My Gallery Assistant Is Bonkers

Art Gallery Assistant - Bonkers

Art Gallery Assistant – Bonkers

You can’t survive as a painter unless you’re happy to work alone. I certainly need time to think through problems and reflect on what I’ll paint next. That said, I do enjoy a little company sometimes.

I found the companion I was looking for at the Cat Haven. My five-year-old black cat is called Bonkers. I find her the perfect personal assistant and companion. Let me tell you why.

There are days when visitors come to my home. Bonkers will greet them at the door with all the friendliness and charm of a dog. She ushers in the guests and allows herself to be stroked and photographed.

Cats are superior to dogs as social icebreakers. There is no sudden and unsettling invasion of personal space. Dogs will investigate what they find fascinating. Cats show more restraint. Once the kettle is on my assistant will retire to attend to mysterious matters in the garden.

Bonkers maintains an interest in my work. Twice a day she will visit the studio. I’ll look up and there she is staring at me through the window. I am her cat television. I suspect the paint smell is too much for her because she never comes inside.

Her position outside the window means I have the benefit of her company without the nonchalant cat chaos of paw marks and tipped over jars. She is that marvellous blend of care and unobtrusiveness.

Bonkers The Kitten - Just After Arriving From The Cat Haven

Bonkers The Kitten – Just After Arriving From The Cat Haven

My assistant has only one minor flaw. At around 5.30 pm, her charm vanishes. She is suddenly rude and demanding. There is no room for negotiation about dinner delivery. There will be no quiet contemplation for anyone until this cat has been fed. Still, after a day of her loyal and measured support, I’m happy to oblige. Where else would I find an assistant who suits me so perfectly?

PS: If you’d like to adopt a personal assistant contact your local cat welfare organisation. In Perth that is the Cat Haven, which is where our Bonkers spent some of her formative weeks.

PPS: Thank you to the Cat Haven for taking up Bonker’s story and putting her name up in lights! (She made page 18 of Cat Chat, quite some achievement in the feline world!). The offer referred to by the Cat Haven will stand until June 30 2019. If prior to purchasing one of my paintings from my online gallery someone refers to the Bonkers story, $200 will be donated to the Cat Haven to cover the cost of subsidised sterilisation and microchipping for two cats.

View: Ken Rasmussen Paintings

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