About Krystii

About You and Me

You have walls that need beautiful, inspiring art.

I was born to paint and I love sending my creations out into the world to help make people happy.

Together we can fill the world with happiness through beautiful fine art.

Imagine the possibilities!

Krystii Melaine

“Painting is my lifelong passion. After a childhood filled with art and nine years as a fashion designer, I began studying traditional oil painting in the early 1990s. I’ve been highly successful as a portrait, wildlife, equine and western artist in the USA and Australia. I’ve pushed the boundaries of realism a bit and diversified my subjects over the years, but mostly stayed in the traditional realism box. I still love to paint the realism subjects I'm most known for.

However, in the past few years I reached a point in life where I have more to say than can be expressed through realism alone. Life events, losses and discoveries have all contributed to the thoughts that I want to express through my paintings. I’ve been flirting with ideas of abstraction for years, and at last I found the courage to break out of the realism box and explore modern artistic concepts.

After a lot of experimenting, a new collection of quietly elegant abstract works emerged. Thoughtful and expressive of my inner feelings, they challenge my realism mindset in ways I could never have imagined. This divergent journey through abstraction has now led me back to realism, but with new appreciation for both forms of art. The ideas and techniques are melding together more and more. I have a renewed enthusiasm for the paintings not yet painted, and excitement to see what they will turn out to be.

The world has opened up, my artistic horizons have expanded, and the possibilities are endless. There are no boundaries. At last, I’ve given myself permission to express myself in any way I like. The only rule is it must look fabulous. Come with me on this new visual and emotional adventure!”

"Krystii Melaine paints quiet moments of thoughtfulness and emotion, and life's brief moments of pure joy and explosive action.

Her stories are subtle but very deep if you look beyond the surface. Poetic rather than narrative, Krystii's paintings often contain symbolic details that hint at the full story.

There is room for interpretation and discovery, room to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation over time. Krystii's paintings speak quietly but profoundly to those who pause to listen."

Biography

Born in Australia, Krystii Melaine was a quiet but determined child. Announcing at the age of four that she was going to be an artist, Krystii won her first art competition at seven and began selling paintings soon after. Following university studies in
drawing and graphic design, Krystii established her own fashion design company. By her early twenties she had developed The House of Mystique into one of the largest bridal and evening-wear companies in Australia, showing her designs around Australia and New Zealand, and in Paris and London.

However, a burning desire to return to her dream of being an artist led Krystii to leave the fashion world and pursue five years of atelier study in traditional tonal realism. She became a successful wildlife and portrait artist in Australia, but the market there was limited. A trip to the USA in 1998 opened opportunities to paint American wildlife, and an international career was born. During ten years of commuting between countries, Krystii discovered a fascination with the American West and she began seeking out cowboys and Native Americans to paint. She has achieved great success in the USA with numerous museum and gallery exhibitions and many major awards.

In 2010, Krystii moved with her husband, author and historian Michael K. Cecil, from Australia to Spokane, Washington, to be closer to her favorite Western region and its people. This allowed her to do in-depth research including making and beading the clothing and equipment for her Native American paintings, and working with Native American models on location. This dedication to research and authenticity has led to her being recognized as one of the top Western artists working in the USA today.

Trained as a portrait painter, Krystii’s skill in capturing an accurate likeness while expressing the personality of the subject in a strong, painterly style has led to numerous official and private portrait commissions. The 26 paintings held in permanent museum collections in the USA and Australia include many Military and Native American portraits. The Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, has a set of three life-sized, full-length portraits of Native Americans in their permanent collection, along with an earlier portrait and several smaller works. The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, selected Krystii’s portrait of a Native American woman as winner of the Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award in 2018. The Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell, Montana, selected her portrait of a Blackfeet man as the winner of the 2019 Van Kirke Nelson Hockaday Purchase Award.

Her focus on traditional realism and western subjects absorbed Krystii for nearly thirty years, while her other creative inspirations were put on hold. Recently she allowed her abstract and modern ideas to take flight and discovered a whole new side to her creativity. This divergent body of work led to a new aspect of her art business, connecting directly to interior designers, fine art consultants, corporate buyers, and other professionals to make sourcing high quality modern art at trade prices easy. Weaving the realism and abstract paths together, Krystii’s paintings and prints are now available to private art collectors through her website too. Everyone is able to connect personally with Krystii to expand their collections and commission exclusive custom paintings. No matter where Krystii’s creativity takes her from here, it’s sure to be a fabulous ride!

Krystii is a Master Signature Member of the American Women Artists, and a member of the Portrait Society of America.

* 26 paintings in museum collections

* More than 40 major awards

* Participated in more than 110 museum exhibitions in over 23 different museums

* 30 magazine articles, and appears in four books

* Millions of dollars’ worth of art sold to collectors around the world