How Do I Use My Journals? What Do I Write About?

Posted on September 6, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

Facebook recently alerted me to an anniversary of 10 years using watercolors in a sketchbook.  As a result a friend asked me how many sketchbooks have I gone through in ten years.  After counting, I found it is between 6-8 /year!

I wrote about this in my last post:
How Many Sketchbooks in a Year?

(Left, the last pages in my sketchbook, where I place my ink list and notes.)

Remember, IMO you need to feel that your journal is a safe place to explore whatever is in your heart and mind.  You don’t want to have to edit!  If you have nosy people in your home who won’t respect your privacy find a good hiding spot!

I am reminded of a Raymond episode where he finds out his parents have gone through his journal every night!  He feels betrayed, of course.  He discusses this with his brother only to find out his brother knew they would invade their space, and kept his in a safety deposit box.  He had a fake journal for his mom to find.

Now I’ve been asked: “What do you write about?“

Everything, though a couple of my journals are dedicated to a particular subject:

  • my recipes,
  • two accordion journals filled with hearts,
  • an accodeon journal filled with memories of my home, Laguna Beach, and
  • two on books I am writing (nope, I won’t discuss!)

I sketch in all my journals.  I often create watercolors for my recipes, shown right.  Some writers might not think they can sketch, but they also may be surprised, and sketching just for you in your own journal might be a place to safely begin to play.  And if you don’t sketch, you can glue photos, notes, maps, stickers and receipts from your days.

When My Daily Journal Shifted

I began to hate having a separate journal.  I worked in my sketchbooks every night, and this is where I began to realize I should just journal in my sketchbook.  My Nostalgie Sketchbook is where I do 99% of my daily journalling.  I love that now I can see what I was walking through emotionally or what was on my mind during the approximate time I was choosing to sketch various images.

Most of the time I journal on the left-facing page and sketch on the right-facing page, shown below.  Once in a blue moon I journal for several pages using both sides!  There are no rules, only my needs at the time.  I love quotes, and place those on the left-facing edge of my “journal” page.  With 80 pages of blank 70 lb natural white sketch paper, I think Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook is the best.  I used to use a black lined paper underneath to make straight lines, but then I stopped caring, and now my  life and journals are a free-for-all!

I write about:

  • my emotional day,
  • what happened to me,
  • happenings with Mitchell,
  • things that are making me joy-full or pissing me off,
  • neighborhood critters,
  • the cats who own us,
  • people who have come into my life,
  • passages,
  • heartbreak,
  • interesting work I am doing,
  • things that frighten me,
  • injustices (this topic is getting a lot of attention recently),
  • family, friends, and rarely, clients,
  • happenings in the neighborhood,
  • inks, pens, paper, or the medium involved in my art practice,
  • artists who inspire,
  • authors/books I am reading,
  • a piece of art I am struggling with,
  • how frustrated I am trying to find time to sketch!

We also have this great card packet — Angel Cards — which were a gift.  We don’t use them in any of the ways the creators talk about and we don’t associate them with angels or spiritual guides.  They have words on them, and we often draw one in the morning and we look for that word’s influence during the day, and talk about it at bedtime.  I write about it if it is interesting.

We made a few of our own because we thought they needed help. They say things like “Go make art!” or “Play hookee!”

Recently I made a discovery about myself.  I need to write more about how happy Mitchell makes me.  I came across an old box of journals from my previous marriage (he died).  I had a moving box filled with Cadic journals about how pissed off I was with him!  Difficult marriage to say the least, though I loved him a lot.  We were not compatible, and he lied and cheated on me.  I was actually thinking divorce when he died.  Looking down into a box of angry journals which is twice as much as I’ve written about my very good marriage of two decades, it occurred to me that it is easier or more compelling to write a lot about anger — for me at least — than it is to write about how happy I am.

The more I reflected on this I realized I write to work through issues.

Writing things down is cathartic.  If I have something swirling around in my psyche writing it down frees me of the repetitive nagging thoughts.  It is almost as if I feel I’ve heard myself, and can then move on to part two of the issue or to something else entirely.  Mitchell finds this to be true for him also.  How about you?

I have made many accordion heart journals and that is all about how happy I am.  Hard to paint a joyful heart when you are not happy!  How do you say you are in love without saying you are in love?   Make heart journals!

What do you journal about?
I’d love to hear your topics.  Give me ideas!

Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book or
Hahnemuhle Akademie Watercolor Paper Book, Hahnemühle‘s ZigZag books,
Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook, and Handbook Square journal.

☾

©D. Katie Powell
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back
to dkatiepowellart and drop me a note at  dkatiepowell @aol.com.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

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How Many Sketchbooks in a Year?

Posted on September 5, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

Facebook recently alerted me to 10
years using watercolors in a sketchbook.
I had to share that anniversary — it surprised me — and as a result I was
asked how many sketchbooks have I gone through in ten years.  I guess between
6-8 /year!

Some are packed up tight, but I have a couple of plastic boxes I am filling as I finish journals.  I recently found this bin, left, a hodgepodge of odd journals as well as what I typically use.

