Kelly Franklin Art & Design

Grid Magazine Spot

2011-05-23T22:43:00.010-04:00

I am finally getting around to posting this GRID Magazine spot that I did back in March, that I took a few nice photos of. It is hand embroidered & painted.

And here are the sketches for the spot:

A Quick Preview of Things to Come

2010-10-17T23:01:00.002-04:00

New work coming soon!

GRID Magazine February Cover

2010-01-17T23:47:00.009-05:00

The Cover

The Finals

The Text

The Sketches

The assignment was an illustration relating to the birth of a new Co-op market in Elkins Park, PA. You can see the cover the read the issue & old issues of GRID magazine at www.gridphilly.com

Doorstop!

2010-01-17T23:34:00.007-05:00

This was a hen doorstop that I made for my parents as a Christmas gift.. They were looking for something non-seasonal to keep our glass back door from hitting things. She's got a burlap underbelly & is weighed down with a sand bag :)

The last two images also include the newest member of my wonderful plant collection :) an awesome tiny cactus!

Christmas Gifts!

2009-12-26T22:52:00.007-05:00

Christmas gifts made for people, to give to other people.. friends & family really..

llama!

badger!

And I still have to get a good picture of honest abe!

Also, December was a good month! I got a job as the assistant graphic artist at Whole Foods in Plymouth Meeting, PA. I also am currently working on the cover for GRID magazine in Philadelphia! So all in all, exciting end of the year! :)

(& I don't know why blogger will not allow the pictures to be viewed larger when you click on them, that is a recent development on my blog, so I'll have to try to get that sorted out and in the meantime, I apologize.)

Hana & Posy + New Work!

2009-10-11T19:41:00.046-04:00

My artwork is now on display at Hana & Posy, an eco-friendly boutique at 35 N. 3rd Street in Philadelphia. I created 3 new pieces for the boutique's opening on First Friday in October. Here are the images from the opening & the new artwork! Enjoy!

First the New Pieces..

The first piece I finished is an old toolbox refinished & painted with a winterberry design in Casein Paints.

This piece and the next piece are based on Pennsylvania Dutch Hex signs with my own twist. They are milk-based Casein paint on tree-rings.

The third piece is a done with black thread (all of the black patterning is hand embroidered), Casein paint, and canvas on linen.

And here are the pictures of the boutique...

The Green Cookbook

2009-04-29T18:11:00.011-04:00

Cover

Endpapers

Herbs Spread

Fruit Spread

The book is still progressing, but this is what I have so far!

2009-04-07T17:23:00.002-04:00

my website is alive,
www.kellypfranklin.com
!

Bookshelf

2009-04-04T19:01:00.003-04:00

Repurposed drawer painted with milk-based Casein paint

Thesis

2008-12-19T20:50:00.001-05:00

Thesis

2008-12-19T20:45:00.000-05:00

Thesis

2008-12-19T20:34:00.000-05:00

NEW business card/postcard

2008-11-18T01:13:00.000-05:00

the old ones were not good enough, so i tried again.. at 1 in the morning. :)

Chernobyl

2008-11-10T20:41:00.000-05:00

Chernobyl
Mixed Media on wood panel

Temporary Postcard & Business card

2008-10-31T17:44:00.000-04:00

Chameleon

2008-10-11T18:16:00.000-04:00

Drawing in response to
John Cheever's "A Country Gentlemen"
Charcoal
15" x 30"

Baltimore Magazine Illustrations

2008-10-06T17:15:00.001-04:00

World Wide Med Spot

Hip Pain (Wii Injuries) Spot

Rock Docs Spot

Platinum Practice Half Page

Baltimore Magazine

2008-09-21T19:31:00.000-04:00

A brief break in thesis work for the cover (front, back and binding) for Baltimore Magazine's Invoices 2009:

front

back

side

A & P

2008-09-16T16:31:00.000-04:00

The A & P

(written by John Updike)

Thesis!

