Katie Jeanne Wood

Mixed Media Artist - daily painter of portraits, flowers, abstracts and birds

To which I replied, STOP stalking me

July 1st, 2014

You Might Enjoy

You Might Enjoy
art journal page

When you’re married to an editor you get emails like this one..

“um, I was stalking you and found a typo in this sentence….fyi 🙂

The scary part is how much money I’ll be spend on books this way” 
 
He’s talking about my last blog post, to which I replied, “STOP stalking me, and my typos won’t bother you in the least.” 🙂 Of course, it made me smile BIG. Nine years together, and he still wuvs me enough to stalk me…and he gets bonus points for being so fast at pointing out my flaws. LOL
 
He knows how much I HATE making typos, tho..seriously. We had a discussion the other night about this one time, over TEN years ago, I spelled the word “vile” wrong. I spelled it “vial”, and someone (a French woman, which was even more embarrassing, since English wasn’t her native language) online pointed it out to me. I never forgot it, and it still bothers me today. LOL I am sooooo weird, yes. Sooo, aww! It was so sweet of him to email me. True love at its finest. xox
 
Still, I refused to go back and edit that post because it’s summer, and it’s HOT, and I’m lazy. Lazy being the number one reason, of course. It does bug the heck out of me, tho. Arrgh. I know it’s bugging Greg, too. haha We’re so much alike, which is why it works so well..most of the time, anyway. We’ll see what he has to say after he reads this post. 😉
 

First Book I’ve Bought to Read on my Tablet Is…

June 30th, 2014

Katherine Jeanne Wood - two trees

Did you have an enjoyable weekend? It’s been dark, rainy, and extremely hot and humid here. 107F yesterday. Well, I love the dark and rainy part, but the humidity I can do without. It was a weekend to spend inside. I got a lot of prep work done in the studio. I had a Dick Blick order delivered on Saturday afternoon, so I have new canvas panels to prep with modeling paste, collage paper, and gesso before I can use them.  

I started reading a new book on Friday afternoon, The GoldFinch, and I’ve been having trouble putting it down ever since. The refrigerator guys were here delivering a new fridge, and I was sitting on the stairs completely engrossed in my new book the entire time. They had to take two doors off our house, plus the refrigerator doors off to get it into the kitchen.

The reviews were so mixed on The Goldfinch, I didn’t know if I’d like it or not. So far, so good, tho. I’m about 300 pages into it. People complain that it’s long..over 700 pages, but so far, I don’t mind. We’ll see what I think later. 

It’s the first time I’ve bought a book to read on my tablet, which is frightening. It was sooo easy to click, pay and have an instant download. The scary part is how much money I’ll be spend on books this way now that I know how easy it is. Gulp. 

I’m off to the DMV today. Not looking forward to it because it’s going to 100F. I hope the line isn’t out the door, as usual. It’s gonna be HOT standing out there on the pavement. Maybe I should bring some ice water. 

At Dusk Stick Close Together

June 27th, 2014

At Dusk, Stick Close Together

At Dusk, Stick Close Together

Acrylic portrait painting

blind kitty sweet pea

baff time lick lick

It’s that time of year again, and even though Sweet Pea is an indoor kitty and Fred only goes outside to pee, they still get fleas. Ack! Today, I think I found the solution with this homemade flea spray. I’m trying the vinegar spray because I’ve read that citrus isn’t good to use on cats. I’m into natural products, and don’t like using chemicals on my animals or in my house. I absolutely loathe giving them pills, which we have done in the past. It only seemed to work for a day or two, and was costing us about $100 a month, too..which is insane. You can get a huge jug of vinegar for a couple bucks. 

The homemade spray seems to be working. I sprayed Fred, and gave Sweet Pea a comb down with it. They’re both resting peacefully now..no scratching or biting. I sprayed alllll over the house, and I’m washing our bedding. Yeah, it smells like a giant pickle in here now, but I haven’t felt a flea on me for hours. It’s suppose to kill the eggs, and adult fleas, so here’s hoping.   

Katherine Jeanne Wood - clouds trees

cloudy blue sky

nov06 111

My mannequin, Phoebe 

When you feel in your gut what you are and then dynamically pursue it – don’t back down and don’t give up – then you’re going to mystify a lot of folks.

Bob Dylan

 Have a great weekend everyone! 
I’ll see you on Monday. 

