Killackey Illustration

@kjkillackey.bsky.social

4172 Followers 1704 Following

Natural science 🐡 & archaeological illustration 🏺 by Kathryn Killackey. NEH-Mellon Foundation Fellow ('23 - '24). Available for freelance #sciart. Lover of #books, #textiles, and absurdities. She/her www.killackeyillustration.com

Sally Pointer’s book, “Nalbinding: Heritage techniques for the contemporary textile crafter”, laying on a dark wood background. The cover has a photograph of a collection of colorful Nalbinding projects and tools arranged on the rocky shore of a beach.

A double drive spinning wheel sitting in front of a brick wall, painted white.

Text saying “H322.1. H322.1. Suitor test: finding object hidden by Princess. *Type 507A; Irish myth: Cross.”

A 4 by 9 inches pieced and quilted rectangle of irregular fabric strips in shades of blue. It is quilted in a vertical white running stitch so that the fabric puckers at uneven intervals creating a three dimensional ripple effect. The rectangle is bound with blue handmade bias tape.

End papers from “The Easter Pig” showing the pig standing on a giant tulip and surrounded by giant white lilies. The artwork is in watercolor and black ink line work.

The cover of the children’s book “The Easter Pig”, written by Louise McClenathan and illustrated by Rosekrans Hoffman. The text is framed by the handle of an Easter basket shaped vehicle that seems to be decorated with cloisonné. Two metal gate-like doors are open in the middle and a large pink pig is standing between them. Children with Easter baskets are riding in the basket vehicle. It is decorated with giant ribbons and spring flowers. The art is done in watercolor and ink linework.

A black and white photograph of a man and woman standing in from of a life size diorama of the Arctic tundra with a wooly mammoth. The image shows the people from mid torso up and the mammoth is positioned entering the from from the right. The woman has a chin length bob and wears a cardigan over a dark top, while the man wears a suit and has short hair and beard.

A 5 by 9 inches section of pieces and stitches fabric. It is made up of 9 uneven vertical stripes of fabric in different shades of blue and 2 stripes in cream. Everything is quilted down with small vertical running stitches in white tread. The stitches uneven spacing has slightly gathered the fabric, creating a subtle three dimensional ripple effect. The fabric edges are raw and have not yet been cut down to the same length.

A graphite drawing and collage of torn and cut paper in a portrait arrangement. Torn strips of liquid graphite painted paper, detailed cut out drawings of sticks, and the “negative space” paper backgrounds they were cut from are arranged in a ring to create a nest-like shape. The resulting ring has then been cut into three unequal pieces and pulled apart. All three are collages onto a white background.

A graphite drawing with a landscape layout. A detailed rendering of a thick and coarse piece of plied rope crosses parallel to the page above one third down from the top. About two thirds of the way from left to right, the rope crosses through a scribbled ring of dark graphite lines, making the two dimensional marks seem three dimensional.

A drawing of 5 cobbles realistically rendered and placed randomly on a 5 x 5 grid. The other spots in the grid are filled with roughly outlined circles.

Screenshot of part of the credit page for the most recent volume of Turkish Journal of Archaeological Sciences. I have circled in red the text “Kayak Fotoğrafı/ Cover Photo: Güneş Duru. Yapay zeka üretimi görsel/ AI-generated image”.

A small crop of a work-in-progress digital painting. The crop shows a puppy, maybe a wolf, maybe a dog, standing and facing the viewer. Their head is lowered to the ground, sniffing a dirt surface. They are a mix of light and dark browns with some cream on their legs and nose.

My copy of the 1989 paperback edition of “Titus Groan” by Mervyn Peake. The book is well worn, the cover crumbled, the pages foxed. The cover has the author and title in black calligraphic font at the top. Below is a scene looking out over medieval looking stone and half timber houses. A castle with many turrets and crenellated walls looms over them and is wrapped in mist. The colors are predominantly desaturated blues and greens.

Black and white photo of Kathryn Killackey standing in a winter field with 3 alpacas and a sheep. Kathryn has chin length hair and is wearing sunglasses, a sweater, and jeans. She has a camera around her neck. There are two alpacas with white wool and one with black. In the background is the town of Tiwanaku and the hills that run behind it.