2008-09-12T00:47:00.002-04:00

Green Spaces

Courtesy tends to be lost in transit, even in the quiet car from BAL to PHL. Time stops on a train and people packed into cars hold their breath in hopes that it will restart somewhere not so different than where they began. My eyes wander to the window. “If people don’t entertain you, nature will.” The shifting silence outside the car penetrates its oblong windows and trumps its routine. I mentally thank God for my window seat as silent spaces flutter past like movie stills. I am constantly in awe of the revitalizing power of nature – though very rarely do any of the passengers around me take notice. Fighting something that may help to postpone their nervous breakdowns, the travelers ignore the in between time choosing instead to make plans for their already mapped out futures.
There are green spaces in Baltimore like hiccups between brick townhouses. Somehow these spaces manage to drown out the sirens and helicopters with crickets and birds. Very few people actually perceive these breaks in pattern; however, those lucky enough to pause may find their seemingly unattainable peace of mind like buried treasure. These unrestrained sanctuaries offer relief from civilized routine. Unfortunately, generations are being bred to believe that practical and monetary advantages outweigh any inherent spiritual value that nature possesses. We ask “How can I use this to my benefit?” rather than “What value does it hold naturally?” In thinking about the relationship between nature and humanity, I realize that we may be denying a specific need that can only be fulfilled by embracing the spiritual strength of the natural world. Daily, we rush through our list of repetitive tasks without taking in our surroundings and as a result are missing opportunities to gain balance and perspective. If my artwork were able to garner an appreciation for these overlooked elements of nature, it would be successful.
Nature draws its intrinsic spiritual power from its ability to adapt and survive. There is a cycle of life and death, around which we plan our vacations, holidays and schedules without regard for the impact we may have. Receiving without giving, destroying without rebuilding, we continue to test the durability of the natural world. Despite obstacles we put in place to distance ourselves from survival of the fittest, nature has grown and overcome. Through cracks in pavement, up sides of bricked and barred buildings, life prevails. As society becomes painfully monotonous, it is this unpredictability and persistence which makes the natural world so unique and refreshing. Mounds of garbage and slabs of concrete are left as symbols of our attempts to suppress nature, and yet it has found a way to exist. There are moments that reflect this forced coexistence which are considered ordinary and go unnoticed; however, it is these images that strike me as the definition of the relationship between humanity and nature. Seagulls fighting over a bag of chips in the empty grocery store parking lot miles from the ocean; bears raiding garbage cans like stray dogs looking for a meal. The imagery is overwhelming in its description of the limits to which we are pushing nature and its attempts at survival and if given the deserved attention it would become a powerful message for reform.
Much of the appreciation I have for nature and its adaptability has come from my interest in the benign, the commonplace, the overlooked daily aspects of life that given attention become beautiful metaphors for the harsh realities of life. Reading authors like Faulkner, Updike, Cheever, Elliot, Yeats, Pound and others, I have come across striking lines full of imagery that reflect my thoughts on human interaction involving nature and spirituality. I intend to use these writings as a starting point for the pieces that I complete this year, in hopes that they may further unite the body of work. This is not to say that each piece would illustrate the text but rather respond to the imagery and prose that caught my attention while reading. There is a way to achieve subtlety and grace in painting and drawing evocative of a metaphor in prose that, if read too quickly, is lost in the abstracted alphabet of the page. My goal is to achieve subtlety of surface while still presenting a powerful message about the relationship between humanity and nature.
There is a collective exhale around me upon arrival. Leaving the quiet car, we fight our way through a tide of new travelers preparing their lungs for the long period of stasis. I am aware of my surroundings again and hope that at some point in my life I am able to rid myself of this indulgent lifestyle in order to live symbiotically with nature. It is something that I will work toward forever. The brief periods of relief that I find on the train are always refreshing and give me peace of mind until next time. This is why I need nature; it is a personal sanctuary for rebirth. Walking out into the light of day, my eyes wander through the crowded streets in efforts to find that one vine of ivy climbing to meet the sun - a twisted backbone supporting the façade of a city.

Caricatures

2008-05-31T11:08:00.000-04:00

Man am I versatile...

hah!

Personal gifts for my cousins who graduated

this year

My Cousin Jess
.
Ink
.
&
.
Watercolor

Jess

.
.
.
My Cousin Shelly
.
Ink
.
&
.
Watercolor

Shelly

The Nature of Baltimore Book - Ostrich

2008-05-15T13:55:00.001-04:00

The Nature of Baltimore Book

Hard Cover

9" x 9"

Ostrich

Page 1

Cut Paper, Collage

Pen & Ink, Acrylic,

& Clove Oil Transfers

8" x 8"

Ostrich

Page 2

Cut Paper, Collage

Pen & Ink, Acrylic,

& Clove Oil Transfers

8" x 8"

Giraffe

2008-05-15T13:36:00.001-04:00

Ostrich -
.
Giraffe Spread
.
Mixed Media
.
16" x 8"

Giraffe
.
Page 3
.
Cut Paper,
.
Pen & Ink, Acrylic,
.
& Clove Oil Transfers
.
8" x 8"

Giraffe
.
Page 4
.
Cut Paper,
.
Pen & Ink,
.
& Clove Oil
.
Transfers
.
8" x 8"