I believe there is something sacred in art journaling

June 26th, 2014

you might enjoy

It took me a long time to really get art journaling. I knew a lot of artists I admired were into it, but it never really clicked for me. I’d do a page, and it felt awkward to me. How do you “journal” with paint and pictures, I’d ask myself over and over again. I mostly used my art journals for practice. I practiced a lot of mixed media techniques, especially when I was just starting out. It’s a lot cheaper to practice in a book than it is to buy canvas. If you mess up a page, it’s easy to rip it out and toss it (I don’t usually waste paper tho, and I just paint over or collage over it if it really bugs me). I practiced painting faces, and abstracts, buildings, and still life. I have books full on my shelves. Practicing seemed kinda of empty to me tho. There must be more to this art journaling than just practicing, I kept thinking. 

Katherine Jeanne Wood - Disaster 02

It wasn’t until this past January that I started the almost daily practice of art journaling, and now I not only get it, but it’s been my go-to activity as soon as I arrive in my studio. It’s “me” time, and I don’t have to worry about anyone liking what I create because much of what I do in my journals never see the light of day. I don’t post it here on my blog, not because I’m ashamed of the pages I’ve created, but because I believe there is something sacred in art journaling. It’s okay to keep some things private. I think we’ve all lost a great deal of ourselves because of social media, and the amount of over sharing we do. Sometimes, the things I see on FB make me cringe. I feel like telling some people to get a grip. Seriously. Are we all that lonely and desperate for attention? I have to wonder, but that’s a topic for another day.  

Katherine Jeanne Wood - drawings

 Because I’m not posting my pages or making art specifically to sell, I am free to create whatever I want. I just have to show up, and push paint, pastels, crayons around until..until I get whatever’s on my mind out..until I feel lighter..until I feel there’s nothing left inside me that needs to come out on the page. Ahhh. What a magical feeling that is. I get it! I totally get it now. 

I suggest you try art journaling for 10 or 20 minutes a day. Set a timer, if you’re concerned about time, and begin. Let yourself be free. If all you feel like doing is making marks on the page, then make marks on the page. You can figure it out tomorrow or later. You don’t have to start a page and finish it right now. Try art journaling like this for a week, and see what happens. If you like it, do it for another week. Before you know it, 6 months will have passed, and you’ll still be working in your art journal every day, just like me. 🙂 It’s addicting. 

 

 

Moon – acrylic abstract painting

June 23rd, 2014

Katherine Jeanne Wood - moon

Moon – acrylic abstract painting

I’m feeling a bit under the weather. I’ve been taking AllergiClear for my outdoor allergies, and it was working great up until about a week ago. Our grass pollen level is “very high” right now, and ugh. I’m not feeling so great..feverish, chills, sore throat, sick to my stomach, stuffy head, and sleeeeeeepy. Outdoor allergies always make me feel like I have the flu. Don’t worry, I’m not contagious. You won’t get sick from reading my blog. 😉 

This week I’m going to try something different, and instead of posting morning blogs, I’m switching to afternoon or evening. I like starting my day out slowly, so why am I rushing to get a post done every morning? Seems silly to me when all I have to do is move my posts back a few hours, and take some pressure off myself. 

Her Name was Lola – TBT

June 19th, 2014

Throwback Thursday

 2006
Throwback Thursday  
Her Name Was Lola

I’m not sure how many teeth I thought people have in their mouths, but obviously, a lot.
And, those eyes. Whoa! 

I don’t like looking back. I’m always constantly looking forward. I’m not the one to sort of sit and cry over spilt milk. I’m too busy looking for the next cow. ~Gordon Ramsay

 

blind kitty Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea is chillin’ on the window

Greg and I have been watching Orange is the New Black this week. We’ve heard that season 2 is a must see. We had 6 more episodes of season one to watch at the beginning of the week. I must say, after not watching the series for a few months, it was difficult to get back into it. We were bored, and yawning, but last night, it finally was more interesting. Hopefully tonight will be even better. Three more episodes to go until season 2.

Katherine Jeanne Wood - little pink flower

Today’s going to be busy for me. I’m working on a new wholesale order, and submitting my work to a few publications. I’m starting to branch out, and dream bigger than ever. Last week I submitted work to a card company. I’m hoping to sign a licensing contract within the next couple weeks. If not with this company, I’ll find another. Can’t stop. Won’t stop. It’s all out there, I just have to reach out and get it. 

Listening to: She saw the world through a mason jar

 

 

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