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Femme of Fantasy Come Alive in Kelly McKernan’s Paintings

American illustrator and fine artist Kelly McKernan paints women in imaginative worlds other than our own. Each of her scenes includes, as she says on her website; a woman and a world. These women either interact with the world around them or they seem to look off-page, over the viewer’s shoulder, as if there is more to our own world than we perceive, and only the fantasy femme in the painting can see it.

McKernan’s art isn’t classic fantasy, which would mean dragons and wizards and most likely, blazing arcs of magic lightning. No, Kelly McKernan’s fantasy is more modern, depicting worlds that could possibly exist, if we were to stretch our imaginations somewhat. Something that is impressive about McKernan’s paintings is their scale – they are generally between A4 and A3 sizes, which means that all that intricate detail you see below is painted in with the finest, tiniest paint brushes you can imagine…

Kelly McKernan works primarily in watercolor and has had the honor of being been named a Featured Artist for the brand Grumbacher. Check out more watercolor paintings by Kelly McKernan on her Tumblr or her website.

Kelly McKernan paints a watercolor women in this fantasy scene with a moth and the moon
Kelly McKernan paints a watercolor women in this fantasy scene with a moth and the moon.


A dark forest filled with snakes and poisonous berries emerges from a woman's flesh in this gothic fantasy painting by Kelly McKernan
A dark forest filled with snakes and poisonous berries emerges from a woman’s flesh in this gothic fantasy painting by Kelly McKernan. Note the effect that the artist has used on the woman’s hair – McKernan doesn’t usually use masking fluid, so instead of masking the hair areas and peeling the dried mask away to reveal the background beneath, McKernan paints around the hair areas with tiny paint brushes.


A girl dreams of flying in this watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan
A girl dreams of flying in this watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan. The bold reds and blues are a stark contrast to the whites and greys. The colors are reminiscent of the American flag.


A woman is torn asunder in this emotive watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan. The bright red flowers and hummingbirds belie this woman's angst.
A woman is torn asunder in this emotive watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan. The bright red flowers and hummingbirds belie this woman’s angst.


Alice doesn't stumble into Wonderland in this dark, gothic watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan
Alice doesn’t stumble into Wonderland in this dark, gothic watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan. The demonic figure that lies in wait is somewhat reminiscent of an HR Giger character design.


An octopus is tangled in the hair of this girl who belongs to the ocean Gods in this watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan
An octopus is tangled in the hair of this girl who belongs to the ocean Gods in this watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan. This artist uses salt and paper towels to create different effect with the paint.


Kelly McKernan paints in the tiniest details like lace and pearls in this watercolor painting of a pale beauty
Kelly McKernan paints in the tiniest details like lace and pearls in this watercolor painting of a pale beauty. Every detail is perfect due to McKernan’s perfectionist painting style.


Liquid gold spills from the mouth of a mysterious maiden in this fantasy watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan
Liquid gold spills from the mouth of a mysterious maiden in this fantasy watercolor painting by Kelly McKernan.


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January 19, 2017 Catherine Nessworthy Mayhem & Muse

Next

Watch this Artist Scratch a Black Magic Tiger

Remember when you were a kid and some genius art teacher colored a piece of paper with wax crayons before coating it with a layer of black paint? And then you’d scratch into the paint to make a rainbow black magic drawing and everyone was like, “Ooh, wow!”? Well, this is pretty much the same […]

January 20, 2017 Catherine Nessworthy Mayhem & Muse

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A pacing tiger dreams of its homeland in this fierce watercolour painting by Daniel Mackie.

Daniel Mackie Paints Animals with Their Habitats Within Them

Daniel Mackie is an ex-Photoshop junkie who turned away from digital art software in 2010. He says, “Photoshop was making me cut corners and it was driving me crazy with its flat colours. Once I started using watercolour it became instantly clear to me that one of the reasons I was becoming so frustrated with […]

January 14, 2017 Catherine Nessworthy Mayhem & Muse
  • January 19, 2017
  • by Catherine Nessworthy
  • Illustration
  • art, beauty, esoteric, face, fantasy, female, feminine, imagination, intricate, kelly mckernan, magic, otherworldly, paint, painting, portrait, spirit, spiritual, watercolor, watercolor painting, woman, women, world

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