Author Archives: D. Katie Powell

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About D. Katie Powell

hollywood baby turned beach gurl turned steel&glass city gurl turned cowgurl turned herb gurl turned green city gurl. . . artist writer photographer. . . cat lover but misses our big dogs, gone to heaven. . . foodie, organic, lover of all things mik, partner in conservation business mpfconservation, consummate blogger, making a dream happen, insomniac who is either reading buddhist teachings or not-so-bloody mysteries or autobio journal thangs early in the morning when i can't sleep

VSW: Two Aussie Birds in Direct Watercolor

From our Virtual Sketchwalk group (on Facebook), Fremantle Austrailia; images offered were mostly by Debi Taylor. We do a different place each month. Pen and ink is my jam… In direct watercolor we use no lines (tho’  I sometimes cheat … Continue reading

Posted in animals, art journal, direct watercolor, journal, painting, sketchbook, virtual sketching, watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

VSW: Direct Watercolor of Fremantle Market

From our Virtual Sketchwalk group (on Facebook), Fremantle Austrailia; images offered were mostly by Debi Taylor. We do a different place each month. Direct watercolor is a challenge for me.  I love drawing with pen and ink…  In direct watercolor … Continue reading

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VSW: Swimming in the Bay, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Our Virtual Sketchwalk group on Facebook visited Croatia, and the green waters of the bay near Dubrovnik win my heart. Inked sketch using an EF Platinum Carbon pen with Platinum Carbon waterproof ink cartridges. Pentel Aquash waterbrushes added definition or … Continue reading

Posted in art journal, landscape, painting, pen & ink, process, sketchbook, virtual sketching, watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Laguna: Main Beach and the Sixties

Continuing my sketchbook on early memories of moving to Laguna Beach, California. My first summer living in Laguna, Main Beach, above, was one of my haunts, along with Sleepy Hollow and Woods Cove.  This was when we lived on Cliff … Continue reading

Posted in art journal, journal, landscape, memory, painting, pen & ink, ritual, series, virtual sketching, watercolor, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Cats: A Dive into Drugs

MY WARNING ABOUT SHORT-ACTING BENZODIAZEPINES: INCLUDING MIDAZOLAM AND OTHER “MEMORY DRUGS” Gibbs had a incident with Midazolam, a drug often used for sedation which led to personality changes.  This led us to taking responsibility for what drugs our cats use, … Continue reading

Posted in animals, Cat, journal, memory, virtual sketching | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

NOT Politics As Usual

I am so fucking depressed about the turn of events in our country, about how divided we are, that I have not been able to sketch anything. For the first time in years, I am stuck. Hear me out, because … Continue reading

Posted in art journal, drawing, journal, memory, painting, pen & ink, sketchbook, watercolor | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Cats: Yaman

PS.  Yaman had a skin issue; that is why the bandage. I’ve been getting questions. I hope this two-page watercolor of Yaman has finally taught me a lesson, and it has nothing to do with the quality of Hahnemühle’s Nostalgie … Continue reading

Posted in animals, art journal, Cat, drawing, journal, memory, painting, pen & ink, process, sketchbook, virtual sketching, watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

ANTS: And a Fall!

As I said in an earlier post, in past, the ants have done a little bit of investigating, they have come in, walked about.  We gave them an offering up in the reception room of brown sugar water and they … Continue reading

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St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Hvar, Croatia

Our Virtual Sketchwalk group on Facebook visited Croatia, and the island of Hvar.  I chose to sketch St. Stephen’s Cathedral, located at the eastern end of the city square of Hvar. The eight-hundred year old cathedral is a blend of … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art journal, drawing, painting, pen & ink, pencil, process, sketchbook, virtual sketching, watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Beyond Depressed: Social Media

When I first was starting out as an artist I had a studio and time to explore what I wanted to do as an artist, mostly in acrylics, sometimes in oils.  I painted alone in a large barn converted as … Continue reading

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Christmas in July, a Challenge!

Teagan has challenged us to create posts about Christmas in July in Teagan Geneviene’s Christmas in July  blog hop! ☾ To get in the spirit, we put up a huge cut-out poster of a tree… and added curly bits of … Continue reading

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Stream of Consciousness Saturday

I’m maybe back to participating in Stream of Consciousness Saturday, a writers challenge led by Linda G Hill.  Dipping my toe in to day… Rusty! Linda Hill is our host and you can join in:https://lindaghill.com/category/prompt-2/ Your Friday prompt for Stream … Continue reading

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ANTS GO MARCHING!

Pleeeze excuse the photographs… It is next to impossible for an amateur like me to get good images of largely white paper!  So there is ghosting of shadow.  Oh well! We have an ant invasion of EPIC proportions. Because of … Continue reading

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Kill Winter with Orange

“KILL WINTER WITH ORANGE!” For those of you not involved in the fountain pen community, this is a rallying cry that begins in February, and many posts of orange pens are posted. I’ve been thinking about this concept in a … Continue reading

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Happy Halloweeny

Happy Halloween! I’ve been crazy busy and recovering, but this is a recent effort of cheer! I LOVE October colors! BTW, I did not add the stars… Why can’t they make things simple!?

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HANDBOOK: Robert Oster and TWSBI Eco

I sketched my newest TWSBI Eco, a beautiful blue with gold trim — gold trim is not my usual (I love silver) but this is stunning — and matched it up with Robert Oster Signature ink’s Lost Dutchman’s Gold (a … Continue reading

Posted in art journal, color, ink painting, journal, painting, pen & ink, sketchbook | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tools: New Watercolor, a Test Palette

I’ve been a little depressed lately, some for “good” reasons but some because I-don’t-know.  The world has gone mad, and I’ve been journaling about it to get to the truth of it.  I think talking about it helps others and … Continue reading

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TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen Review

I LOVE TWSBI Ecos.  Well made, good price point, and they hold a lot of ink.  They are my go-to sketching pens, and the only pens where I have all the variations inked up.  (See bottom.) The when the two … Continue reading

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