Sunday, December 3, 2007 MOVERS & SHAKERS KAT Artist Full name: KAT Job title: Artist How long you've been that: I've been painting professionally for about 12 years but I started painting with a brush at six and I'm 26 now, so about 20 years. Favorite part of your job: Doing what I love. Not a lot of people can say that. I do exactly what I want to do and I get to travel. Favorite part of your day: Completing a piece. What time do you wake up in the morning: 7:30 a.m. What time do you go to sleep: Around midnight Name five things that are in your purse: Gum, credit card, license, camera, cell phone Birthday: Nov. 24 Place born: Austin Are you a youngest, middle or oldest child?: Oldest College or university attended: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago High school attended: McKinney High School Favorite home-cooked meal: Breakfast Favorite dessert: Bailey's [Irish Cream] Vegetable that you won't touch: I'm pretty open-minded. The last time that you got all dressed up in evening wear: On the cruise to Antigua for captain's VIP dinner. I'm one of celebrity artists for Norwegian Cruise Lines. Favorite band when you were in high school: The Doors Favorite band now: The Doors, Bob Dylan. I like everyone from System of a Down to the Grateful Dead to Bob Dylan so its pretty vast. Last CD that you bought: System of a Down, "Toxicity" Something almost nobody knows about me: I have a tattoo fetish. Something I'm known for: Entrepreneurial tendencies. Since was 14, I've had my own business. It's a family joke. Because of everything I do, my parents were worried. When I was going to college, they were like, 'What is she going to do?' because I had so many interests. Where do you get inspiration for your art? Music. Live music. Small and large scale. It comes so naturally to me. Its my life. Music and my interpretation of it. That is basically what I feel like I live for. Who is your biggest artistic influence? There are several - every variation of art… even classical musicians are influential, not just painters. People think if your work looks like Warhol then you're influenced by Warhol. But I'm influenced when I take my dog to the park, when go to shows at the theatre, at a coffee shop when I see an acoustic player. I keep my eyes open, there are influences everywhere. I studied filmmaking in college so filmmakers are influential to my art as well. Was there ever a defining moment for you when you said, "I'm going to make art a career"? There wasn't a specific moment, it's more like a feeling and a drive. I was doing what I had to do. I've always been very focused as far as what's important to me and I stay pretty much on track. It's not as much a calendar day as it is a force that has always been underlying that makes me do what I do. Do you ever find yourself surprised by your level of success in such a short time from the time you took a job at the Oh My Godard Gallery to get your foot in the door? Yes. I was just talking to an artist in my peer group and he was saying how life is so funny because he opened for Alice Cooper in front of 5,000 people in a sold-out house then he comes home and picks up dog poop off of the floor. I fly first-class to Hawaii, get picked up in a limo then I come home to McKinney and I'm myself again. It's going so fast. I had my first professional sale at 14. A collector was interested in buying it so brought the piece and he said, 'How much do you want?' I said, 'How much will you give me?' He said, 'How about $300?' and I said, 'Sold.' [Note: One of KAT's pieces of the same size would now range upwards of $2,000.] In addition to past charity events, you will be providing original work to be auctioned off for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital at Strokers of Dallas on Feb. 23. Why have you decided to devote so much time and talent to charity? I think that's the whole reason I got into this side of the art world - so that I could have a voice and make those kinds of things happen. I'm not trying to get my name out there for vanity and for fame. It's because when you're in a situation like I am you have a voice, and I want that voice heard and part of what I want is to give back to not only the artistic community but the community in general and the world.

