Artist, Kris Atkinson with his painting titled: “The Winner”, now part of a private Pittsburgh, PA area collection. Medium: acrylics on canvas w/ Rembrant frame.
Kris Atkinson is recognized as one of the foremost traditional realists in the world of art today. In sculpture, his credits include original commissioned portrait sculptures (from actual live sittings) with world famous sports greats such as: “Joe Louis” – (The Brown Bomber), “Joe DiMaggio” – (Joltin' Joe), "Gordie Howe” – (Mr. Hockey), “Richard Petty” – (The King) and more, as well as works for display, limited edition and collection such as his now internationally renowned, “Spirit of The Beatles” sculpture.
Born in New Kensington-Pittsburgh, PA USA in October of 1949, Mr. Atkinson is a 1969 graduate of The Ivy School of Professional Art, Pittsburgh, PA. He is a member of The Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. At the age of twenty, he studied inItaly at The Art School of Lucca, and has been painting, sculpting and exploring various styles and mediums since a young boy. In both painting and sculpture my style is versatile and spans several categories including traditional realism, surrealism, impressionism, free-form and non-objective. Music is another passion that occupies his life. As a drummer, he has performed in numerous Pittsburgh based bands and has worked the large hotel chain-circuits performing stage shows touring the USA throughout the 1970's.
Says Mr. Atkinson, “It is the creative influence and styles from the works of Rodin, Monet, Renoir and The Beatles from which I pull the most inspiration. With that, I add my own ideas... That’s the recipe. Once a vision takes hold of me, I can’t do anything else but get to work. It’s a developing process based on an inspiration that's set to rhythm where an image being painted or sculpted can transform even as the paint is applied, the clay is fashioned or, the music is played."
Music is another passion that occupies his life. As a drummer, he has performed in numerous Pittsburgh based bands and has worked the large hotel chain circuits performing stage shows touring the USA throughout the 1970's. He adds, "Creativity flows through the veins and is the same though different. For me, it can be mixing paints and selecting brushes or arranging music and choosing beats. It has always been obvious to me that creativity is a gift from God through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour, whom I fully credit as the source of any talents I may have. To the larger extent, I am but an observer watching the work develop as it challenges me."
Kris Atkinson
NOTE: Be sure to open the Yellow Tabs spanning the top of this page to view more photos of "Spirit of The Beatles" by Beatles Artist, Kris Atkinson as well as an eclectic selection of the artist's other works in painting and sculpture.
Owners of one-of-a-kind and limited edition art pieces by Kris Atkinson are realizing the benefits of their constantly increasing value. Mr. Atkinson is presently accepting commissionable work for his review and selection in both painting and sculpture to schedule throughout 2009. You may contact the artist by email at: TheSculptor@comcast.net
"I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process." Vincent van Gogh
"The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?" Pablo Picasso
"If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all." Michelangelo
"Art is everything, but I could really go for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich about now." Kris Atkinson