PN Featured Artist: Kelsey Yurkow

This weeks Pure Nintendo Featured Artist is the very awesome Kelsey Yurkow (@kelsadelphia)! She adds a splash of color to some of our favorite gaming characters and creates some amazing art that really catches your eye, not to mention the wide variety of other artistic talent she has. She is also up for doing custom pieces, so send her an email if your interested in purchasing some quality art! Enjoy!

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KD: How long have you been illustrating? Is it something you’ve always wanted to do?

KY: I have been drawing for as long as I can remember, and yes, it is something I very much enjoy and have always wanted to do. I not only worked on illustrations but a huge variety of different art styles and mediums. Though recently I have been integrating a lot of watercolor into my work, I also use a heavy influence of acrylic paints for custom skateboards, guitars, toy chests, and wall art as well. I really love being versatile in what I do and it helps change up the scenery. It keeps things interesting for me.

KD: What inspires you the most when creating artwork?

 KY: For me, my inspiration always comes from something I can associate with happiness. Whether it is a place, a person, or a videogame, any of the art I have created is tied to a moment in my life where I was simply just happy. I am a huge videogame enthusiast so I spend a lot of my time playing them in both past and present with family, friends, or alone – all of which I can link some moment of fun and hysterical laughter. I absolutely love surrounding myself with positivity, so through my paintings I am constantly doing that.

KD: What’s your favorite Nintendo game or series, why?

 KY: My all time, favorite Nintendo game definitely has to be Paper Mario for the N64. I love the paperized art style and it was especially unique for the time when it was released. While most games were being generated in 3D rendering, I love how the creators pretty much simplified the game style, which made it stand out even more. I very much enjoy the subtle humor throughout the series, and I was always a fan of turn-based video games as well. The fact that the concept was integrated into the gameplay made it that much more enjoyable for me. Additionally, it was also my first videogame purchase that I have ever made on my own, so aside from its awesomeness, I guess you could say there is a lot of emotional attachment to it for me as well.

KD: I love your art style; it’s like a colorful feast for the eyes. What kind of tools do you use and how do you get each piece to look so smooth and vibrant?

 KY: I have always been a fan of color and I am super guilty of trying to cram every color of the rainbow into my pieces – so this colorful style of painting really satisfies my taste. The main tools that I use to achieve this look are Bruynzeel Aquarelle colored pencils. They function like any watercolor pan set would; however they are just in pencil form. I feel that I have more control over shading and layering colors with the pencils than the pan paints, which is why I prefer these. I color my drawings as you would with any ordinary pencil, then after I am all finished, I smooth and blend the colors together with clean water. The trick to getting the colors to stay vibrant is to consistently clean your brush between every stroke and not to apply TOO much water. The more water you add, the more faded and pastel-like your colors will look.

KD: How long does an average painting take you to complete and how can our readers contact you about purchasing some of your art?

 KY: I find that most of my paintings take about 4-5 hours to complete from sketching to completion, no matter how big or small the painting size is. However, time flies when I am working on it so it sure does not feel like it, haha! If interested in purchasing any of my art, you could visit my online shop www.kelsey-yurkow.com/shop to view all of my paintings that are currently up for sale. If you would like to have a custom painting made, you could always shoot me an email or message through any of my social media websites and I would be happy to point you in the right direction.

KD: Have you been involved in any new projects or art collaborations recently?

 KY: In regards to what is to come, I have some huge and exciting projects that I do not mind spoiling. I have been working pretty hard on a few things the past couple of weeks that will be finished short-term; one of which is a custom painted guitar for a huge video game cover artist on YouTube, the other is a large scale Pikmin themed canvas painting. I have also been contacted about collaborating with a few artists and they are underway, but I do not want to ruin the surprise, so you will have to stick around to see how they turn out and with whom!

KD: Thanks for the interview Kelsey. I had an awesome time showing off your colorful creations! Where can our readers go to find out more about you and your artwork?

 KY: Thank you so much for the amazing opportunity. I am very appreciative that you enjoy my work enough to want to share it and I am so grateful for all of the support! To check out more of my art, feel free to visit my website or any of the social media sites below. I love interacting with everyone so feel free to comment or send me messages with any questions you may have. Again, thanks!

 www.kelsey-yurkow.com

Instagram: @kelsadelphia

www.facebook.com/artistkelseyyurkow

Twitter: @kelsadelphia

www.YouTube.com/keladelphia

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Any artist interested in having their artwork on PureNintendo.com or in PNM can contact me at Kaelyn@purenintendo.com. Submit fan art, sculptures, baked goods, comics, etc. If the theme is ‘Nintendo’ we want to see it! You could be the next Pure Nintendo featured artist! Also to see artwork from artists featured in our magazine, PNM, please head to PureNintendo.com/magazine to subscribe! Thanks for reading.