Friday, May 1, 2009

Meet the Correspondents--Cathy Johnson, otherwise known as Kate

Hi all--it occurred to me that I'd never introduced myself--I was in such a flurry getting the group blog up and going and getting correspondents on board, I just forgot!

I've written 34 books, both on natural history and on art (watercolor, drawing, sketching, working in nature) including The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature, Revised Edition and my newest North Light book, Creating Nature in Watercolor: An Artist's Guide, pictured below.



I'm very excited about how this blog has grown in such a short time--and delighted with the quality of our correspondents. Learning more about nature in other parts of the planet makes the whole world feel more like home, even the more exotic ones.

Gabi Campanario's Urban Sketchers blog made me realize the global possibilities of a group blog, so with his support and suggestions, I jumped into the pond and here we are! (Thanks, Gabi!)

I was Staff Naturalist for Country Living Magazine for 11 years, but freelanced with both writing and art for Country Life, Early American Life, Sports Afield and more--the illustration below was done for Sports Afield.




And if I EVER get around to doing the CD/slideshow for working in nature, this is the photo I'd planned to use!

Mainly, I wanted to encourage and enable this group effort because working in nature has been part of my life as long as I can remember, and wanted to share it with others, like-minded. I love getting nose-to-nose with nature, I love drawing and sketching, I love plein air painting. I know how healing this is, how full of learning and magic, and how necessary. I believe most of our correspondents feel the same!

8 comments:

  1. Hi Kate, I love your art and have a few of your books on my shelf right now! Nature is the best subject to study from...you never run out of ideas :)
    I just happpened to find this site and I love it, all the artists are terrific.
    Thanks
    Chris

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  2. I'm glad you like it, Chris! Feel free to link to us, and spread the word! (And thank you for the kind words!)

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  3. Thanks Kate ! Obrigado pelo convite para participar de suas belas iniciativas é uma honra para mim ! Thanks !!!

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  4. You're so welcome, Rene, we're glad to have you!

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  5. I have both of the books you mentioned, but I think I have the older Sierra Club book - they're BOTH excellent and I refer to them time and again. I've learned a lot from this blog already, such a great idea you had to start this!

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  6. Thanks, Elizabeth! That first Sierra Club book really seems to have filled a niche, it's done quite well! The Sierra Club Guide to Painting in Nature came out just when they were having distribution problems, and I don't think it ever quite got the audience the first one did.

    I've learned a lot already, too, I am SO glad I decided not to put it off any longer. And it's only going to get better, when some of our other correspondents have time to blog, too!

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  7. I am SO happy you took the time and trouble to make this blog and get it up and running. It is truly unique isn't it? A big thank you.

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  8. You're welcome! I don't really know if it's unique, but I don't know of any group blogs devoted to nature and art--so I'm glad I did too!

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