the return of the sun * the necessity of night * the need to create * the gift of compassion * the sacred nature of the everyday * the warmth of friendship * the essential nature of whimsy * the presence of The Other * the gift of synchronicity * the importance of balance * the nourishment of imagination * the importance of listening * the need for mystery and unknowing * the ubiquitous nature of magic * the consequences of our actions * the value of trust * the necessity of forgiveness * the profound and mysterious gift of love

Entering a different stage of life…or finding my way into it, exploring as I go…is at once deeply satisfying, challenging, and slightly dangerous. I’ve been comfortable with my entrance into cronehood for some time now, or if not quite comfortable then ready, appreciative, curious. What next? Which path will I take? What deepening inner landscape calls? My spirit hungers for this; it nourishes my soul. I appreciate patina, experience, wabi-sabi, and even–dare I say it?–a bit of wisdom gained.

It's a helluva time to be an empath, though, isn't it. I stand by my friends and family, and what I believe is right, now and always.

If you happen to wander over and find me, thank you.  Hang around.  We'll share a cup of tea and "a good chin wag."

 https://cathyjohnson.info

 

Ooops. Life has its own agenda...

 Well, sorry all!  That definitely did NOT go as planned.  

August fell apart on me, between a death in the family and all the attendant issues, family visiting, BOTH our cars in the shop for an indeterminate amount of time, having to buy a NEW (for us) car, my own health issues plus the normal stuff of bloodwork and annual physical, finding three close family members are dealing with Covid 19, and not only did I not manage to really delve into my own class as I meant to, to get back on track (though I DID reread and update everything before we started), my beloved raccoon family was poisoned and put right outside my back fence, an issue with updating all the other classes as quickly as possible, and then just "normal" life, and as they say, "it's a sign."  Or a whole encycopedia!  

Not meant to be.  I get it, Universe, no more 2 x 4s needed, please!

So...I AM sorry, but it just didn't work.  I hope you enjoyed your explorations though!

This month is my personal retreat month, and after August I NEED it. 

Quick Sketching 1 Adventure starts August 1

Almost time to jump into this adventure--August 1 is our official start date!  Since that's Sunday, we may ease into it, and see how it goes getting everyone and everything up and running.  (It's a LOT more complicated than I'd originally imagined it, ain't that the way things go??  😵)

If you've taken the class before, dig it out of your computer and join us, week by week--no extra charge!  If you want to enroll, it's here: https://cathyjohnson.info/art-classes/ --there IS a charge for the lessons, it's my original self-directed mini-class online.

There's also a Facebook group for enrolled students, so we all have access to the class materials to work with...it's here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/272299307988534  (No charge for our Facebook group or discussions, either...)

 Just a heads up!  There are 3 membership questions that must be answered before you can join the group; thanks!
 

And see you Sunday!

Getting ready to roll with Quicksketch-1

 

So, as I mentioned, I'm needing a reset, just emerging from a bit of a dry spell with journaling (if not with other creative endeavors!) and decided I'd go through my own Quick Sketching 1 class and see if that helps.  A refresher course is always a good idea! 

 

It'll be more fun with people to share the journey with--it's not a class, I'm not teaching, I'm not going to charge extra, I won't try to be here 24/7, we're just exploring together. Having fun, I hope. Polishing those rusty skills. Considering what materials feel best to us, which ones are the most fun, which are suited to quick sketching.

 

When I first mentioned the possibility, someone let me know that some of the links in the self-directed classes didn't work any more, so I've dug out the original class documents, deleted dead or abandoned links, updated others, updated information, and did away with things that no longer apply (like my Amazon A-store, which they deleted for sellers in Missouri a few years back!).  I also did away with passwords, which were a pain, but if you enrolled before 7/22/2021, you'll probably still need the old password; I've left it up in the emails you'll get.

 

If you already own my Quick Sketching 1 self-directed mini-class, which has been out for some time, you're welcome to dig it out and join us! No charge.  (I imagine you will still need the passwords for the old documents, sorry!)

 

If you don't have it already, the mini-class is available here:  https://cathyjohnson.info/art-classes/

 

I've made a Facebook group for discussions and sharing; if you're a student, past or present, feel free to join us there--I know some people aren't fond of Facebook, but it seemed to be the easiest and most convenient place to share what we're up to!  Unfortunately I don't think you can add graphics to blog comments any more, like we used to.   https://www.facebook.com/groups/quicksketch1

 

Again, we will start August 4--just kick back and have fun.  I plan to!

More Quick Sketch 1 info...

 ...so one of the people who has signed up for the Quick Sketch 1 adventure alerted me to the fact that a couple of the links aren't working in the first mini-class lesson.  One is my old Amazon store, which I no longer have since Amazon closed all the stores in Missouri, and the other is a friend's blog, which no longer is at that address.

I'm working to find the original documents (which have gone into hiding and probably under the Witness Protection plan!), with the idea in mind of updating, but if I can't find them, that's the deal, sorry!

This is supposed to be fun for me, as well, not frustrating...  😓

And hooray, I DID find them, and edited them, and made new PDFs...will get my webmistress to put them up in the next few days...