Monthly Archive for July, 2009

Busy times, busy times.

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on July 24, 2009
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So, there isn’t a picture with this post. Uhhh, sorry about that! You see, I’m down in Sydney at the moment, because a gorgeous friend of mine just happened to have booked her ticket here for the wrong day. Thus, I stole it (not literally, she did offer), and flew on down to attend another friend’s birthday party that I would have otherwise missed. Fortune smiles on me.

Just in case you were wondering, there is a reason why I haven’t posted in the past couple of days. I just started doing a little work as a Development Coordinator, so I was doing that on Tuesday and Wednesday. When I got home after those days, I just collapsed into bed and fell asleep, after grabbing whatever I could out of the fridge for a quick and probably unhealthy meal. It is a great office to work in, but still tiring!

So I did intend to throw up a picture yesterday. However that is when I got the call from my friend, to say, “Hey Kat! Uhhh… did you want to go to Sydney in four hours?” How can I say no to that? So for now, I am in Sydney, and there is a scanner close-by, though I’m not sure that it is plugged in… in either case, I’m not sure that I will be posting something of actual significance until Monday, which is when I get back to my wonderful hometown… where the drive from the airport to my final destination will thankfully not be over 2 hours long as it has been here in Sydney.

Anyhow… that’s all for now. Much fun, debauchery and awesomeness shall be had this weekend, and I will update you all when I can!

Sketch: I have a boo-boo… and it isn’t fixed yet.

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on July 20, 2009
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Kat Johnston Sketch: I had to go to the doctor today... and you know what he said? Go get an MRI... then come back.

Today has been an especially long, long day. I won’t go into the gory details (not that they are all that gory), but suffice to say, when the day starts sometime around 2am with a hospital visit, it is sure to turn into a long day.

As it so happens, I had to go to the doc today as well - the 2am trip was not for me. I’ve had a little problem with my knee for the past few months, and it has been utterly annoying, because I have to avoid putting pressure on it, bumping it, or otherwise disturbing my poor silly knee. After going to the GP and getting an ultrasound done, the verdict was fairly simple: go see another doctor. Today I finally go in to see the orthopedic specialist, and after about 5 minutes, he goes, ‘Go downstairs and book an MRI, then make another appointment to see me.’

As happy as I am that I didn’t have to sit around all day, waiting for my appointment, it did seem fairly pointless to go in, have him prod my knee for a minute, and go, ‘eh, go get another scan.’ I mean, I understand if it is necessary, but I wish that someone else would have seen that it would have been necessary, so that I didn’t have to wait a month for this appointment, and then potentially have to wait another month (or longer, who knows…) for the next.

With all that aside, however, this is what I was drawing while I was waiting for my appointment. Perhaps I was overdoing it just a little with the personal pity party of one, but it just happened to make me smile.

Sketch: Fluffy fluffy joy!

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on July 19, 2009
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Kat Johnston sketch: Yes, I know it's rough... but he's so cute and happy! And he has claws! Rawr!

Ok, so I know that this sketch is particularly rough - not that many of my other quickie sketches are particularly refined. I love him to bits though! Ok, so why did I draw him? Because he well and truly asked to be drawn.

You see, I have that funny thing where, when I am looking at something, it might turn out to be something entirely different from what I see. In this case, a little preview thumbnail for something was screaming out that it was this little boy (give or take… very roughly, mind you), when in fact, the full image was far more staid and boring and entirely not… well… this little boy!

Thus, I really had no choice. With his little head peeking out from that furry, fluffy suit, he cried out, “Draw me!” to which I promptly responded, “Nay, little Sir, for you are meant to be some silly, boring artifact, are you not?”

He shook his head with all the childish certainty that seemingly comes from being dressed (and joyfully so) in a dinosaur suit at the very grown-up age of around about five. “But you must draw me! I’m no silly clay figurine, with boring spiky hair and a dreary, dull pose. I’m me!”

I mused for a moment longer. I still wasn’t quite sure. “But, little one, don’t you wish to be what you are meant to be? In reality, you are not a little boy in a fluffy suit at all, but a blurry snatch of something else.”

