The Artist's Journal Workshop by Cathy Johnson- Great Book Review

I have to recommend a book I just received and hadn't been able to put down until I finished it.  The Artists Journal Workshop - creating your life in words and pictures by Cathy Johnson.  It is a real motivator for me an avid sketch book/journal collector.  (Albeit a collector of many empty journals.)  OK I'm not that lazy as many of you may think, it's a long and sorted traumatic story dating back to my childhood when my brother found and read my diary!  Since then I always liked the ideas of journaling thoughts, sketches, and such but I was always afraid someone would read it and not understand my rantings.  Writing has always afforded me a way to work thru feelings, list to do's or want to do's (I'm a crazed list maker, just ask my family) and of course being an artist there is the need to sketch.  Whether to work out a new painting layout, practice my skills, doodle, document a trip or just plan recap my day.

With this book Cathy shows you how she and 27 other insightful artists do just that.  No I'm not a paid North Light Books employee, but I wouldn't mind if they sent me free books to review.  It is just a wonderfully done book, showing you how to get over the blank WHITE page, tips and techniques to get you to make this a habit, suggests materials to use, how to put together an efficient and small journal kit for travel and a more complete one for at home.  No this is not an Art Journal, you know the unique pieces of art in and of themselves made from old books or all collage based.  Although I think an artist's personal journal shows that art is their daily life, and thus a work of art for them.

This was just the book to get me moving again and start to fill some of the journals I have collected.  Next on the to do list is to organize a sketch crawl.  More on that at a later date.

I have been working on a colored pencil wave image, not large and more for practice than anything for a larger piece.  Now back to the colored pencils, oh maybe I should get dinner started..........

What art have you created today? 

 

Siberian Iris I and Cat Portraits

                                                         17 x 8 Colored Pencil Botanical
After teaching some fellow artists my techniques in colored pencil I'm showing you one of my works my class worked on.  A long format piece that lends it's self to the almost life size rendering of the irises I brought to my home garden from my grandmother's garden in PA when we moved to our current VA home.  My Mom kept her mother's irises going and then passes them on to me, and I have since passed many on to my sons.  They are prolific and beautiful at the same time.  Although I have worked my way into other subject matter my garden still holds many botanical subjects waiting to be captured in colored pencil.  This will be part of a series, although not right away, as I get easily distracted with new subjects.

I have completed a cat portrait recently also just to prove I could.  It's not for sale as the image was not my own.  But I did enjoy doing it.  My son Chris tells me I should get into pet portraits, something I'm not sure I'd like to do as getting reference shots of living things that don't sit long is a challenge for me.  Now if I could just get my dog Daphne to not shy away from the camera I may just do her portrait.  Her dalmatian spots may drive me crazy but I would so like to capture her playful manner.  Below is my sample portrait at 8 x 6 it's not large but was my first attempt at fur.

 
Keep your pencils near as inspiration is everywhere!