Kat Powell Artist

The best piece of advice I've gotten as an artist is this: "Take a single idea and stretch it over several images!" Sounds easy? Well, yes it is. For the longest time I would create an image by sketching out one composition. Then I would ink it, draw it out with color pencils, or paint it and move on to the next image. But this would often cause me to hit a creative wall, "artist block", and not be able to create something new. So, to fix this I went back to that great advice. I started with sketching out a bunch of different compositions for a single idea. Let me give you an example: This is a recent concept I developed for my "Skellies" where they are in a cyclical loop of self-consumption. So I started with one image, one concept, one color, and then I sketched out more ideas. I started with the idea of branches and berries growing out of my Skellies with a monochrome color palate. Each composition is the same as the first o...

This painting is my first attempt at a "transforming" painting. The idea I had was to paint a figure with the same steps I use when I draw the human figure. You can see in the video that I start with a rough outline for the skeleton figure. If you have ever taken a figure drawing course you know that in order to properly capture the human form you start with the skeleton and muscles underneath. It's like building a house. You need the frames then the drywall before you add the house paint. Anyways, after I paint the rough outline I fill in the skeleton, while keeping the light source in mind. Giving depth and highlights. Keep in mind the skeleton is rough because this is not a skeleton painting. So I don't care about the tight details and realism. This is just a phase. I then move on to the muscles. When I was in college my drawing professor had us learn all the muscles by name, and I knew them all....but then I got lazy and forgot most ...