He shrugged and laughed. “I am what I am,” said he, spreading his arms wide. “Does it matter if I am also something else? When you look at me, that something else is not what you see. All you see is me. Is this smaller truth any less relevant than the greater?” I was up against a very informed little imaginary boy indeed… and one with a wider vocabulary than I would have expected. And, I had to admit, he had a point.

“I’ll draw you,” said I. And so I did!

Guest Spot: Someone else likes cthulhu too!

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on July 17, 2009
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A special guest spot, for our daring cthulhu!

After posting the ’sorta paper-craft, but really dodgy’ post just before, a glorious girl I know decided to print it out and colour it in. Here is the result. If you are curious to see more from my dashing friend, check out her blog here! Her awesome colouring in is posted with permission, because I’m just awesome like that.

If you print out and colour little cthulhu here, or any of my pics, really, let me know! I might just post them to the site if you provide me with a copy. Oh dear… I think it’s almost getting to the point where Cthulhu needs its own category. Heaven forbid!

Sketch: Show that you care, with Cthulhu.

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on July 17, 2009
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Kat Johnston Sketch: Show you care with the gift of cthulhu. Ok, so this would actually look kinda sucky if you actually made it, but the concept is sound!

Sorrrrrry… I know. Enough cthulhu already. I can’t help it - they’re just toooo cute! Today’s installment on the cthulhu-train is a silly not-quite-papercraft style thingime that could be (if you wanted to put something totally lame on someone’s desk for them) cut out and constructed into something cute. The fact that it is drawn on notepaper and is rough as guts does kind of detract, but I’m actually thinking that it wouldn’t be a totally bad idea for me to make one of these for realsies. It wouldn’t really be that hard to do, and how cute would it be? Super cute. Seriously, show that you care with cthulhu. Do you think it would be a hit? Would you actually want to see a completed one, able to be cut out and constructed?

So anyhow, that is about it for today. Nothing especially exciting to disclose, or let you know about. I think that we’re able to actually start putting things back into the storage room, which will be a blessing, since all of those stupid boxes have been stored in my studio, barring its use for almost 6 weeks straight. Talk about frustrating, huh?

So for today, I shall leave it at that. Enjoy your day, everbody!

Sketch: Yes… I’m doing a lot of pictures today.

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on July 16, 2009
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Kat Johnston: Yes. It is a cthulhu in a sailor dress. It amuses me.

Dimi, I blame you for this. I just want you to know that. That aside, this cthulhu is super-cute!

That is all. I won’t bore you with a round-about post this time, since I’ve already done two of those so far today. Last cthulhu today, I promise. Oh, and the site will probably return to a semblance of normality sometime soon. In the meantime, it is a make-over for cthulhu madness.

Sketch: A bonus. Look, a little pretty colour!

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on July 16, 2009
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Kat Johnston Digital sketch: Look! She's got just a teensie bit of colour... yay!

Ok, So I’ll admit it - I had awesome fun adding a teensie bit of colour to this sketch. I know that a smart person would redo the sketch to be perfectly suited to the digital form - outlining things again with the pen tool, and getting awesome, crisp lines… but sue me. I’m lazy, and as if you can’t tell, I love seeing my working marks on sketches!

So anyhow, this is a little extra bonus pic for the night. Cutie-cthulhu, with a little bit of rough colour! I’m going to get back to my real life for the evening now. I have some wonderful music playing, I’m bopping along happily, and I’m allllmost tempted to go see what gorgeous wines we have lying around. That is just how awesome tonight is.

In fact, it is so awesome that I did up another brand new banner for the site. It’s just a bit of silliness, but still… a lot of fun for me! Hope you like it!

Sketch: Cthulhus can be female too… I think.

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on July 16, 2009
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Kat Johnston Sketch: It is a cthulhu, and it is a girl. It is cute!