I both sketch/watercolor in these books, but many years back I also added journaling to them.  I hated having a separate journal, when in fact I liked to pick up my sketchbooks more often.  So I started journalling on the left-facing page, and making art on the right-facing page.  More on that below!

Gibbs is inspecting the A5 Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook, with two Hahnemühle watercolour journals (A5 and A4) below it, right.

History & What I Want in a Journal

I started with Moleskins, which it seemed everybody used.  Unfortunately Moleskin changed their paper, and did not change
it for the better.  I did not get the info until AFTER an order of six A4s, sadly (they are not cheap!)  What I have done with those “bad” Moleskins is use them for swatching inks, and for this they’re fine.

I tried Strathmore, Canson (both ringbound), Pentallic, Clairefontaine, Handbook, Etchr and Arches; finally deciding upon Hahnemühle, and so happy I did.  Two of them were just too expensive for my wallet, though they were lovely!  So they had to be affordable.

Issues with the others:
I did not want ringbound; trying the others was good for me.
I didn’t like the feel of Strathmore in my hands, though Liz Steele famously swears by them.

Pentalic was a jumping off point early on, and I loved the folding journals, but they really didn’t have a good watercolor paper.  I am just finishing up a few of their accordion books, which I have used for challenges like the Sketchpack Project, shown left.

Now, I always buy Hahnemühle!

Paper is everything!  It has to be supportive of both ink and watercolor/gouache (more later on the two different journals I use).  I want a hardbound cover, and it has to take a beating and not become unbound.  No Hahnemühle journal has never broken even when dropped! 

A ribbon marker is important (all theirs do), and having a closure band on the watercolor sketchbooks is so nice.  I like having a folder at the back to pop ideas in, though I add that to my Nostalgie Journal, shown above, and usually dedicate the back of the last page to testing various mediums.

I have two different needs in a sketchbook.

In the Nostalgie Sketchbook, I am truly sketching / experimenting using light watercolor/inks, and journaling. For a long time I kept my journaling separate, but years ago I realized the folly in that.  I reach for my sketchbooks most often and so why not use them as a journal, so I can also see what i am thinking during the times I am sketching whatever subjects catch my interest?

Now I journal on the left-facing page, and sketch on the right-facing page, shown right and below.  With 80 pages of 70 lb (190 gsm) natural white sketch paper Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook is the best.

In the others I am mostly using watercolors and inks to create art, with little or no journaling, and want strong watercolor paper for these images.  I use Hahnemühle Akademie Watercolor Paper Journal or the Hahnemühle 100% Cotton Watercolor Books to handle the layers of watercolor.  60 pages of natural-white 90 lb (200gsm) paper, and a bit more for the 100% cotton!  Sometimes I paint both sides of a page, sometimes I only paint the right-facing side.

I tend to swatch the colors of the medium I am using on the left-facing side, and name them so I remember, shown in the Hahnemühle watercolor journal, images 1 and 2 below.  Occasionally I do it right on the page with my art, as shown in image 3.

Hahnemühle Nostalgie
Hahnemühle Watercolor
Hahnemühle Watercolor

Left is waxed paper added to the margin edge of my page.  Early on my journal got wet; I had colors transfer to the opposite side.  From then on I began gluing waxed paper into my journals.  I run a bead of white glue; set the precut waxed paper into the glue, flatten the glue with a flat object like a pen cap, and allow it to set.  I  cut several A5 and A4 inserts at a time and they are stored in my journal.

Size Matters!

I switched from the A4 size long ago, shown above and in the big image below.  I always have a couple in rotation for art projects that do not leave my studio, such as illustrations for a book I’m writing, and so finish maybe one a year.  The A4 is not my main sketch book as it is too big to lug around, and at nearly two feet wide when open, I can’t just find an easy perch!

A6 is too small for me, above, and shown in brown below.  I feel cramped trying to sketch a scene in the little itty-bitty book!  But I was given some so I use them for challenges.  (BTW, the brown A6 Hahnemühle below has cream-colored paper in it for sketching.)

Hahnemühle A6, A5 and A4 journal above.

And just like Goldilocks, A5 is just right!  Fits in my purse, I can balance almost anywhere, is discreet if I am sketching a person on the sly, but is big enough to actually paint a nice watercolor.

Notice I use stickers of my own artwork (I also sell them on Redbubble) to decorate my books.

I like Hahnemühle‘s ZigZag books — their square version of an accordion journal, shown right.  I was given a tiny one and a large one, and since have bought more of the large size, about 5-inches.  I usually finish 1-2 a year in challenges.

Based on finishing on average seven A5s a year, I guess the number in the decade is 70!  Add my A4’s and other types of sketchbooks and possibly 80/year.

I make 90% of my sketches at night, because we have a business and it is a 60-hour-a-week commitment.  Imagine the number if I was not working full time… yes, I am looking forward to retirement!

If you haven’t tried them yet, do! 
They are the best and I have tried them all!

(BTW, a list of tags follow where you can see the various medium brands I prefer tagged.)

 Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book or
Hahnemuhle Akademie Watercolor Paper Book, Hahnemühle‘s ZigZag books,
Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook, and Handbook Square journal.

w16-watercolor-sq w15-inks-sq w15-ds-paints-sq

☾

©D. Katie Powell
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back
to dkatiepowellart and drop me a note at  dkatiepowell @aol.com.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

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VSW: Fremantle AU Boys School

Posted on August 18, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

From our Virtual Sketchwalk group on Facebook, Fremantle Austrailia;
images offered were mostly by Debi Taylor.
We do a different place each month!

Info from Wikipedia: The Fremantle Boys’ School is a heritage building on
the Register of National Estate (1972) with an interim listing on the State register (1992).  Located at 92 Adelaide Street, Fremantle, it was built to house the Fremantle School (1854) and was later renamed the Fremantle Boys’ School. Designed by William
Ayshford Sanford in the Victorian Tudor Style, it was constructed using convict labor.
Made of limestone, the roof has Dutch gables with shingle covering.
In 1910 additions were made by the Public Works Department.  It is also known
by the name of its later occupants, the Film and Television Institute.

I don’t know what came over me.  Instead of simply sketching my building visually, I went back in time and used a vanishing point.  The point was placed across on the other page, above left, lines were drawn — something I did a thousand times as an architect.  Good goddess, what a mess.  It would have been so much easier, faster, with a better result if I had just eyeballed it.

Inked, above, and then I added waterproof inks for shadows, right.
Below, two stages of watercolors added.

☾

 Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book, Pentalic HB woodless pencil,
Platinum Carbon pen with Platinum Carbon ink waterproof cartridges,
TWSBI ECO 1.1stub with De Atramentis Document Black ink,
De Atramentis Document Urban Grey ink in Pentel Aquash waterbrushes,
De Atramentis Document Brown ink in Pentel Aquash waterbrushes,
Sennelier, Holbein, DS Primatek and Daniel Smith Watercolors.

©D. Katie Powell
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back
to dkatiepowellart and drop me a note @dkatiepowell @aol.com.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

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When a Creative is Cut Off from Social Media

Posted on August 16, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

This is a journal entry edited and expanded for
you all to read; I edited it for readability.

Instagram, and Facebook too, have been a game changer for me.

I work full-time and run a business with Mitchell restoring/conserving various types of objects.  This keeps me busy, sometimes working 6-7 days a week if there is a deadline, so there is not much time to drop into painting a canvas, making handmade paper (my paper is shown in the painted piece left), or other types of my earlier creative endeavors.

For a person who is still working in our business and is not a full time artist (where I would be pursuing a gallery, etc.) to be completely blocked from posting on IG or FB is devastating.

Watercolors, and especially watercolors in sketchbooks which are explorations and sometimes lead to a more “serious” or thoroughly designed watercolor, saved me.  I don’t know what I would have done without this outlet.

Anyone can glibly say they make art for themselves, but it is not quite true.  At some point they want to share what they do, and that is part of the joy of creating, sharing your creations!  How do I interpret this?  When I am in my creative space, I am not thinking about sharing what I am doing, with few exceptions.

I am usually working toward an idea or simply playing around with color or line or texture, and I also journal my feelings about whatever is going on internally in my art journal.  Much of what I do is never seen by anyone other than Mitchell, such as the Yahrzeit piece I did about missing my brother Patrick, RIP, left.

With commissions I straddle a line, because they came to me.  I assume they know my style, and I have the parameters of what they need, but even when I am working on commission, I am working for myself first — they did come to me, after all.

Being able to talk to other artists on IG or FB is such a joy.  I am inspired by what I see them doing, and hope I inspire them too.  Sometimes there is a dialogue between us.  As I have mostly been a recluse when making art, this is wonderful.

Sometimes I participate in challenges through IG/FB, which are fun.

So when, for absolutely no reason I can fathom, I was blocked from IG, I was gutted, especially as they did not how long this banning would last. 

They accused me of posting just to gain followers (wow if I knew how to do that wouldn’t that be grand?)  BTW, isn’t that part of what you want on IG?  Isn’t punishing someone for trying to gain followers weird?  Either way, it wasn’t what I did.  A friend asked a question, I posted what you see in the IG spanking, right, and I had no recourse.

When I went to my page, it looked like they erased my followers, those I followed, and my posts, though it still mentioned I had posted 2,713 images (see screen shot left). 

Two days in they asked me if I had anything to say about all this and I answered, above.  When I hit send, “they” told me they were not taking comments from me.  Very strange.  “Why’d you ask, assholes?”

It depressed and stressed me.  Did I want to bother with this again, were I given the chance.  If some AI bot (which is my guess) chose to block me for this, and gave me no recourse (Zucker says they don’t have money for these things, and that is utter BS, if the many ads I get in my feed is any indication) then why should engage in the beast?

I was still on FB, but oddly, my Linked in was also blocked.  When I went to that page on my computer it showed me the Meta spanking shown above right.

I considered moving back to large pieces again and not sharing, working in private, saving them until I had time to pursue a gallery showing of some sort in several years.

The problem is, when I was doing the larger pieces I had time (I wasn’t working for a few years) and so I could sketch then drop into painting canvases or large sheets at a time, and make a series, like my family portraits, below.  I can’t see that happening right now.

       

Being creative is something you have to make space for.  You invite the muse in and sometimes it involves being quiet and still and receptive.  I got a little lost when I was doing these large canvases, in a good way.