Photograph looking down at my left hand holding a pencil and sketching a dock spider in a sketchbook. The sketchbook page already has drawings of an earthworm and a moth but is mostly empty. There is a tattoo of a piece of yarn knotted around my wrist and my nails are painted with black polish.

Cover of the book “The Nature Of Fashion” by Carry Somers. The cover has a black and white photograph of an agave plant (I think), taken from above and looking straight down. The lower third of the image has been embroidered over with red, lime green, blue, orange, and purple yarn following the outline of and filling in the shape of its leaves. This has created a stripe-y abstract pattern. The ends of the embroidered yarns hang down from the image and tangle around each other on a white background at the bottom of the cover. The book’s title is written in white uppercase font and some of the yarn crosses over them and seems to stitch them down to the photograph.

A terrible photo of a fox sitting on the side of the road, next to a car park sign.

Screenshot from the film “Pirates of the Caribbean”, showing a fold treasure chest sitting on a pile of gold coins and other treasure. The chest is decorated with Tiwanaku motifs taken from the Gateway of the Sun. The Staff God is repeated four times across the side and boarded by their attendants. A change has been made to the meander like motif along the rim, replacing the Staff God’s face with a skull.

D’Orbigny’s illustration of Tiwanaku, looking east over the site. You can see the Akapana, the Kalasasaya’s pillars, and the foundation of the Putin. A farmer is plowing part of the site a Shepard with their sites nearby.

A screenshot from the Procreate app showing an in-progress painting of a brown-throated slothhanging from three limbs. The head and right arm have some detail blocked in, while the rest of the body is a solid grey-brown fill.

An editorial illustration, in portrait layout, summarizing new DNA research into the North American mastodon’s family tree and migration. In the foreground, a mastodon rears up on their hind legs and reaches up with their trunk to grab a branch on a nearby black spruce tree. Some of the surrounding forested wetland landscape, like ones found in Nova Scotia, is loosely painted in. The background darkens to a dark purple grey, with faint silhouettes of black spruce trees. The silhouette of North America in a light desaturated transparent purple is superimposed on this dark background. Ghostly sketches of mastodons roam across the map, some moving towards Canada’s Maritime provinces, and others sweeping up from Alberta to Alaska. A lone mastodon stands in central Mexico.

A beautiful and large patch of goldenrod growing along a fence in a parking lot.

A clip from “The Sound of Music” showing Maria spinning in joyful circles in an alpine meadow.

Front and backs of paper entry tickets to the Madison et Jardins Claude Monet (from ~1992) and the Washington, DC Tourmobile (from ~1988). The back of the Madison et Jardins Claude Monet ticket suggests other cultural and historic places to visit, outlining a Normandy-Vexin tourist route. The DC Tourmobile has its route with all the attractions on the back. The tickets are all printed on colored paper (yellow or pink for the Monet and yellow or blue for the DC) with black ink.

A collection of entry tickets to museums and historical sites, including the Château de Chenonceau (from ~1996), the Athens Acropolis (from ~2001), the Sheldonian Theatre (from ~ 1987), Tiwanaku (from ~ 2024), a combo ticket for 5 churches in Verona (from ~ 1997), the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (from ~ 1999) and the United States Capital (from ~ 1988).

graphite sketch of an outdoor space at Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic site in Turkey. One woman is pounding something in a large wooden mortar, another is sliding a piece of flatbread on a stone into a large mudbrick oven. A stampseal, a bowl of bread dough, and some stretched out pieces of dough sit on an animal hide near her. The stretched dough has stamp seal impressions. Two children entertain a baby lying in a coiled basket. In the background, a man works on making and stringing some beads near a dung fire and another person is passing by.

A squirrel stuffed animal, lying on its side and abandoned on some dry grass.

An illustrated timeline of the Pleistocene in Britain. It includes information on climate, archaeological sites, Homo species and their associated stone tool technologies.

