Every Sunday, we turn the spotlight on some great creatives. This week, we have Keith Kratz!
Keith is a local graphic designer and illustrator born and raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
He constantly doodled as a child, but it wasn’t until he took private lessons as a teenager that he became serious about art. In college, he studied graphic design and subsequently found work at a screen printing company.
Keith considers drawing and painting to be his true passions, and often incorporates his love of science and nature into his art. In 2018, he decided to broaden his artistic horizons by enrolling at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he reinvented himself as a scientific illustrator.
Keith initially honed his skills with a variety of mediums including gouache, watercolor, and colored pencils. Eventually, he transitioned to digital tools for a more streamlined process. Although his focus is scientific-themed illustrations and designs, his work covers a wide range of subject matter including portraits, logos, and book illustrations.
His creative process includes extensive research on illustrations and completing hours of observation and sketches for maximum authenticity.
Keith has been inspired by nature since his many childhood visits to museums, zoos, and aquariums. He believes that nature provides an endless variety of sensational material to illustrate. He thrives on exemplifying complex details found in nature, such as a bumpy skin texture or portraying razor-sharp claws bared in hunting behavior.
Keith strives to create work that communicates his passion for natural history. Like the artists who inspired him as a child, he wants his scientific illustrations to continue to spark others to learn about the importance of the world around us.
Learn more about Keith by checking out his Instagram and website.
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithkratzillustration/?hl=en
🌐 Website: https://www.keithkratz.com/