I had a little bit more hope when I found out Mitchell could see my page correctly, and they had not erased my information.  And now a week later, they have restored my access.

But here is the other bigger issue: IG is where many people sell their creative items: books, art, etc.  This ability to just pull the rug out from under them is not okay, and should be regulated.  I am writing my representatives now to make sure this happens, especially since one company has a monopoly on two HUGE platforms, and has designed it to be that way by buying out competitors.

What are your thoughts?  (I hope this is a safe place as I’m not tagging any of these companies, so as not to get the “Eye of Sauron” on this post!)

☾
©D. Katie Powell
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to
dkatiepowellart and drop me a note: dkatiepowell @ aol.com (remove spaces).
Follow me on Instagram.

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VSW: Two Aussie Birds in Direct Watercolor

Posted on August 12, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 with a light watercolor pencil as a guide).
Pushing me out of my comfort zone a couple of times a month is good for me,
like eating my veggies (okay I love veggies but you get the point).

Above, two birds found in Fremantle; I used no guide lines!  Yay!
Maybe I am getting the hang of this!

 Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book,
TWSBI ECO 1.1stub with De Atramentis Document Black ink,
Daniel Smith Watercolors.

©D. Katie Powell
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back
to dkatiepowellart and drop me a note @dkatiepowell @aol.com.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

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

VSW: Direct Watercolor of Fremantle Market

Posted on August 9, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 you just paint with your wet medium, no lines in pencil or pen.

This image from the outdoor market was easy, faster, just splashing watercolor.
Peeps I like very much, veggies were easy.  I like everything but the rafters.

 Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book,
TWSBI ECO 1.1stub with De Atramentis Document Black ink,
DS Primatek and Daniel Smith Watercolors.

©D. Katie Powell
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back
to dkatiepowellart and drop me a note @dkatiepowell @aol.com.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

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VSW: Swimming in the Bay, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Posted on August 2, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 shadow
with diluted De Atramentis Document Urban Grey ink
and with De Atramentis Document Brown ink

Finally, watercolors added the lush colors of the green bay.
If I had not seen water like this near Carmel Bay in a cove I might
not have believed this color water could be emerald!

☾

Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book, Pentalic HB woodless pencil,
Platinum Carbon pen with Platinum Carbon ink waterproof cartridges,
Pentel Aquash waterbrushes with diluted De Atramentis Urban Grey ink,
Pentel Aquash waterbrushes with diluted De Atramentis Document Brown ink,
Sennelier, Holbein, DS Primatek watercolors, and Daniel Smith Watercolors.

 

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to dkatiepowellart.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

☾

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

Laguna: Main Beach and the Sixties

Posted on July 29, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 Drive, had the Peace Corps volunteers coming to visit on weekends, and I had not yet met anyone through school.  I met them in September when I started Thurston Junior High.
When I was a girl I was known as Debbie Beck.

My first friends were all kids who were into pot,  which freaked my mom out. I don’t know how she knew.  They smoked under the old boardwalk, gone now.  Laguna was pretty laid back about it all.

From this POV I can understand it. Fortunately I hated (and still do) the feeling of hot smoke in my lungs so I was safe from that particular illegality.

I remember walking with Mom in downtown Laguna. We saw Timothy Leary, and she told me to stay away from him, because he was pushing LSD at the kids, which lead to a long discussion on LSD.

Within a few months a friend of mine and her little sister were left alone for a long weekend, and her eight-year-old little sister dropped acid.  She called me to ask for help.  Mom took her to the hospital and lied, saying she was her eight-year-old daughter.  At the time I had no idea what my Mom risked, but watching my friend’s little sister freak out left an indelible impression on me… It terrified me.

My mom was smart about talking
about drugs, and perhaps it was due to
mistakes she made with my older
brothers.  She did not tell me things that were not true.  She told me, simply, that
the drugs were illegal and might be dangerous.  She reiterated that did not
take them, and was responsible in her drinking because of her commitment
to me.  It all made sense.

She also reminded me we could not afford attorneys were I to get into trouble. 
Both she and my older brother were willing to answer questions without being too weird or grilling me about WHY I was asking or where I heard this or that; I felt safe asking. 
Pretty smart parenting, though there were times when she was strict.

Rather than forbidding me to see these friends,
I had to have them come to my house in order to hang with them outside of school. THAT rarely happened.
Still, I managed to get a boyfriend, Jeff Storm, who
hung out at Sleepy Hollow.  He lived up to his name. 
Jeff should have worried my mom big time —
big blue eyes, blonde hair, and he did drugs.  Trouble.
When I went to my first party with him I was offered ti stick and as I didn’t know what it was told them
I’d had enough, which was pretty clever.

When I asked my mom what ti stick was she had to find out.  No more parties with that crowd….

