"Puzzled Kitty"

"Puzzled Kitty" study 5" x 7" ink and watercolor on archival hotpress paper The ink lines were done a great speed, before my cat moved--he looked at me as if to say "what, AGAIN?!" Those of you who have seen my many images of Merlin in my Flickr album, here http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathy-johnson/, will recognize that look! Amazing how the quick watercolor washes give the image volume and form. This one was also done as a demo for my upcoming North Light book. $45 This painting is offered un-matted and unframed to keep costs down and to allow you to choose your own colors and styles to suit your decor. It will come to you carefully wrapped via Priority Mail, in the US. Insurance included in the shipping cost

 

"Thirsty" cat sketch

"Thirsty Cat" sketch ink and watercolor This quick little gesture sketch caught my cat in the act of drinking--I was exploring the use of water-soluble ink and watercolor for my upcoming North Light book, Watercolor Tricks & Techniques, to come out in 2010. I love the explosive quality of the lines, and how they can be softened with clear water to suggest volume! Above are a variety of experiments with the same pen... This painting is offered un-matted and unframed to keep costs down and to allow you to choose your own colors and styles to suit your decor. It will come to you carefully wrapped via Priority Mail, in the US. Insurance included in the shipping cost $30

 

Pygmy Goat Sketch

"Pygmy Goats" sketch graphite and watercolor on archival paper I love goats, always have. We had 4 when we lived on the farm, close to 30 years ago, and I still miss them! Their strong personalities and agility and curiosity never failed to amuse me... We were taking a ride in the country one day when I saw these, climbing high on a Vermeer bale, and screeched to a halt to sketch them! This painting is offered un-matted and unframed to keep costs down. It will come to you carefully wrapped via Priority Mail, in the US. Insurance included in the shipping cost

$50  

"Dusk on the Blue Ridge"

"Dusk on the Blue Ridge"9" x 12"
watercolor on archival cold-pressed paper

We took a ride through Shenandoah National Park, stopping to sketch, paint, and photograph the natural beauty all along the way. When it came time to do a painting for my upcoming North Light book, Watercolor Tricks & Techniques (publication date Feb. 2010) I had to take the challenge of this beautiful, ancient mountain range as night fell and the clouds gathered against the horizon.

As always, you can click on the image for a larger version, optimized for the web.

The view is unsurpassed there--visit http://www.shenandoah.national-park.com/
and you'll see how special this place is.

Funny, I've had a long relationship with this area before I ever saw it. The Irish side of my family lived near there in the 1750s before the long migration to North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and finally Missouri. And I once wrote a script for Marty Stouffer's nature program on TV, called "Shenandoah Springtime." We still own a videotape, so we can watch it whenever we're homesick for the mountains...

My husband's house was in Front Royal, Virginia, at the mouth of the National Park's Skyline Drive...gorgeous country for an artist! (The house is his daughter's, now that he's move to Missouri! It's here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9506220@N08/sets/72157606054864435/, and what a great studio it would have been!) We have our memories, though, and our paintings of the mountains.

San Juan Capistrano

ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR

5" x 7" archival CP paper 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/ This one was done as a demonstration for my upcoming North Light book, the 21st century version of Watercolor Tricks & Techniques. (The original version was done in 1988--many new techniques, materials and surfaces since then!) See what techniques you can discern here...

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

This painting is offered un-matted and unframed to keep costs down. It will come to you carefully wrapped via Priority Mail, in the US. Insurance included in the shipping cost $175

 

"Merlin Listens"

ORIGINAL SKETCH graphite and watercolor on hot pressed archival paper Merlin appears in many of my paintings and sketches--this quick little 5" x 7" caught him listening to the scratch of my pencil on the paper, ears back and alert even while pretending to sleep. I added watercolor washes later, to suggest his lovely coloring. This sketch is offered un-matted and unframed to keep costs down. It will come to you carefully wrapped via Priority Mail, in the US. Insurance included in the shipping cost $35

 

Lots of new directions--including Facebook!

As you can no doubt tell, I've been very busy going off in all directions! I started a new Flickr group pool for artists who keep field journals, sketch in nature, and otherwise learn from their own observations--since that's how I started out, I wanted to return to my roots--as it were! And invite others to share, in the process...

That group is here, and feel free to join us if you work in nature: http://www.flickr.com/groups/nature-sketching/ Look around, see what others have posted, and if that's what you're interested in, jump into the pool!

That group joins my other outdoor Flickr pool for artists who enjoy the challenge of painting or sketching on the spot. It was begun 6 months ago, and now has nearly 400 members worldwide. It's Painting Plein Aire--it's here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/plein_aire/

I joined Facebook a few months ago to keep up with my far-flung family and friends (say THAT fast three times!), and yesterday started two similar groups there. The plein air group is here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1474146429&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=59207016873&ref=mf (at least I HOPE that long URL will get you there!) and the sketching in nature group is here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1474146429&ref=profile#/group.php?gid=47729652724

I will get back to paying attention to new work here soon...VERY soon! Meanwhile, I wanted to let you know what I've been up to, and invite you to join me. It should be a great ride, with the wonderful artists who are already involved...