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Kest Fine Art

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The Ultimate Pop-up Books-- Vintage Covers

September 17, 2025

Now considered vintage, these two books—The Ultimate Bug Book (1993) and The Ultimate Ocean Book (1995)—were published by Western Publishing Co. I painted the covers for both titles, while other artists and paper designers handled the interior artwork.

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In Field Natural History, Science art Tags cicada art, lionfish, scorpionfish, book covers, vintage cover art for insect books
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A Spell to End All War, 2022. Graphite on Arches paper, mounted to hardboard.

A Spell To End All War

September 16, 2025

Could an image itself be a spell? This drawing began as a simple still life of skull, pinecone, and violets, but soon became an altar of intention. I explore how art can function as an operative image—more than illustration, a form of magic

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In Fantasy art, Feminist art, Field Natural History Tags spells, operative image, fantasy art, iconography, spell-painting, pagan imagery
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A Horizon, 18” x 24”h, oil on canvas. 2003

A Horizon

June 3, 2024

Certain art teachers over the years have said that any art we make is a kind of self-portrait. While the girl doesn’t really look like me, she contains my doubt and fear. I painted this close my graduation, so the academic robe and lab rat were deliberate choices….

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In Feminist art, Field Natural History Tags A-horizon, science and art
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Earth Day poster, 2004. Oils, 22” x 30”.

Earth Day Poster

May 1, 2024

Every year on Earth Day I think of this piece and how much I enjoyed making it and I wonder who and where it’s affecting the world right now.

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In Feminist art, Field Natural History, Science art Tags rainforest, butterflies, aerial view of rainforest, Earth Day poster, Live Out Loud
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Russell Cave and a portrayal of the native archaic peoples. Acrylic on board, 36” x 40”.

National Parks: Russell Cave National Monument

January 26, 2024

Not in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I’d end up creating a brochure for the National Parks ….

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In Feminist art, Field Natural History, Science art Tags Russell Cave National Monument, National Parks brochure, Russell Cave art, Alabama cave systems
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Little Kingdom, 13”, graphite on Arches, 2023.

Little Kingdom

November 28, 2023

The art that now lives in the frame started with an October walk through a section of the Appalachian Trail in Gardners, PA. There, I took a few reference shots of some mushrooms I saw, including these deadly…

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In Field Natural History Tags graphite drawing, toad, mushrooms
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Moonlight Toad, 12" x 15" Oil on gesssoed paper. 2005 (?). The piece was created as an advertisement for my work in the Picture Book directory and recently sold at IlluXCon.

Moonlight Toad

June 3, 2023

My agent suggested that I try my hand at anthropomorphizing a few of my favorite animals to see if I could make a transition into the narrative side of the children’s market. Aside from medical illustration, opportunities to work in hard science illustration were becoming…

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In Fantasy art, Science art, Field Natural History Tags illustration in the 90s
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Natural History, oil in gessoed paper, 17” x 18”. 1999.

Natural History

April 25, 2023

It’s a piece that has more of a formal design presentation with lots of natural light; quite different from the jumble and “messy” space of the “Shadows” painting I did a year later. To create this image, I set up a small table near a window in my studio and appointed the space with books, insect mounts, a skull…

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In Field Natural History, Botanical art
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Ephemerata, 28” x 28”, July 2013

Ephemerata

April 14, 2023

There were a few courses I took in ecological studies while I was an undergrad where learned about the fascinating “ephemerata” of streams. Lab/ field trips were great fun: wade into a stream, put out a net and kick over a few rocks. Try not to get knocked over by the current. Don’t touch any of the hairy vines on the trees.

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In Field Natural History, Fantasy art Tags frog people, ephemerata, mayflies, dobsonfly, pond life
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Kristin Kest Fine Art, Illustration, and Ceramics

A studio artist and freelance illustrator in the beautiful Susquehanna Valley of York, PA

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