Kat Johnston

Tag: rattie

  • Sketch and Update: A tiny companion.

    Kat Johnston Art: A tiny rat companion sits inside a keyhole within the chest of a most delicate dame.

    Ahhhh, more of the same… can you tell that I am enjoying this? They’re beautiful, delicate, distinguished and ever so intriguing, don’t you think?

    So anyhow… I’ve finally gotten around to sorting out my things on Flickr so that all of my blog drawings (if not all of the blog photos, for certain reasons) are up. I’ve sorted them out, and there’s even a special category for the creative commons licensed photos so that you can just click on that to get them all at once, rather than having to find them one at a time scattered across the different sets.

    All thrown in together, it all seems rather random: sketches here, cooking there, some pictures of dandelions and other such things. Hopefully the collections and sets will help it seem a touch more structured!

    So yes… check out my Flickr page and explore the sets to see what you can see!

  • Sketch: I’m baaaa-aaaack.

    Kat Johnston Sketch: Isn’t she adorable? Who needs to stuff a bag full of test tubes when you can just take the lab rat?

    Aha! A sketch! An actual, honest to God sketch!

    I know, I know. It has been quite a while. It’s been a hectic few months, from real-estate troubles and sickness through to the annoyances that only the festive season seems to cause… I’ve only just gotten over a very ugly bout of the flu that had me moaning and groaning for weeks over Christmas and even into the New Year. It feels mighty good to be somewhat healthy again. So anyhow, all that horrid stuff aside, I’m finally able to get back into things – and what better way to get back into the swing of it with a sketch?

    I really don’t have a hugely long-winded explanation for today’s picture. As per usual for quick character sketches, I pretty much let her just draw herself. The side-caption-thingie came after, not before. She was going to have a teddy in her backpack, to begin with, but she rather put her foot down and demanded a rattie instead. I wonder why that is?

    But now, dear readers, I am afraid I must depart. You see, my darling hubby has demanded (nicely, mind you) that I do some tidying today. I’m afraid that the place must simply sparkle from top to toe before he arrives back at this humble abode in approximately five hours. Ok… maybe not ‘sparkle’, so much as ‘glimmer’; even ‘gleam’ might, I admit, suffice in a pinch. So long as it looks a bit neater and tidier than it has been in the clutter of after-festivities disarray, I think it might be a good step in the right direction.

    If I’m lucky, I might even be able to bribe my sister into helping out too. Ahh, sibling bribery… almost as good as rivalry, don’t you think?

  • Sketch: A tiny little note to say… I love you!

    Kat Johnston Sketch: It’s a tiny rat… with a tiny note. Lots of tininess and cuteness!

    So, this is a teensie tiny little note, about the size of a five cent coin (a bit larger than a penny, for our American counterparts). I know it isn’t much, but I felt like doing something unbearably cute with my ratties again, since I haven’t drawn a rat for a while!

    I dedicate this teensie little note to my darling husband. I think that’s about it, actually… you might get a bonus picture later tonight, depending on how I’m feeling. Stay tuned!

  • 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?

  • Aw rats… don’tcha just hate it when that happens?

    Kat Johnston Sketch: Aw rats! Don't you just hate it when you have something bubbling away, look away for a second, and suddenly its all over the stove?

    I bought brand new pens day before last! I’m so happy… they’re not expensive pens: papermate ten pack for about three bucks. Why papermate? I absolutely adore the blue. So rich, so vibrant, so pretty pretty. The owl drawn yesterday was from one of the blacks.

    The reason I am saying this? Because it brings to mind a little story. I did a painting class as one of my first subjects when doing my undergrad degree. At the end of the subject, there was a combined classes showing of finished works for the final assessment. I was having a bit of a chat to one girl who was showing her work: it was her first time painting. She was taking it as an elective for her teaching course. She told me to take her over to my piece, so I did. The first words out of her mouth were ‘oh, well, uh, I can’t afford good brushes like you…’ I replied that I did actually buy new brushes before painting that work. They came in a twelve pack for $2.50.

    Don’t get me wrong, I love beautiful, well made, quality brushes… but sometimes when you’re on a student income, you work with what you can get. At the time, I could afford $2.50 for a pack of twelve – and I was able to produce a decent work with them too. Whilst I might favour slightly more expensive brushes now, I can still paint perfectly well with rather inexpensive ones. Given the choice between the two though, I’ll let you guess which type I would generally pick.

    When it comes to drawing… well.. a papermate blue beats most other blues I know for random drawing in the margins of my notebooks. I won’t go near a pen that is horrendeously inconsistant and that I can’t get a good tonal range for, for regular sketching, but even the cheap ones can produce good results if you go with the right brand.

    I do a lot of sketching with ballpoint pens – I hardly ever do sketches in pencil these days. I think its because if you screw up with a pen, you screw up… you either see it through and try to save it or rework it (with often brilliant results), or toss it to the side and start over. You see how you put it together – if you used guidelines, they’re still going to be there when you’re done. On top of all that… I just love the challenge of it. Ahh ballpoint pen, how I do adore thee…