I have a 13-hour flight from Vancouver to Guangzhou and then a 5-hour layover in China before getting to Vietnam. I thought it would be fun to write a post on some things you can do on the airplane. I especially wanted to provide some ideas that don’t involve the Internet or watching movies (though that is a great way to pass the time too). I want to prep a few activities that aren’t too mentally grueling and maybe are even a bit relaxing.
Read moreTravel Sketchbook Tips – Number Two: What to Bring
I’m leaving in a few days to travel to Vietnam and Cambodia (want to come with and share the experience? learn more here). Note that since I live in remote Alaska, it is going to take me a few days to get there. Before I leave, I wanted to write a post about what I’m bringing with me.
First of all, there is nothing wrong with keeping your sketch kit simple and affordable. A notebook with unlined paper and pen or pencil will suffice! Really lined paper would be fine too. However as a professional artist I have lots of art supplies, and I wanted to share a few of my favorites for taking on the go.
Read moreArt in the Wilderness
I’ve been working on this blog post for a while. I keep putting it off because wilderness is a complicated idea near and dear to my heart. Before I begin I feel the need to disclaim that I’m not going to be able to fit all of my thought in one blog post, but that doesn’t mean I should share some of them.
One of the projects I am working on right now is to illustrate a poster for the Nellie-Juan-College Fiord Wilderness Study Area. Last summer I did an artist residency there with the US Forest Service...
Read moreTravel Sketchbook Tips - Number One: Draw an Overview Map
This February I am traveling to Vietnam and Cambodia and I want to take you with me, via my sketchbook. I have cooked up some fun ways to share with you (learn more here), but I am also planning to write a ten-part blog series about my ideas for keeping a travel sketchbook.
Read moreNew Year Planning and Resources – Part 2 Review and Setting Goals
This is a continuation of my last post. At the start of the year I want to share a bit about what goes on behind the scenes as a working artist. In part 1, I talked about my daily rituals, which include journaling, planning, and reflecting. Today I want to share my bigger picture review process. Again, I want to share some of the resources that I’ve found useful in hopes that they’ll be helpful to others.
Read moreNew Year Planning and Resources – Part 1 Daily Planning
I think that as an artist, I’m often sharing finished work, and even work in progress or studio shots, but I don’t always give a good picture of all that goes on behind the scenes. I put this post together to discuss some of the planning and reflecting I do to keep myself on track. I want to share a few art and independent business resources that I’ve found useful in hopes that they’ll be helpful to others.
Read morePainting on Wood
One thing I have written a few times in my list of goals is “work larger” or on a bigger scale.
This fall, I returned to something I tried back in 2012, working with acrylic paint on wood panels. I also tried to scale things up a bit. I created two larger paintings this fall: Nizina River Habitat, (which was then purchased by the Alaska Contemporary Art Bank) and K’esugi Ridge (which I just finished and is available).
Read moreHappy Solstice
My last post doubted the presence of winter. A week later it has gotten colder. We still just have a light dusting of snow, so you can't ski or really travel much by snowmachine (or at least I wouldn't), but it feels and looks like winter outside. So in contrast I wanted to share some photos from the shortest day of the year and the beauty that it holds. Happy solstice to all and happy winter solstice to those living in the northern hemisphere.
Read more“Winter” in December and Deciding to Stay Home
Lara Call Gastinger’s Perpetual Journal
Lara Gastinger is a botanical artist and illustrator in Virginia who keeps the most inspiring sketchbook. I found her work on instagram (@laragastinger), where each week she usually posts from her “perpetual journal”, a weekly journal and sketchbook (now two books) that she’s been keeping for over a decade, since 2000. Her artwork is gorgeous in its own right, but the collection she’s put together and shares in her perpetual journal is really inspiring.
Read moreInspiration from Robin Kimmerer and the Language of Animacy
I share from Robin Kimmerer's book, Braiding Sweetgrass. I enjoy listening to audiobooks and podcasts while I work in the studio, and listened to this book last winter. It’s beautifully written, but also gave me quite a bit to reflect upon with regards to my own work...
Read moreHoliday Gift Ideas, and Pop Up Book Flip Through!
I know that some people are looking for gift ideas for the holidays and I wanted to highlight two of my recent projects and suggest some other ideas.
Read moreThe McCarthy Mail Shack Mural
This summer I worked on a fun and different (for me) project. The McCarthy Area Council (MAC) is a local nonprofit that serves as a kind of town government for McCarthy. Last year they expanded the mail shack building, and decided they wanted a mural painted on one of the walls with the local kids. I volunteered to organize this project.
Read moreIllustrating a Pop Up Book
About two years ago, I started to work on an illustration project, which became the children’s pop-up book, The Adventures of Apun the Arctic Fox. The book is coming out next week, so I’m excited to share more about my adventures with Apun.
Read moreDrawing as Meditation
I talk about the process of drawing things out multiple times and the meditation involved in doing so.
Read moreSeptember Newsletter
I don't usually share my newsletter on this blog, but I wanted to this once, just to let you know that it exists. Every month or so I'll send an update to your inbox, letting you know what's going on here. My newsletter is the first to hear about new work and upcoming events. September's newsletter is below, and from that link you may subscribe or read past issues:
September Newsletter from Kristin Illustration
Thanks for your support!
Read moreSummer Sketchbook
In the last year or so I’ve been changing up how I work. I’ve been taking more photographs when I travel, and spending more time working in my studio, working from photographs and specimens. Nevertheless field sketching has always been an important part of my practice, and remains so now.
I travelled a lot this summer so I mostly used my sketchbook to slow down and have a moment of reflection in a new place as well as to document the landscapes, plants, and other things I found. I thought it would be fun just to peek into the disorganized pages of my sketchbooks.
Read morePortraits of Nature - Show Preview
Last week my solo show, Portraits of Nature, opened at the Bear Gallery in Fairbanks. I promised to share some of the work here so that people who can’t make it to Fairbanks can get a glimpse of the show. It’s always best to see work in person. Also Colleen Firmin Thomas, who has a show next to me in the same gallery, has beautiful mixed media paintings that are well worth seeing!
Read morePortraits of Nature
My solo show at the Bear Gallery in Fairbanks opens this week. I will be adding a blog post about show soon, so that if you can't make it to Fairbanks to see the work in person, you can get an idea of what I've put together. In the meantime, if you are in Fairbanks I'd be honored for you to join me for the following events:
- Artist's Lecture: Thursday, August 3rd at 7 pm in the Blue Room
- Opening Reception: Friday, August 4th, 5-7 pm at the Bear Gallery
Summer Schedule
It is the start of the busy summer season in Alaska. Lupines are blooming, swallows are sitting on eggs, and goslings are teetering about eating grass in Potter Marsh. Before it all gets too crazy I wanted to share some of the things I'll be doing this summer.
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