Kat Johnston

Tag: artist

  • Artist Feature and Sketch: A tragic clown.

    Kat Johnston Sketch: A proud and tragic clown, looking down with an imperial air.

    The last couple of images I’ve uploaded have been rather… um… sketchy! So time for something a touch more precise.

    I tend to go through different moods – fairly unscribbled here, lots of scribbles there… since I don’t tend to ‘pre-sketch’ for these sketches (ie, do something erasable underneath first before going over the top in pen) scribbles sort of lend themselves to the medium. Even in slightly more ‘precise’ work I tend to work over an area with short, sharp strokes rather than long and flowing ones.

    I know this isn’t a way I always used to sketch. I’m fairly sure that I used to favour more long, sweeping strokes – one stroke to create a line from start to finish. Perhaps it is the tendency of biros to cut out part way through whatever you’re doing (something which is tragically a major annoyance with cheaper brands or pens you have used faithfully for the extent of their life) or the gradual build-up of a line achieved when using a short-stroke style that has caused me to prefer one style of sketching over the other.

    Whatever the reason… It works for me!

    Now for something I’m going to try and do more often: linking to other brilliant artists whose work I admire and adore.

    Artist Feature: Radio Signals.

    I had the pleasure of first ‘meeting’ Miss Radio Signals when the sim my mainstore was located on in Second Life was no longer suitable. One of my customers told her about me, we met up, had a chat, worked out a few things and BAM! Just like that I had found a new home. I’ve never looked back!

    Her store, called Scribble, presents a blend of beautiful products, but beyond her work in Second Life, she is also a talented pop-surreal artist with a great knack for the digital medium. With delicate tones and a style which is all at once both precise and seemingly organic, it is simply stunning. Yeah… I’m a total fan-girl!

    Here’s a couple of my favourites, which can be found for purchase at her Etsy store:Actaeon and Eulogy, though of course more can be found at her website, including wonderful progress shots and a look into the process behind the artworks.

  • Sketch: Rattie under a lantern… and blogging rocks.

    Kat Johnston Sketch: It’s a rattie. It’s under a lantern. He’s cute!

    Ok, first off, the sketch today. It is a little rushed, a little hurried: my husband’s birthday was yesterday, and today has been officially charged as one for recovery. That said, the party went off well, and everyone seemed to like the little pacman cupcakes I baked. They were fun!

    It certainly doesn’t help that I’ve had a nasty case of the flu for the past few days, either. It has truly just knocked me down, to the point where I was laying on the cool tiled surface of the kitchen floor, moaning pathetically with my arm upraised as if in a last, desperate attempt to cling to life. It was not a pretty sight. Luckily it seems to have only been a short bout – it should clear up within the next few days.

    I did not get the position I was interviewing for… I think I tanked on the interview! I had a horrid case of mind-blank, where all thoughts flee in the face of any sort of question. Damn the infernal terror that is the mind-blank. That said, I’m glad that I even got that far, and there is always next year. In the meantime, if anyone knows of an awesome arts-related position open somewhere, you know I’m the gal for it!

    Now, onto the ‘blogging rocks’ part of my title for today’s post. You may recall that just a couple of days ago I made a few comments regarding Karl de Waal’s artwork, ‘Quilt for Melanie’, which is featured as part of the Temperature 2 exhibition at the Museum of Brisbane. I don’t know how he made his way to my site, but I actually got a response from him regarding his work! You cannot imagine the smile on my face when I clicked to open it.

    I’m kinda a recluse: I find it a bit hard to get out and about and socialize in the arts scene, simply because it is all a little intimidating to me. Blogging, and getting involved online, I have to say, has been one of the better moves that I have made. To actually get a response from an artist after talking about them here… well… now that’s just something brilliant. The digital age… who’da thunk it?