When I was entering 9th grade at the High School, she told me I had to choose. 
If I stayed with these friends then I was never going anywhere. 
Because of the change of school, now would be a good time to look for other friends,
so I’d have a normal social life in high school.  I did this by getting a new boyfriend
who rarely drank and was an athlete.  I stayed friends with two of my old friends,
but moved into a different circle and it was a very good thing…

Other posts in this series:

Laguna: Crystal Cove

Laguna: Overlook

Laguna: Cliff Drive

Laguna Beach 1950

Castle Pond at Laguna

Days of Yore: Laguna Beach

 

☾

Hahnemuhle Akademie Watercolor Paper Book, White Uniball Signo,
Platinum Carbon pen with Platinum Carbon ink waterproof cartridges,
 DS Primatek watercolors, and Daniel Smith Watercolors.

 

☾

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back  to dkatiepowellart.
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

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

Cats: A Dive into Drugs

Posted on July 28, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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, and in this post I am also offering an article on dogs, which are different in terms of some drugs. Their lives are in our hands…

Memory drugs actually work something like this.  If you are going to experience pain, they don’t stop you from feeling the pain, but make you forget you felt the pain.  As someone who has had one of these drugs used on me during a procedure, I felt tremendous pain in the moment, and the damn doctors didn’t believe me, so they didn’t STOP.  When I recounted every damn thing they said they had to realize that I did, and felt it all.

(See bottom for links to articles; Versed has been discontinued in the USA — but other brands may be in circulation.  Important for humans and pets!)

I am not a medical person, but have had personal experiences with these drugs.  I say this because I may not describe something correctly, which is why you should read the information I offered below and print it and keep it on hand if you have a cat and be ready to argue and discuss with your vet or a emergency hospital.  We have these drugs on a list of never ever give to either one of us or our animals.

A fact sheet from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration is a good short description of the short-acting drugs, though you will notice other unstable drugs are also in the category, such as Valium:   “Benzodiazepines are depressants that produce sedation and hypnosis, relieve anxiety and muscle spasms, and reduce seizures. The most common benzodiazepines are the prescription drugs Valium®, Xanax®, Halcion®, Ativan®, and Klonopin®.  Shorter-acting benzodiazepines used to manage insomnia include estazolam (ProSom®), flurazepam (Dalmane®), temazepam (Restoril®), and triazolam (Halcion®). Midazolam (Versed®), a short-acting benzodiazepine, is utilized for sedation, anxiety, and amnesia in critical care settings and prior to anesthesia.”

Versed was used on my 90-year-old-mother during a heart procedure.  After she spoke of all the people in the room with her, odd stories I’d never heard (or my brother so perhaps not real), she didn’t recognize me, called the nursing staff to have me removed, and became violent with me when I stood near her.  After days she recognized me but then would slip into not trusting me.

With Gibbs Midazolam turned him into a different cat from the gregarious cat he was before he was sedated!  He became frightened (which is still true sometimes though he has gotten better), appears autistic at times, and seems to forget things, but unfortunately we cannot ask him questions as we could my mother.  This drug is often used for dental work, for imaging (imagine risking their personality to take an xray?!), and light surgeries/procedures.

Your vet may tell you that it is all they have for sedation, but there are other drugs.  The reason they prefer it is that it is a quick in-and-out drug, the animal is only under for a short time.  But for us, the risks are such that we always push for the other drugs which might keep them under longer, but are safer.  Ask your vet about Gabapentin.

For more information on these drugs read the following articles:

  1. drugs.com/versed Discontinued under this name in the USA, but still might be given under other names, so read the next two articles…
  2. drugs.com/midazolam
  3. www.goodrx.com/midazolam
  4. Fact sheet from United States Drug Enforcement Administration on benzodiazepines
  5. Wikipedia on Benzodiazepines
  6. Gabapentin for cats (which is a bit different than dogs, as Xylitol is used to sweeten commercially prepared gabapentin oral suspension and this can be toxic to dogs… See this article if you have a dog, and discuss with your vet.)

☾

©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back
to dkatiepowellart and drop me a note @dkatiepowell @aol.com.

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

NOT Politics As Usual

Posted on July 27, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 I don’t think this is about being a Republican or Democrat,
but about crazy crazy bat-crazy shit.

I rarely wade into politics here, but this
is not a normal time.  I’m a Democrat,
but in past voted for a Republican,
once long ago. I won’t say when.

But this is not politics as usual.
With either Bushes, with Reagan, I never thought for a minute they wanted to undermine our democracy, or
actually harm the American people.

Trump is different.  I don’t even begin to understand why he or his people would
set out to undermine our democracy,
but they have in past, even looking to
hang one of their own, Mike Pence!

It upset me so that while we watched it
on tele, I sketched from images
so that I’d have my own record, with
my journal notes, on what happened.

Thankfully Biden beat him last time, but here we are, trying to defeat him again.

Why doesn’t the GOP get behind a sane candidate?
What has made them go in this direction?
What the hell is going on?

He has said what he means to do clearly yesterday at a rally:
“Christians, get out and vote, just this time.  You won’t have to do it anymore, you know what?  Four more years, it’ll be fixed… You won’t have to vote anymore my beautiful Christians.  I love you Christians.  I love you.  You gotta get out and vote… We’ll have it fixed so good you’re not gonna have to vote.” 

A friend says it is because Trump knows where the bodies are buried, implying blackmailing (so to speak) of the GOP.  I have trouble believing that.
My sane (IMO) Republican friends are voting for Harris or Independent this time.
They have no interest in destroying the many benefits of being an American citizen,
and they love our flawed but wonderful democracy.

