Modern portrait paintings by Katherine Chiu

Illustration is all the rage in the art world right now.  Some of the more popular art shops on Etsy belong to those who are illustrators.  Just recently, I came across the illustrative works of L.A. artist Katherine Chiu.  I love how she combines portraiture with landscape elements in her paintings.  Using soft and playful colors, viewers are drawn into a world that teeters between fantasy and reality.

Most of Chiu's recent works are portrait paintings. You can see a gallery of her art, including custom family portraits, on her website.  Chiu's paintings are also on display at Black Maria Gallery and Nucleus Gallery.  I really like the painting shown above called Base Camp.  It's a 5" x 7" acrylic painting on wood.  The muted color palette and blended brush strokes create such a dream-like forest scene.