Sunday, December 9, 2007 Rock 'n' roll artist steps up the ladder By Stephanie Flemmons Staff Writer KENNY GREEN/STAFF PHOTO KAT mixes a bit of rock 'n' roll and a bit of art to create engaging works of art. Her work is currently on exhibit at Oh My Godard Gallery. KENNY GREEN/STAFF PHOTO KAT with Oh My Godard Gallery owners Bart and Heather Massey. There is rock 'n' roll and there is art. But KAT, a McKinney High School graduate, used a little dash of both to boost her into the world of a renowned international artist. KAT's creations are on exhibit at the Oh My Godard Gallery in The Shops at Willow Bend. Husband and wife team Bart and Heather Massey, owners of the gallery, said her appearance will be a much anticipated homecoming event. "She is a rising star," Bart Massey said. "She's gone big in a hurry." KAT, who sold art work for the gallery two years ago, was just out of college and eager to immerse herself in the art world. A job at a gallery was just what KAT said she thought would help her career. "I thought if I wanted to be an artist, the best way to do it is to be around art," KAT said. Bart said he was very impressed with her work from the first time he viewed her portfolio. He said he asked her if he could display one of her pieces, which proliferated into numerous galleries. "She was a little apprehensive at first," Bart said. "I come across many artists who want to display their work or ask how. It's hard to come by an artist with a unique style. KAT's style fit our model. It's eclectic and funky." KAT received her own easel at age 7 and began entering competitions at 10. Her first business professional sale was at San Miguel Grill in McKinney at 12. Bart said her first original piece sold at his gallery for $700. Her originals are now selling for just under $2,000. "KAT's work simply jumps off our walls," said Heather. "Besides the expressive use of colors, people are naturally drawn to her subject matter because just about everyone connects with music. The demand for her paintings continues to grow." KAT's paintings celebrate the world of music, both the instruments as well as the musicians who play them. Describing her unique style, one art critic said "take Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, put them in a blender and you get Kat." KAT said her love for music stemmed from growing up in a rock 'n' roll household. She said her parents are bluegrass musicians and always had people playing all kinds of instruments. "My younger sister could pick up an instrument and play it," KAT said. "I couldn't, but I could draw it." Her first "rock n' roll" piece was a guitar. KAT said after that she honed in on a niche. "It came so naturally to me," KAT said. "I started doing instruments, then album covers. Celebrities then became commissioned." KAT's work will show the faces of John Lennon, Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin and more. Her style is simply what she gathers from watching musicians. "I tend to go to a lot of concerts. Not just big ones, but local shows also," KAT said. "I take my camera and I go from there." She said in her work she uses positive and negative space. "Everything I do is like the musician is on stage," KAT said. "I go for the dramatic lighting." Because of the situations she was in, KAT began meeting the celebrities she was once painting on a canvas. She said Eric Clapton was one celebrity that exceeded her expectations as a person, eventually becoming a fan of her work and the subject of several pieces. Some of KAT's biggest fans also include actress Jane Seymour as well as country music stars Pat Green and Vince Gill. Her success has sprung to a new level, but KAT said she has no plans of stopping here. "I'm always on the move," she said. "I have a six week, six month, three year and five year plan." For the next six months, every weekend is booked for KAT as she showcases her art work displayed at 26 galleries all over the U.S. and Canada and six cruise ships. She said she tends to help people along the way and eventually give back to the art community. "I want to start a scholarship program and send students to Europe who aren't fortunate enough to come from a family who can afford to send them," KAT said. She said she was very fortunate to have the opportunity to study overseas and study Art History, which she received her degree in at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. KAT said she'll never forget her roots, at home as a beginning artist and at McKinney High School as a maturing artist. "My art instructor Susan Evans and all my classmates are all incredible artists," KAT said. "I owe a lot of what I learned to them." Evans, who taught KAT for four years, said her success came to no surprise. "She was always extremely self-motivated and driven," Evans said. "It is a great reward for a teacher to have a student like her in a class. All I had to do was give her an assignment and a little encouragement and she would take off with it." Evans said she stays in touch with KAT and recently went to one of her shows at a gallery in San Antonio. She said KAT had stressed how all she ever wanted was to support herself and buy a house by just being an artist and not having to rely on supplemental income. "She has accomplished this," Evans said. "And she has done it at such a young age."

DALLAS Oh My Godard Gallery, Dallas-Fort Worth, hosted a show for Kat Gardner, one of Michael Godard Fine Art's newest artists who is predicted to "rock the art world over the next year." A Dallas-based artist, Kat's work is on display in Oh My Godard Galleries throughout North America. Shown is Walter Smack, CEO of the company, sitting on one of Godard's custom choppers, and artist Kat.