Celtic Madonna...

"Celtic Madonna"
acrylic on canvas
8 x 10, unframed


The face has such a contemplative look, with an innocence shining through. She appears half hidden behind a screen of images taken from the Book of Kells.

I love faces and the range of expressions we show the world. This one is from my imagination, exploring acrylics as thin washes on canvas.

SOLD

Noodler's Flex Pens

I really enjoy my Noodler's Flex pens, and LOVE clear demonstrators, which are now more available...but I couldn't justify buying another pen unless I let some go.

So I've just put a couple of Lapis Infernos up on eBay--the ones I used to do the above sketches.

Take a peek--my ID is katestreasures, and the auction is here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350516416221.  There's even a Buy it Now option, still less than new (which is a bargain itself!)

A CD reminder!

We're no longer on Cafe Press, but we're producing our OWN CDs--much better quality control and personal service, now!

Please check out our catalog for books and CDs--there's still time before Christmas to order, with old favorites and best sellers being joined by some NEW offerings!  Check 'em out...

This has been one of my most popular new offerings...

We DO have an Etsy store now, too, offering original art, prints, and handmade jewelry...please drop by for a visit, or add me to your circle!  We're HERE.

New mini-class on watercolor pencils!

Hi all--I've finally got a new class to offer you!

After lots of roadblocks and technical problems, rain on the studio roof (too loud to record videos) and cloudy days (too dark!), not to mention that cold that just wouldn't go away, I've finally gotten a new class ready to go, at your request. 

You'll find lots of links, videos and extras...I hope you enjoy it!

Here's what you can expect:

LESSON 1

Making Your Mark - Exploring Watercolor Pencils

• Application
• Basic Techniques
• How Many Strokes, and How
• How Much Water?
• Layering
• Color!
• Exercises
• Bonus Pages
• Videos

LESSON 2

Making Your Mark - Getting Familiar With the Medium

• Watercolor Sticks and Crayons
• Opaque Colors
• Color Wheels
• Layering/Mixing
• What WC Pencils will and won't do.
• Resists
• Demos
• Exercises
• Bonus Page
• Videos

LESSON 3

Stepping Out!

• Putting Applications to Work
• Single Line/Single Color
• Values
• Solid Tones
• Exercises
• Bonus Page
• Videos

 

LESSON 4

Mixed Media and Putting It All to Work

• Finished Paintings
• Mixed Media
• Demos
• Exercises
• Take Five!
• Bonus Page
• Videos

 

QUIZ (just to firm up your thinking, there's no grade!)

EXTRAS:

Brushes and Watercolor Pencils

Testing Watercolor Pencils

All this for only $30, as are all my mini-classes!

You can find all the information and enrollment here:

http://www.cathyjohnson.info/online.html

(You may need to refresh or reload the page, I did!)

And of course, you can still find Quick Sketching 1 and 2 there, too.

Upcoming classes will be on ink and watercolor, keeping at artist's journal, nature sketching and more!  Watch for them...and welcome aboard!

Best--

Kate

CD GIveaway...and the WINNER IS...

...Capt. Elaine Magliacane!

Congratulations, Elaine, and thank you for entering.  I've emailed you privately for your mailing address, but if you see this first, write me at kate@cathyjohnson.info!

And thanks everyone else, for responding so generously!  I put all the entrants from both blogs together in one pot, shuffled them thoroughly, and let Joseph draw the winning name!

We finally solved the glitch problem (though I'm not promising I might STILL have missed a typo!), and we're rolling again.

If you want the CD, of course you can find it on my website catalog, and we'll be having another giveaway soon of the OTHER new CD, so watch for it!

Sorry for the delay while I deal with a dinosaur...

I know I said we'd pick the winner for the CD today, but although J. said I shouldn't even call it a prototype because there weren't any glitches, I found to my dismay (from some kind person who BOUGHT one!) that there were, indeed.  ACK.  We thought it was done, honest we did.


So.  The dinosaur is unfortunately my MovieMaker 2.6, which keeps hanging up and leaving things out.  I've been working for two days to try to solve the problem...but unfortunately they're DIFFERENT things, each time.

And each time I go to fix it I find another typo...so might was well clean those up while I'm at it....

I've even uploaded a new version of MovieMaker to let it repair itself.  That was yesterday...


I'm going to switch to a newer movie-editing software as soon as I get this one DONE (rats, thought I was!), but the project itself, pre-slideshow/movie IS finished--and there doesn't seem to be another software out there that can read it. (Believe me, I've tried!)


Soooo...sorry for the delay!  Technical difficulties...

CD Giveaway!

As some of you know, we've been working to solve the problem CafePress threw in our laps the other day when they announced they'd no longer be producing CDs--our biggest seller!

SO....Joseph's been doing some prototypes to see if we can do it ourselves (we CAN!), and because we've changed something here or there on the cover or on how the files are organized since then, we're offering these prototypes as giveaways!

Here's the first offering...my first in the Elements of Landscape series, Painting and Drawing Trees, with a slideshow, PDFs, jpegs, and other goodies.



Make a comment here on the blog, and we'll pick the winner next Monday!  Free shipping, too.  (I'm putting this on Artist's Journal Workshop blog too, but we'll compile names--we won't miss you if you sign up one place or another!)


Of course this and all the other CDs are available on my website, right now.  After all these years, I'll be closing my CafePress store at the end of July, but the CDs will be available right here: http://www.cathyjohnson.info/cds.html


Who needs Cafe Press??

Cafe Press is doing away with CDs as of July 30th

...and since they have been my BIG seller there, I'll be looking for a new home for the on-demand printing function that CafePress offered..

(If you know of a dependable option, I'd be delighted to hear about it!)

I discovered this when I was working on the two new slideshow CDs...I finally got everything working together and was able to finish a couple of projects that had been hanging around for a couple of years.  As in this afternoon. 

I went to Cafe Press to upload the new information--I'd already sent them the art last week--and to get the information sheet you mail with the master CDs.

They hadn't bothered to let any of the shop owners know about this change until I got an email, tonight, after calling them today to ask what was up.

SO.  My CDs will still be available on my website...and they'll still be in my CafePress store until July 30th.

This has been one of my most popular new offerings...

And after that time, I believe I'll be closing the store entirely, so if there are any t-shirts, mugs, artist's t-shirts, clocks, greeting cards, post cards, messenger bags, aprons, or whatever that you'd been wanting, now's the time. 

Eventually I will have an Etsy shop or a Volusion, or Zazzle, but for now I'm not up for continuing to pay CafePress a premium shop fee and their cut on goodies without having my bestselling CDs available.

The address is here: http://www.cafepress.com/cathy_johnson and again, after that time, the CDs will be available on my website, but the cards, t-shirts, aprons and such will not.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have bought CDs there over the past years--it's been a real ride, and you have been MUCH appreciated! 

And watch this space for news of where we end up! 

quick sketching with a waterbrush

Thought you all might like to see this, if you haven't seen it elsewhere...