I have read some of the 2025 document.
It does not treat women well.
It turns us into chattel, to be made pregnant and dependent upon a man.
Women want the same control over our bodies and reproductive systems that men have, and the choice of how we will live our lives.  I CANNOT believe we are here again, having this conversation.

In July of 2020 a talented journalist, Maranie Rae, was in Portland,
and posted images of the
Proud Boys who were rioting
and fueling hatred here.
I asked her if I could use
a couple of her images as reference
and she generously said yes.

I remember being frightened then,
and wondering if or even when they
might show up in our studio neighborhood.
Much of what was happening was
not too far from our studio.
For a few nights we stuck around
taking turns napping on the sofa,
listening to the screaming of the clashes,
going home only to shower and return.

Between Maranie’s images and videos of the nights of violence, I created a few sketches in my Nostalgie Sketchbook.

This time, however, I am more worried than a few years ago.
I mean, nightmares, don’t-sleep-well-at-night worried,
having-trouble-concentrating-on-work worried.
NOT sketching.

How are you all doing?

OLD sketches above in a Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook,
De Atramentis Document Urban Grey ink in Pentel Aquash waterbrushes,
TWSBI ECO 1.1stub with Robert Oster inks,
Platinum Carbon pen with Platinum Carbon ink waterproof cartridges,
Sennelier, Holbein, and Daniel Smith Watercolors.

☾

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back  to dkatiepowellart.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

To hear about classes, follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

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

Cats: Yaman

Posted on July 25, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 Sketchbook, which is a great sketchbook for linework and LIGHT watercolor or ink painting.
Rather it is about starting with some thought to where I am going with a sketch.

Yaman was interacting with Mitchell playfully and I took a series of images of him, then chose four I liked and worked them until I had a great series of sketches, above.

Omi then the trouble began.

Yaman is a mixed Siamese, which is to say he had a pure bred mom who got out and played around with a black tom in the neighborhood.  His sister Savitri is Siamese in appearance, but Yaman is a black-brown cat.

I made a mix for his fur, of Daniel Smith Brown Iron Oxide and Alvaro’s Caliente Grey.  You can see the darkest ares in the detail left, and that is about right.

But the thing was the streaks!!!!  Crap where did they come from?  I use watercolors a LOT in my Nostalgie but this was just toooo much for the paper, apparently.  (In the second image above I didn’t even let it dry, which is why you see white shiny streaks — reflections.  It was just too horrid!).  I walked away from the sketch for awhile.

I HATE not finishing pages, so finally I decided to try to remove the watercolor from the paper.  Remember, this paper is not meant for this kind of abuse.   But I began lifting, gently, and letting it dry then lifting again.  My results in lifting, above.

I let it dry overnight and this time did not use my mix, but made a fresh wash in a pan of the Daniel Smith Brown Iron Oxide and Hematite.  I used a light touch and was okay with his actual fur color being the wrong shade… I simply wanted to give the sketch a chance to stand on its own.  Considering how abused the paper was with all the wet work and lifting, I am impressed that it stayed strong.  I am still sad about the sketch, a great little set of vignette’s gone a little wrong,  but I have the memory.

So what is the moral?

Use sketchbooks as they were intended to be used.  Had I used
Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book or
Hahnemuhle Akademie Watercolor Paper Book, I am sure this sketch
would have been beautiful.  And I, like a dummy, don’t reach for them as often
because they are a bit more pricey (not much).
Frankly, and here is the kicker —

I don’t respect my work enough to trust that
my idea will be worthy of a pricier journal… 

Can you relate?

No more!
I’ll carry my Nostalgie Sketchbook in my handbag with a Platinum Carbon Pen for
urban sketching when I am out and about, but when I KNOW I am going to be
shooting for a nice watercolor, when I KNOW I am going to sketch,
or when I am in the studio, from now on I will reach for the
Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book or
Hahnemuhle Akademie Watercolor Paper Book.

☾

  ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back  to dkatiepowellart.

Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook,
did NOT use (unfortunately) the Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book
or
Hahnemuhle Akademie Watercolor Paper Book,
diluted De Atramentis Document Urban Grey ink in Pentel Aquash waterbrushes,
Platinum Carbon Pen with Platinum Carbon ink waterproof cartridges,
Daniel Smith Watercolors.

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

ANTS: And a Fall!

Posted on July 23, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 stayed there until they had their fill and found other pastures.

THIS YEAR WE ARE STILL BATTLING.

Above, from the earlier post, “Ants Go Marching!”

Izzee has been our watcher, and we’d find
her staring at the carpet, and sometimes coming to me to tell me that there
were ants marching.  It was as if she knew we wanted them gone.  They would not leave, though we did the sugar/water offerings that had worked in the past.  Finally they began to roam the walls.  When they found the kitchen we freaked out!  I decided that, against all my Buddhist leanings to do no harm, we had to resort to poisons.   There were gazillions on the walls, in the walls, and everywhere.

I was in the kitchen doing battle, going back and forth about the decision
to order poisons.  Karma happened.  I took a serious fall in the kitchen…
Still, it really came down to knowing that if we did not nip this finally
in the bud they would take over our whole studio, and this means in
our shellac, etc.  When they march they don’t just hang with foodstuffs,
but show up EVERYWHERE.  I have NEVER seen this many ants, ever!