Is there such a thing as a cthulhu who is also a girl, or at least ‘of the female persuasion’? I suggest that there is. I have not seen a picture of one before (not that I have gone searching, mind you), but I think that there should be. Perhaps if there were not, there are none for good reason. Perhaps if there were girl cthulhus, they would actually be prolific breeders, and the Earth would be overrun by them. With that entirely said, I have not read H.P. Lovecraft at all. For all I know, the breeding habits of the common cthulhu is expressly outlined in detail within the first paragraph of ‘Call of the Cthulhu’. You know… right by that bit where they explain exactly how to pronounce the damn word.

After going through the Wiki for Cthulhu, it would appear that Cthulhu might actually have reproduced to create, uhhhh, mini-cthulhu (otherwise known as ’star spawn’)… possibly without the aid of a female. I’m sure somebody can correct me properly, so that I don’t get it wrong.

Wait, was this meant to be a blog about art? About sketches and inspiration? Boy I’m posting some random things, recently…

Sketch: Cthulhu likes to eat real-estate agents… for breakfast.

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on July 15, 2009
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Kat Johnston Sketch: This cthulhu eats real-estate agents for breakfast. Oh, and lunch. Perhaps also dinner, and for a midnight snack.

I am lucky, I suppose, that I have a part of me that stops me from ranting on in a big way on my site, since I know that invariably it will be backed up somewhere, and someone may just well use my words against me in the future. Despite all that, I have to say - I have completely had it with my real-estate agent, the owners of the property I live in, and every builder they have had through these doors. I would love to name and shame them all, but I could just imagine that landing me in trouble. Despite that, the desire to do so is quite strong, because I would hate to see anyone affected in the same way by these morons in the future.

Ok, anyhow, lets put aside talk of real-estate agents… it makes me angry, and I’m really, really trying not to be! Instead, lets have a look at today’s picture. It just happens to be a real-estate agent eating cthulhu. It likes to chomp on the bones of agents who ignore the RTA and real-estate law, making sure that there is nothing left with which to terrorize helpless renters whose homes, privacy and time have been invaded, destroyed and imposed upon without concern or seemingly reason. Oh, and it is good at chomping on the bones of thoughtless, moronic contractors with combined IQs approximately equivelant to a newt’s (with a learning disorder, mind you), too. It has a lot to keep it satisfied - that is why it looks so cute and happy!

Sketch: More Rabbit Ears.

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on July 13, 2009
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Kat Johnston Sketch: More rabbit ears.

Just another picture of rabbit ears… They’re fun.

You know, some days, I feel like an utter fake. The pictures I put up here, they are just two second sketches, in most cases. Then I go browsing some of my favourite blogs (and a few new, as well), only to find people using their web spaces to display the most beautiful works, in progress and completed. Meanwhile, my little corner of the internet is chock full of things drawn on scraps of paper. Now don’t get me wrong, I like things drawn on scraps of paper, but I feel soooo inferior compared to some out there!

What is even more frustrating is this. After over 6 weeks of construction, of builders in and out of our house to fix things at the instructions of the owners, I still have a studio filled with boxes because parts of our house have had to remain free for the builders to come in and tear down walls and ceilings and paint and so forth. I am just so sick of it. I couldn’t even navigate my way into that room if I tried and it is driving me nuts. Throw into that the fact that we have been paying full rent while they come in and disturb our lives to this gigantic degree, and I’m at the end of my tether. For a job that was quoted ‘five days’, this is dragging on way too much… and the disturbance to our lives is above and beyond merely intrusive.

I want to get out of here. I want to get out of this house, and into a new one, to make a fresh start and hopefully find owners who have at least the tiniest regard for the people who pay to live in their property. I understand that in the end, this is not ‘our’ house - but while we live here, it is. I would love to go over to their house, and disturb their lives just as much as they have done ours… to leave their doors unlocked for hours when nobody is home, as the builders have done here, or show up on their roof unexpected in the early hours of the morn. I’d love to tear down walls and restrict the movement of their pets because suddenly their home is unsecured for days on end… or leave huge trails of debris, dust and mess lying over simply everything, because of course it is not the builder’s responsibility to clear up after themselves.

I’m just tired. So incredibly tired, and so incredibly worn. And I’ve had about enough. To top it all off? The rental market sucks. Someone fetch me a voodoo doll, I think I need to do some pinning.