The artwork of Kevin Llewellyn is nothing short of masterful. Born in Ohio, Kevin attended the Ringling College of Art and Design, and since then has been a permanent resident of Los Angeles, California. Kevin paints realistic portraits and dark subject matter utilizing techniques of 17th-century painting masters.
His paintings have the masterful technique of a Vermeer or Rubens, but with subject matter ranging from conjoined fetal skulls, wet specimens, religious iconography, and other oddities. His models frequently appear as though they would be gracing the front page of the Suicide Girls website over posing as a virginal Renascence figure; but the artful renderings of his tattooed, pierced, and mohawked ladies is undeniably alluring, and could easily be hung side by side with any of these masters within a museum setting and not feel out of place.
As Peter Paul Rubens was known as the “master of shadows,” Llewellyn is clearly following in his footsteps with grace – his lush use of light and shadow both in his paintings and his drawings truly makes the images pop from the page or canvas with realism.
If his artwork alone isn’t impressive enough, his paintings and drawings reside in the private collections of folks such as Trent Reznor, Madonna, and Kat Von D. Clearly, Mr. Llewellyn is doing something right, and I certainly hope he continues to paint long into the foreseeable future.
