“First there is a dream, then a glimmer of hope, followed by the courage to believe, the courage to try - the courage to fail, the will to find grit, and then eventually, the dream is your reality, encouraging you to be more than you had initially imagined, shaping you into the person you were always meant to be.”
The Artist
Meet Kyanna
As a child, Kyanna dreamed of one day becoming a professional artist by vocation, and now she has made that promise a reality. Although naturally drawn to the act of creating from early childhood, whether that be drawing with crayons, or hand painting in kindergarten, Kyanna seriously began her art career journey at the age of 10. Enamoured by the idea of being an artist, she began teaching herself the practice of representational graphite drawing. One day, the guidance she so desired happened to knock at her door. Upon seeing her interest, Kyanna’s next door neighbour and close family friend offered to mentor Kyanna in the practice of acrylic painting. If not for her mentorship, Kyanna would not be where she is today. She was the mentor and enabler that Kyanna needed to nurture the dream she held dear, and through her kindness she encouraged this dream to blossom. Painting became Kyanna's new love, taking its place alongside sketching and drawing. Animal subject matter interested her the most, as animals were another passion of hers. In the years following, Kyanna would try her luck in entering competitions and other artistic endeavours. Starting at the age of 12, she participated in the annual Calgary Stampede Art Showcase multiple times, as well as found her voice and meaning in gifting paintings to friends and family throughout her youth. She began selling commission pieces by the age of 14. After high school, Kyanna set off to pursue her next dream, out in Canada's beautiful east coast, a world away from her home in the west beneath the Rocky Mountains. Kyanna has since been pursuing her Fine Art Degree, after being accepted into the Bachelor of Fine Art program at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, in 2019. Kyanna has also enthusiastically furthered her skills and education by attending The Milan Art Institute, in Sarasota FL USA. She is looking forward to graduating from the online Mastery Program in the spring of 2024. Furthermore, she continues to explore and grow as an artist, her work spanning from animal portraits to landscapes and architecture, to people, and magical fantastical realms as she continues to follow her calling.
“As a young person who has dedicated herself to live a creative life, painting and drawing have been a conduit for me to authentically bring abundance, joy, gratitude, and hope into existence” (Kyanna Wilkinson). Empathically driven, Kyanna strives to make a positive impact with her artwork, in the lives of anybody and everyone. She believes authentic creativity is a celebration of the beauty in the world, in all its forms. The dedicated artist therefore has an opportunity to bring the gifts of this universe forth into focus. Kyanna enjoys her process of creating her artworks, from the very beginnings of a soft graphite sketch or the gritty deep lines of charcoal, to the end results of depth in vibrant colour. She acknowledges, “- these moments, these marks, are the expressions of inner joy, outwardly realized, witnessed, mapped, and preserved on canvas” (Wilkinson). Kyanna wishes to inspire joy, love, wonder, adventure seeking, intrigue, and feeling with each piece she creates. For her, impacting another human being in a positive light is the one accomplishment that truly cannot be surpassed. Her purpose in life lies in helping others, and sparking hope in those who have a dream of their own. Becoming a new mother has strengthened this notion and drives her to keep pursuing her passions. She hopes that you too, dear reader, also have the courage to make your own dreams a reality.
Being based in Cochrane Alberta Canada, the mountain views invite inspiring ideas and a sense of awe and wonder to the artist’s everyday life. Kyanna is continually inspired by the herds of horses, ranch animals, wildlife, and thickened woods merely strides away from her studio doors. She is beyond grateful that she can now live out her childhood hopes and future dreams of becoming a professional full time artist, along with being a professional full time mother.
Her Intuitive Process
“I begin by collecting source material and photos. Things that speak to me presently like words, symbols, music, animals, nature, people. Certain light, certain colours, textures. Memories and dreams. Next, I make a thumbnail sketch on paper, or I dive right into making a composed source photo reference. From here, I play around with composition, rule of thirds, and the painting narrative. After, I prepare the canvas, wood, or paper I will be using as the material for the body of the painting. I often begin with a graphite or charcoal sketch. Fixative comes after, which holds it in place. I will sometimes add paper and collage it onto the canvas, to add another layer of dimension or meaning. Washes. Glazes. The most fun part. I am very loose in the beginning, sometimes washing the canvas with one colour, often with many. From here I paint fat over lean, building up the layers from super simplified and thin, to fully realized in the presence of thick brush strokes. The glossy nature of the glazes and washes shine through and give the painting a whole ambience. A detail here, a detail there. At last, an artwork is born.”
~ Kyanna Wilkinson
