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Kelly Bastow
Kelly Bastow, also known as Moosekleenex, is an up and coming Canadian illustrator. Her ink and wash illustrations are deceptively complex and darkly moody. Her paintings are awash with symbolism, sensuous lines, moonlight and moonshadow, partially hidden characters, and sometimes a hint of MC Escher multiplane.
In this painting, the emotion is subtle -- a character at one with her surroundings and the world at large, a small smile of satisfaction, slow supple motion thru the dark waters. She might be a human, or she might be a Nixie. At this moment, she is serene.
Ms. Bastow's use of mass and form is exceptional as shown in the ocean water below. With the barest hint of outlines, she conveys rolling waves, marching wavelets, peaks and troughs all without the use of hatching or other line-based methods. While typical in paintings, this technique is underused and undervalued in the comics and illustration field.
Ms. Bastow also makes simply wonderful wallpapers with illustrations of real girls and scrumptious food.
Kelly chose to illustrate Magniloquence "because she is badass."
Her first rendition below is pure Bastow: Fluid lines filled with Magniloquence's curvy masses posed with confidence in a formal portrait. Kelly gave Magniloquence a vivid expression dominated by expressive eyes, a Mona Lisa smile, and flowing blue black hair. It is more of a painting than a comic with subtle shading on the muscular arms and skin. The hair highlights have a classical comic look reminiscent of the great [but largely unsung] inker Gary Martin. It is a beautiful example of Ms. Bastow's work, and Madame Mayor will be getting a portrait for her office looking remarkably like this painting.
The second rendition from Kelly is a bit more whimsical, with a reference to Priscilla's day job as a modern day Emily Post. [Either that or she was picking up Priscilla's mail after a long nite of patrolling Wonder Falls.] The outline is more traditional for a comic with wider and more sensuous lines that vary according to placement and lighting. The smile is bigger and a bit intimate, as if to say, " Yeah, I know it's silly, and you know it's silly, but Priscilla's Principles pays the bills, and sometimes I actually get to help someone." Even the body language adds to this playful vision. The glove is wonderful, showing off Magniloquence's strong but feminine hands. The shadows are subtle and extensive, skin, hair, gloves, and supersuit -- even down to the letters throwing shadows.
It often takes artists half a dozen tries to nail someone else's character, even if working in one's own style. Kelly has done it 1-2.
More information on Kelley Bastow can be found on the links Page.