☾

Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook,
Platinum Carbon pen with Platinum Carbon ink waterproof cartridges, 
Robert Oster “Perth” and “Motor Oil” inks, and Diamine “Sunset” ink.

 

☾

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back  to dkatiepowellart.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Posted in animals, art, art journal, journal, memory, painting, pen & ink, watercolor, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Hvar, Croatia

Posted on July 21, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 Early Baroque and Renaissance styles.  The Heidentürme (Heathen Towers) are what remain of the original 13th century structure, as the cathedral has been rebuilt several times.

I found a video of the bells ringing on YouTube, located at the end of the post!

I began with a light sketch using a Pentalic HB woodless pencil.  (Anyone who says not to use pencil is not using all their available tools, though occasionally I sketch using ink only.)

Inked sketch using an EF Platinum Carbon pen with Platinum Carbon waterproof ink cartridges.

Pentel Aquash waterbrushes with diluted De Atramentis Urban Grey ink
allowed me to lay in some shadows early, both in the building and in the palms.  Love me some palm trees!

Finally, watercolors pop the building from the lush surrounds.

☾

Hahnemühle 100# Cotton Watercolour Book, Pentalic HB woodless pencil,
Platinum Carbon pen with Platinum Carbon ink waterproof cartridges,
TWSBI Eco 1.1 with De Atramentis Document Black ink,
Pentel Aquash waterbrushes with diluted De Atramentis Urban Grey ink,
Pentel Aquash waterbrushes with diluted De Atramentis Document Brown ink,
Platinum Carbon pen with Platinum Carbon ink waterproof cartridges,
Sennelier, Holbein, DS Primatek watercolors, and Daniel Smith Watercolors.

☾

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to dkatiepowellart.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

☾

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

Beyond Depressed: Social Media

Posted on July 16, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 a studio. 
No one saw my work — not even my former husband (RIP) —
unless I wanted him to see it.  I liked not having commentary on works in progress.  Actually, I did not care about feedback at all because my high came from creating. 
There was a lot of experimenting and learning going on.
Sometimes I painted over my canvases because I didn’t want to
keep a particular image, and happily went on,
not bothered by my “failures” as they were all part of the process.

I moved to watercolors because of space.  Wow learning curve, still going. 

By then we had Facebook… FB rarely effected me —
my interactions are few and mostly with actual friends, not the public. 

IG was a game changer, however, a double edged sword. 
I loved seeing what other artists created all around the world,
artists I didn’t know at all, and found fun to follow. 
But like all things having to do with masses of people, eventually the crap started. 

Gads people can be nasty, and not just to me but to others, and I read it.  You don’t know that you are about to read crap until you are unfortunately into the comment.
And I don’t understand it crappy people.  If I HATE something someone has done I move on. 
Why be nasty?  But it seems nasty comes along with social media and I don’t like it.

And then there is the news…
How do we stay informed so we can do what we can,
and run from depressing stories at the same time?

Anywho, it has all depressed me and I withdrew from posting here too,
but maybe I am ready to be back here.  After all, this is not the place where I have had negative responses.  I want a more honest relationship on social media — I would rather know if my friends are struggling.  So this is me being honest…  I’ll go first.

How are you all?

☾
This post is not much about the materials, but my mainstay materials are:  Hahnemühle Watercolour Journal, Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook,
canvas, paper, De Atramentis Document ink, Super5 ink, Robert Oster ink,
Platinum Carbon pen & ink, Golden Acrylics, Gamblin Oil Paints,
DS Primatek watercolors, and Daniel Smith Watercolors.

☾

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to dkatiepowellart.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Posted in art, art journal, commentary, creativity, journal, memory, painting, pen & ink, process | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Christmas in July, a Challenge!

Posted on July 14, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 ribbon!
They dangle from the rafters and twirl in the hot July air!

No one else in our family will cook for Christmas in July, sadly…
And candy is SO time consuming!
But early on we make dozens of STAR cookies and
gift them to put others in the spirit!
No one can resist a star-shaped cookie!

For the recipe for 13 Shortbread Christmas Cookie
click through and remember that you can
eat the RAW dough because, NO EGGS!
(Eating raw dough is the best part, admit it!)

Eating the last of our Easter chocolates is festive,
and thsi big guy became the Christmas Bunny!
Especially the wrapped chocolate eggs!

We are lazy and never take down our twinkle lights…
I knew our laziness would someday be rewarded!
All we have to do is plug them in!

OOOOH, Sparkly!

Our neighbors have not appreciated
our caroling in the light of day at 9:30pm!
They ask us many many questions,
and don’t want to go to visit Teagan’s blog!

We don’t care, because the PLASTIC MISTLETOE
in every room of the house
gives us lots of excuses to play kissyface in July…
As if we need an excuse!

And as a reminder we practice
24 days of GRATITUDE leading up to July 24th!

On the 24th, we’ll roast a curried chicken,
set the table with our Christmas plates and tablecloth,
and stuff ourselves, then prepare for a nap,
imagining we’ve had curried TURKEY!