A collection of paper products for archaeological education and outreach. On the left are several cards fanned out. The cards are in a comic book trading card style, each with a picture of an artifact from Çatalhöyük and a brightly colored border. On the right are 3 postcards from Paris, France that can be cut up to create paper models of famous architecture. The top card is for Notre-Dame. A thin booklet, titled “The British Time Scale: Half a million years illustrated”, is in the center.

A crop of the illustration described in the first post of this thread, focusing on a man a little past the river bank. He has crouched down to put on his shoes. He already dressed himself in hide leggings and a long sleeve tunic with a red ochre strip and white disk beads from the shoulder to cuff. He has a large basket on his back with a chest strap. He is balding and has shoulder length grey hair and a beard.

A crop of the illustration described in the first post of this thread, focusing on one of the two foreground hunters carrying a field-dressed wild boar between them on a pole. He is dressed in a hide loincloth and has set down his spear and basket behind him so he can better lift the boar up the bank. He wears a necklace of boar tusks perforated at both ends his loincloth has red deer fur trim.

A crop of the illustration described in the first post of this thread, focusing on the small hide and pole buildings on top of the slope. The have open entries where hid flaps have been tied back and a hole in their roofs for smoke to exit. People are preparing food around them.

A crop of the illustration described in the first post of this thread, focusing on the large communal structure on top of the slope. The structure is circular and made of rammed earth. It stands about 2 meters tall and has a thatched rood topped with earth. In front, There is a group of residents greeting the newcomers and other groups roasting a boar over a fire and preparing other foods.

A crop of the illustration described in the first post of this thread, focusing on two of the foreground hunters forging a river and climbing up onto the banks. The two men carry a field-dressed wild boar between them on a pole. They are dressed in hide loincloths and carry bows or spears. One wears a necklace of boar tusks perforated at both ends. The other has a red ochre zig-zag and wip stitch edging his loincloth.

A reconstruction illustration (by Kathryn Killackey) showing groups of hunters approaching Asiab, an early Neolithic site in Iran. In the foreground, one ground is forging a river and climbing up onto the banks. Two men carry a field-dressed wild boar between them on a pole. Another man has his hide clothing bundled and is carrying them on his head. He also has a hide bag on his back with a red deer antler strapped to it. The hunters exiting the river are dressed in hide loincloths and carry bows or spears. One wears a necklace of boar tusks perforated at both ends. The rest of this group has already crossed and dressed themselves in hide leggings, tunics, and shoes. They carry an assortment of baskets and bags on their backs, one with another boar's head attached. Their tunics and legging have decorative detailing with red ochre and small disk beads. They are walking up a slope towards the settlement at the top. A group stands at the top of the slope, greeting the new comers. Behind them is a large rammed earth circular building with a flat thatch roof. There are also clusters of smaller circular structures made of poles and hide, some with wood shade shelters attached. Groups of people are busy preparing food, including cooking another boar, for a feast. Children and dogs are running about. Another group of hunters are also seen arriving in the midground, entering the image from the right side. The landscape is covered in a mix of grass, wild pistacio and almond trees. There are sedges along the river banks. This vegetation is dry and yellowing, indicating autumn. You can see mountains in the background and vultures following air currents in the distance.

Large black and white dog shitting by a window and looking at the camera. She looks very pitiful.

Detail crop of the cover painting showing the older woman's back with her beaded bandeau and body paint designs of red stripes and black dots and zigzags on a white paint background.

A painting of two women on a white background. The younger woman stands with her back to the viewer with her face turned to look over her left shoulder and her hair swept out of the way over her right shoulder. The second, older, woman is seen from behind in three quarter view. She is standing to the first woman’s left and in the process of painting a red zigzag line across the younger woman’s back, which has already been covered in white body paint. Both women are wearing string skirts with twined woven waist bands decorated with double perforation bone beads. Their upper bodies are covered in white, black, and red paint in a series of stripes, dots, and zigzags. They both are wearing coiled basketry caps and have necklaces and bracelets of disk and animal teeth beads. They both have darker skin and hair, though the older woman is greying. Both their hair is braided into many small braids; the younger woman has her braids hanging down, while the older woman has hers twisted into an intricate knot at the nape of her neck. The older woman wears a twined woven bandeau that wraps around high on her chest and has a strap over each shoulder. The younger woman holds her bandeau in her right hand as she waits for her body paint to be finished. Both bandeaus are embellished with beads.

