Hey, painters. Mary here. Working with authors is definitely the most rewarding (and fun!) part of being a book editor. Thinking back on some of the fun authors I’ve worked with, Cathy (aka Kate) Johnson definitely comes to mind. Artist, naturalist, writer (and blogger), home-rehabber, animal-lover, cook, the list goes on and on—Cathy is always up to something new and interesting.
It’s been a few months since Cathy and I finished working on her most recent book Creating Nature in Watercolor, so I thought I’d check in and see what she’s been up to.
When I caught up with Cathy for this interview, I found her already in the midst of trying out new materials in preparation for writing a new North Light Book. Read on for more fun facts about Cathy and news about her latest projects!
Name: Cathy Johnson
Nickname: Kate (among others!)
Hometown: Independence, Missouri
Current residence: Excelsior Springs, Missouri
Kids and/or pets? OH yeah. 3 cats, with two more coming...I recently remarried and my husband will move here next month when he retires. It's been a long distance relationship for a few years now, so it will be interesting to see how his cats mesh with mine!
Favorite food: Tough question! I like to cook and so does my husband. I guess steak, lobster, Joseph's crabcakes, shrimp, spinach salad, quiche, onion pie...and of course an all-American bacon cheeseburger!
Favorite candy bar: Don't tempt me!
Favorite TV show: I don't watch TV—who has time??
Favorite movie: Another tough question. I've watched Elizabeth numerous times, and Shakespeare in Love; on the more modern end of the spectrum, As Good as it Gets always gets TO me. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the first Chronicles of Narnia (haven't seen the new one).
Favorite website(s): http://icanhascheezburger.com/ It's GOOD to count on at least one good laugh a day!
Favorite blog(s): http://kateslover.livejournal.com/ (my husband's!), http://laurelines.typepad.com/, http://ninajohansson.blogspot.com/, http://karenwinters.com/kblog/, http://deefarnsworth.blogspot.com/ --mostly fellow artists' blogs.
Do you collect anything (stamps, comics)? Art supplies! Craft supplies too...my pottery phase is still crowding the back room. I've been known to collect stray cats, I'm afraid...
First job ever: I was a costumed guide/docent at the Old Jail Museum in Independence--I got to meet people from all over the world--beat the dickens out of "you want fries with that?"!!
Best job ever: What I'm doing now. Writing and painting for North Light books and Sierra Club, and teaching art.
When did you know you wanted to be an artist? Before my earliest memory. I have my baby books with drawings done at two.
Give us a taste of your latest project? Make that projects, plural. I'm working on a new book for North Light, bringing my 20-year-old Watercolor Tricks and Techniques into the 21st Century (LOTS of new art materials!), and I'm working on learning a new technology, making slide shows and videos to add to my line of instructional CDs. It's fun but challenging work...one step forward, two back...I LOVE making slide shows, and trying to make things interesting, accessible, inviting...
I paint plein air a lot, so the new slideshow CDs focus a lot on that; another new effort is a slideshow CD on ink and wash--my students have been asking for that one for years! It's about ready to go into production, now.
Talk about a time you felt star struck in your line of work. That would be when I wrote a very rare (for me) fan letter to Ann Zwinger, the wonderful writer, artist and naturalist who astounded me by writing back and becoming not only my mentor but my friend. She is wonderfully talented...and a wonderful human being.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received? Well, once when I was quite young I couldn't get a job without experience, and I couldn't amass experience without a job. A kind art director who didn't actually need to hire anyone took pity on me, showed me how to do layouts and roughs, and said "now, you can say you 'worked with' me." I was so grateful! I asked him what I owed him for the crash course, and he said "just pass it on, when you meet a young artist that needs help." That was 40 years ago, and I still try to do that--and I always tell them just what he told me.
Check out the blog post Cathy Johnson Interview Part 2 for the rest of this interview!