Before we fall asleep,
we open our gifts!
More candy, many many toys for the cats,
any excuse for a new fountain pen,
and our annual Christmas in July mugs
filled with spirited iced tea!

Happy Christmas in July!

Head on over to Christmas in July
tell us all about your holiday!

☾

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back  to dkatiepowellart.

Posted in art journal, challenge, painting, pen & ink, watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Stream of Consciousness Saturday

Posted on May 11, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 of Consciousness Saturday is “loan/lone.” 
Anyone can play!

He was sitting at the bar reading a script for a movie while nursing a beer, but he looked up so often it seemed he wasn’t really interested.   She sat next to him, one seat away.  “Whatcha doing here?”, she asked.

“Just sitting.”

“Gads he has beautiful blue eyes,” she thought.  “I’ve never seen you here before.”

“I never go to the same bar twice.  Bit of a lone wolf,” he answered.  “Can I borrow some change to make a call?”

She said,  “I’ve never known a lone wolf to ask for a loan; they tend to pay their own way and not mooch off others, so maybe you are not such a loner?”

☾

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back  to dkatiepowellart.

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ANTS GO MARCHING!

Posted on May 5, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

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 it’s shocking size and the continuing battle we are having
(it is still raging),
it deserved four pages in my journal, which goes on and on
as they march across several pages.

.

SO…


In past, they have done a little bit of investigating, and we have a pretty clean studio, and other than coffee food doesn’t enter the treatment rooms often.
In past, they have come in, starting their walkabout, and we gave them an offering up in the reception room of brown sugar water and they followed it and stayed there until they had their fill and found other pastures.

NOT THIS YEAR.

This year they started their walkabout and we did what we’ve done in the past and they decided to go rogue and not work with us and they went (and continue to keep) going everywhere we don’t want them.  Thankfully they haven’t found the kitchen, because come on, only someone who is OCD can keep a studio kitchen clean enough that absolutely not one bit of food can be found!  They didn’t find anything of interest but keep looking.

CRAP!

We really don’t like to kill but we finally took to wiping them out as we cleaned up their ant-trails, and they didn’t care.  What is wrong with this picture?  They finally found a spoon that Mitchell stirred his tea (which he sips with brown sugar in it) and omigoddess did they go to town.  And then there were gazillions on the tea cart.

WE ARE STILL BATTLING.

We continue to do an offering and while they like it they still keep marching.

All I can say, is thankfully they are not cockroaches,
as ants are cleaner than some of the filthier infestations that are possible.

☾

Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook,
TWSBI ECO 1.1stub with Robert Oster Aussie Brown and Motor Oil ink,
Pentel Aquash waterbrushes with Da Vinci (rose Dore)
and Daniel Smith Watercolors (all others).

     

☾

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back  to dkatiepowellart.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

To hear about classes, follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

Posted in animals, art, art journal, journal, memory, painting, pen & ink, watercolor, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kill Winter with Orange

Posted on February 4, 2024 by D. Katie Powell

“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 bigger way. 

Part of this, for me, is about living in a Northern climate.  Growing up at the beach in sunny Southern California colors were rich and vibrant year around.  Blues and greens of the ocean, bright blue skies, and flowers blooming year around.  I had this notion drawn to my attention when I dated a man from Alaska, who spoke of us all taking color for granted.  Though I listened, I had no experience of this and so, could not relate. 

But here, in Portland Oregon, colors mute in winter.  Few flowers bloom. 

The skies are usually quite grey, though not as grey as Seattle, and certainly, like yesterday, we have some blue skies.  We appreciate them… Mitchell and I take a minute to marvel at a bright blue sky in winter.

Today I pulled out every orange paint I own and splashed it around willy-nilly in my sketchbook.  This mess felt good!

I instinctively begin to reach for bright colors to wear, especially in Winter!  Oregonians commented on my bright wardrobe my first years here, and not in a good way.  It felt like they wanted me to dull it down to fit in… keep to those safe dark greens, blues, maroons and muted reds.  But I didn’t!

To hell with them!

Instead, I cherish my bright colored tees and sweaters and even shoes, when I wear them (once a beachgurl, always barefoot).  Yay! Rainbows in my closet! 

We leave bright colored twinkling lights up in our home and studio year round: not just for Christmas anymore!

Orange is the cheeriest color of them all, reminiscent of sunshine and tastes like Spring should taste!  Maybe oranges were a gift from the gods to mitigate the darkness of Winter.

And Chocolate…
Never forget the power of rich gooey espresso walnut fudge in winter!

☾

Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook;
Da Vinci, Sennelier, Holbein, and Daniel Smith Watercolors;
and many pens:  Benu, TWSBI Eco, Sailor, Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy,
Fountain Pen Revolution Himalayan, Esterbrook!

☾

 ©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back  to dkatiepowellart.
Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

To hear about classes, follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

☾

W14 4 27 WC PALMS PAT SQAs my Patreon supporter, you will have access to some content not on this website, sneak previews, goodies, discounts on classes.  I teach architectural sketching, art journaling (art+writing), creativity, watercolors.   That annoying loud-mouth editor/critic in your head?  GONE! How great would that be?

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