KRYSTII MELAINE
Flying Home
Trailside Galleries Presents
KRYSTII MELAINE: FLYING HOME May 16 – May 28, 2022 I’ve been observing and painting birds for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Australia, I was always surrounded by parrots, cockatoos, and many other colorful and noisy species. As a shy, creative child, bird watching became a natural pastime. My earliest books were about birds, and I still have them. The brand of tea that my parents drank came with collectible cards depicting the birds of the world, and I eagerly collected them all. One of my earliest commissions was a drawing of a friend’s pet sulfur-crested cockatoo. I’ve always kept bird species lists wherever we lived, happily noting each new sighting. For a time, I volunteered with an organization that banded tiny migratory shore birds on the southern end of their journeys to and from the Arctic. Holding such delicate but intrepid birds in my hands was an amazing experience. When I began painting full time in 1992, I naturally turned to birds for inspiration. My first entry in the 1992 Wildlife Art Society of Australasia annual exhibition, a water bird, won an award. I painted Australian birds until 2000, when I brought my bird and wildlife paintings to the USA and gradually diversified into Western subjects. After thirty years of exploring a wide range of living things in paint, it seems fitting to celebrate this anniversary of my beginnings by flying full circle back to my first love – painting birds. I’m approaching them with the same admiration for their beauty and diversity, but with fresh ideas on how to present them. Minimal abstract backgrounds and simple, elegant frames allow each species to display their finest attributes. Whether familiar garden friends or exotic species from far off lands, each one brings the wonder and beauty of the natural world into our lives. These paintings are timeless, modern classics which I hope will delight for generations. — Krystii Melaine
FLYING HOME - LITTLE EGRETS
oil on linen panel, 48 x 64 inches 3
A MEETING OF MINDS - GREATER FLAMINGOS
oil on linen panel, 36 x 36 inches 4
REGAL - GREAT EGRET
BLUSH - GREATER FLAMINGO
oil on linen panel, 12 x 12 inches
oil on linen panel, 12 x 12 inches
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ALIGHT ROSEATE - SPOONBILL
oil on linen panel, 28 x 48 inches 6
ABOVE
oil and cold wax on cradled birch panel, 24 x 24 inches 7
BROLGALLIVANTING - AUSTRALIAN BROLGA
oil on linen panel, 24 x 48 inches 8
STARLIGHT - GREAT HORNED OWL
oil on linen panel, 48 x 28 inches
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UNOHEMU - GREY CROWNED CRANES, ZULU
oil on linen panel, 48 x 48 inches 10
MAGNANIMOUS - BLUE AND GOLD MACAWS
oil on linen panel, 36 x 64 inches 11
AFLOAT - RING-NECKED DUCK
oil on cradled birch panel, 36 x 36 inches 12
GLACIER GUARDIAN - AMERICAN CROW
oil and cold wax on hardboard panel, 24 x 36 inches 13
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SWING - CARDINAL
BLUE FOR YOU - PEACOCK
oil on linen panel, 9 x 12 inches
oil on linen panel, 12 x 9 inches
PELICANTORTIONS - AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS
oil on canvas panel, 26 x 26 inches 15
PRICE LIST (In the order they appear)
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FLYING HOME - LITTLE EGRETS
$22,000
A MEETING OF MINDS - GREATER FLAMINGOS
$15,000
REGAL - GREAT EGRET
$2,800
BLUSH - GREATER FLAMINGO
$2,800
ALIGHT ROSEATE - SPOONBILL
$14,000
ABOVE
$3,500
BROLGALLIVANTING - AUSTRALIAN BROLGA
$12,000
STARLIGHT - GREAT HORNED OWL
$14,000
UNOHEMU - GREY CROWNED CRANES, ZULU
$18,000
MAGNANIMOUS - BLUE AND GOLD MACAWS
$18,000
AFLOAT - RING-NECKED DUCK
$4,900
GLACIER GUARDIAN - AMERICAN CROW
$4,900
BLUE FOR YOU - PEACOCK
$2,000
SWING - CARDINAL
$2,000
PELICANTORTIONS - AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS
$9,900
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BIOGRAPHY Born in Australia, Krystii Melaine was a quiet but determined child. Announcing at the age of four that she was going to be an artist, Krystii won her first art competition at seven and began selling paintings soon after. Following university studies in drawing and graphic design, Krystii established her own fashion design company. By her early twenties she had developed The House of Mystique into one of the largest bridal and evening-wear companies in Australia, showing her designs around Australia and New Zealand, and in Paris and London. However, a burning desire to return to her dream of being an artist led Krystii to leave the fashion world and pursue five years of atelier study in traditional tonal realism. She became a successful wildlife and portrait artist in Australia, but the market there was limited. A trip to the USA in 1998 opened opportunities to paint American wildlife, and an international career was born. During ten years of commuting between countries, Krystii discovered a fascination with the American West, and she began seeking out cowboys and Native Americans to paint. In 2010, Krystii moved with her husband, author and historian Michael K. Cecil, from Australia to Spokane, Washington, to be closer to her favorite Western region and its people. This allowed her to do in-depth research including making and beading the clothing and equipment for her Native American paintings and working with Native American models on location. This dedication to research and authenticity has led to her being recognized as one of the top western artists working today. She has achieved great success in the USA with numerous museum and gallery exhibitions and many major awards. Annual exhibitions include Quest for the West at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Night of Artists at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, and The Buffalo Bill Art Show & Sale at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Trained as a portrait painter, Krystii’s skill in capturing an accurate likeness while expressing the personality of the subject in a strong, painterly style has led to numerous official and private portrait commissions. The 25 paintings held in permanent museum collections in the USA and Australia include many Military and Native American portraits. The Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, has a set of three life-sized, full-length portraits of Native Americans in their permanent collection, along with an earlier portrait and several smaller works. The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, selected 18
Krystii’s portrait of a Native American woman as winner of the Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award in 2018. The Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell, Montana, selected her portrait of a Blackfeet man as the winner of the 2019 Van Kirke Nelson Hockaday Purchase Award. Focusing on realism and western subjects absorbed Krystii for nearly thirty years, while her other creative inspirations were put on hold. Recently she allowed her abstract and modern ideas to take flight and discovered a whole new side to her creativity. This divergent body of work allowed experiments in techniques and materials, revealing a deeper understanding of the emotional effects of color and form. Weaving the realism and abstract paths together, Krystii’s paintings have now evolved into lighter, larger works with a modern vibe and timeless beauty. No matter where Krystii’s endless creativity takes her from here, it’s sure to be a fabulous ride! Krystii is a Master Signature Member of the American Women Artists, and a member of the Portrait Society of America. * 26 paintings in museum collections. * More than 40 major awards. * Participated in more than 110 museum exhibitions in over 23 different museums. * 30 magazine articles, and appears in four books. * Millions of dollars’ worth of art sold to collectors around the world.
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