Catherine's Comments

My love affair with the medium of watercolor has grown deeper over the years. Today, I paint with my whole heart and soul. Techniques have become second nature, so I am able to go deeper into a force that drives my work. I able to take more and greater risks. This is why I wrote my book..to help all sorts of artists that share this same dream.

And God Created Fog Watercolor 15'x22'

It is a basic how-to-do watercolor book for the beginner, yes, but my goal was much higher than that. I take the beginner beyond the basics to what I feel are just as important (if not more) as the basics they must learn. I teach them 'mind techniques'. First I go step-by-step so that when they are finished reading it, they will be able to put a painting together. It's clear, right to the point. I'll be using it as my textbook.

My book is based on the column I've been writing for the quarterly publication Watercolor Magic, called 'Water Rescue' which recently was voted the #1 column and 'most interesting' by the readers. I also write for the Artist's Magazine.

Woven throughout the book are the 'mind techniques', which I feel are the most important ingredients missing in many books. So much is left out.mostly the things you need to know, and the beginner is left hanging. I feel there are so many technique books out there, you could drown in them. My goal was not only to teach the basics, but to talk about these 'mind techniques'. I wanted the book to really offer something. It was time for me to share these with aspiring artists so that they too, could fulfill their dream. You could sign up for a dozen workshops a year and learn technique after technique, different palettes from different teachers, etc., but if you don't learn to work with your mind, you'll never touch your brush to paper when you return home.ever.

I speak from my own experiences, fears, mistakes and how I turned them into creative opportunities! One of the things I did was I kept a sheet of paper next to me to keep track of my hours each day.like a time clock to see where my time went. That taught me discipline. I committed to a minimum of 6 hours a day of painting. I made mistake after mistake and learned from each one of them. Mistakes are gifts and this is how you learn. I worked through many, many fears. The book is about risking , making that mistake at any cost! Learning that you may just get the results you were searching for! It's about working through our fears and seeing the joy it brings us when we do.

I had a dream and I never lost sight of it. I thank God, my Grandfather, my parents, all the mistakes I made, the fears I pushed through and the risks I took to make this beautiful book happen.

Remember there are no rules! The book is inspirational and encouraging. It belongs in every library, watercolor class, with anyone who loves watercolor, and well, anyone who wants to learn about taking risks in life. So whenever you hear that little voice inside you saying to you (in anything you want to do), I wonder what would happen if???" Go ahead - listen to your intuition and take that risk!!!

I hope that you have as much fun reading the book as I did writing it! I also hope you learn a few things too.I know I have .Someone said, "So? You wrote your own self-help book, heh?" You know? I think I did. I know I did.

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