Crane

2008-05-15T12:33:00.001-04:00

Giraffe -

Crane Spread

Mixed Media

16" x 8"

Crane

Page 5

Cut Paper,

Ink,

Acrylic

8" x 8"

Crane

Page 6

Cut Paper,

Acrylic

8" x 8"

Sea Anenome

2008-05-15T11:53:00.001-04:00

Sea Turtle -

Sea Anenome Spread

Mixed Media

16" x 8"

Sea Anenome

Page 9

Cut Paper, Acrylic,

Pen & Ink, and

Clove Oil Transfers

8" x 8"

Sea Anenome

Page 10

Cut Paper,

Acrylic &

Clove Oil Transfers

8" x 8"

Deforestation

2008-05-13T14:10:00.000-04:00

Deforestation Plate 1
.

Etching on Tan BFK

9" x 9"

Deforestation Plate 1

Hand-colored Etching

on BFK

9"x 9"

Deforestation Plate 2

Etching on Tan BFK

5" x 8"

Deforestation Plate 2

Hand-colored Etching

on BFK

5" x 8"

Gentrification

2008-05-13T13:55:00.000-04:00

Gentrification
.
Pen & Ink,
Watercolor
& Collage
.
31" x 10"
.

Gentrification
.
Article Chosen to
.
Accompany
.
Illustration

Mercury in Fish

2008-04-21T12:03:00.001-04:00

.
.
.
.
.

.
Mercury in Fish
.
Acrylic, ink, Collage
.
& linoleum print
.
on wood

each editorial

illustration I

did, I placed into

articles I found

relating to the topic

The Monkey King

2008-04-13T10:08:00.000-04:00

The Monkey King

6" x 7"

Acrylic, India Ink,

Collage on wood

& Digital

Zen & Nature Box Panel (Robin)

2008-04-05T14:27:00.001-04:00

Zen & Nature Box

Robin

Acrylic, Brown Ink,

Colored Pencil

Detail 1

Detail 2

Zen & Nature Box Panel (Bamboo)

2008-04-05T14:20:00.000-04:00

Zen & Nature Box

Bamboo

Acrylic & Collage

Zen & Nature Box Panel (Seashells)

2008-04-05T14:15:00.000-04:00

Zen & Nature Box

Seashells

Acrylic & Collage

Detail 1

Zen & Nature Box

2008-04-05T14:00:00.000-04:00

.
.
.
.
Zen & Nature Box
.

Acrylic, Ink, Pencil & Collage
.

On Wood Panels

Abraham

2008-03-25T18:27:00.001-04:00

.
.
.
.
Cover of Sketchbook
.
Illustration for 1915
.
(the year that the
lincoln memorial was
placed in D.C.)
.
Acrylic, Ink & Collage

Bamboo

2008-03-21T12:58:00.001-04:00

Surface Design for

Wine Gift Bag

Bamboo Painting

Acrylic on Mat Board

Wine Gift Bag

12 1/2" tall,

5" wide,

2 3/4" deep

The Sun Also Rises

2008-03-20T15:23:00.000-04:00

Hemingway illustration

Jake Barnes Illustration

The Sun Also Rises

Lady Brett Ashley Illustration

The Sun Also Rises

Hipster

2008-03-20T15:00:00.000-04:00

Illustration for "The Hipster Handbook"

The Aging Hipster

Full Page

Half Page

Quarter Page

.
.
.
(Pending better photos)

Words on Wheels

2008-03-16T20:28:00.000-04:00

Words on
Wheels Poster
.
(poem excluded)
.
graphite, crayon
and acrylic on
illustration board

(click to see detail)

Sketchbook business

2008-03-15T15:52:00.000-04:00

.

.

Response Sketch

from February

Sketch
.
from March

Home

2008-02-22T22:50:00.000-05:00

"Home is where the heart is"

Acrylic and Thread

on Linen

The Birds

2008-02-22T22:42:00.000-05:00

Poster for Alfred Hitchcock's

"The Birds"

Acrylic, Ink and

Wood Stain on Wood Panel

Dad's Birthday Poster

2008-02-17T16:07:00.000-05:00

50th birthday poster

for my father!

hand lettered with acrylic

8x10

2007-12-17T00:05:00.000-05:00

.
.
.
.

Poster of

Stephen Kellog and the Sixers

with The Alternate Routes

live at the 8x10

Clara

2007-12-17T00:01:00.000-05:00

Clara Barton

"The Fruits

of her Labor"

9.5" x 14"

Ink and Digital Color

Duck

2007-12-16T22:09:00.000-05:00

Illustration of

Oscar Wilde's

Fairy Tale :

The

Devoted

Friend