A gouache painting of a blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata). The bird is portrayed in a perched position, from the side and facing to the left.

Screenshot of a map showing the state of Nevada. At least 59% of it’s area is overlaid with green fill, denoting USFS land, and yellow fill, denoting BLM, land that would be available for sale with the Senate Reconciliation Bill.

Screenshot of a map showing the land north and the greater Los Angeles area. This includes much of the San Gabriel Mountains which border San Fernando, La Cañada, Pasadena, etc. Large areas are overlaid with green fill, denoting USFS land, and yellow fill, denoting BLM, land that would be available for sale with the Senate Reconciliation Bill.

An image of a crumpled child's gold foil and cardboard crown sitting on a melting block of ice. The crown has shed some decorative orange and pink pompoms, which are floating in the melted ice water puddle. Part of the puddle pools into letters that spell "No Kings".

A hand holds up a color photo of two dogs sitting on a balcony. The dog on the left is a red tri Aussie and the dog on the right is an Aussie/spaniel mix. She was s mostly liver colored with a while chest, paws, and snout.

“Detached”, a painting by Jesse Narens. It is a little more than a foot square and depicts an abstracted bear’s head that is decaying and intertwined with rootlets and vines. The head is painted in white paint on a black background.

A slightly grubby child’s hand holding up a life sized-ish needle felted human eyeball. It has a blue iris and light red veining on the sides.

A 50 by 100 cm tapestry laid out on a wood table. The weaving is weft faced and made of fine sheep’s wool. It depicts many very colorful fantastical creatures on a navy blue background. The creatures are very geometric and have elements drawing on real species, such as spiders, monkeys, birds, and humans. Many have multiple heads and carry other smaller creatures. Colors include orange, pink, fuchsia, turquoise, yellow, grey, and tan. There is a yellow, teal, and turquoise zigzag border.

A common snapping turtle on a dirt road. They are large and have a algae covered shell.

Watercolor painting of a common snapping turtle. The turtle is shown in a three quarter view with the head facing towards the viewer's left. There is algae growing on their shell. The background is white.

Detail from a watercolor painting of bearded irises (Iris germanica) in the style of an 19th century botanical painting. It shows a close up of one of the blooms fully open. The petals are a deep rusty red, darkening towards their tips to maroon and lightening to a orangey yellow at their base.

Detail from a watercolor painting of bearded irises (Iris germanica) in the style of an 19th century botanical painting. It shows a close up of a rusty red bud starting to unfold, a portion of the stem, a a couple leaves.

Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s original illustration of bearded irises (Iris germanica) from his Les Liliacées (1805 to 1816). The painting shows the leaves and blooms. The the upper stem is cut and the remaining portion with the blooms is placed slightly to the right and on top of the leaves in order to fit all the plant parts into the composition. The inflorescences are arranged in an alternate pattern on the stem. There are two flowers fully opened, and one still closed. The blooms are a deep blueish purple. "Iris Germanica" is written in cursive underneath the plant and everything is on a cream colored background.

Watercolor painting of bearded irises (Iris germanica) in the style of an 19th century botanical painting. The painting shows a rhizome with the leaves and stem attached. The the upper stem is cut and the remaining portion with the blooms is placed slightly to the right and on top of the leaves in order to fit all the plant parts into the composition. The inflorescences are arranged in an alternate pattern on the stem. There are two flowers fully opened, one starting to unfurl, and one still closed. The blooms are a deep rusty red, lightening to an orangey yellow at the petal bases. "Iris Germanica" is written in cursive underneath the plant and everything is on a cream colored background.

Detail of one of the olive branchs (the species Olea europaea subsp. europaea) from the watercolor painting "The Little Owl (Athene noctua) in Ancient Greece".

Detail of the silver Athenian tetradrachm also depicting a little owl in three quarter view from the watercolor painting "The Little Owl (Athene noctua) in Ancient Greece".