Kipsworld Art

Kip Mussatt - Bio

Who is this Kip guy anyway?

Kip Mussatt is a self taught artist residing in Mesa, AZ with his two cats, Hunter and Floki. He grew up mainly in the mid-west, specifically Hutchinson, Kansas - now home to the Smallville Comic Convention. He later studied electrical engineering while in the Air Force ROTC scholarship program at Kansas State, but didn't quite fit the military status quo.

Kip drew in his early years everything from Viking ships to planes and rockets. He never picked up a paintbrush until college when his mother, Sandra, grew allergic to her oil paints and gave them to him. His first painting was a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and he has been painting people ever since.

Boris and Frazetta were his early influences and studies. Later picking up influences from Luis Royo, Dorian Clevenger, and most recently his senpai, Lorenzo Sperlonga. He later switched from traditional canvas and oil to acrylics and paper because canvas couldn't capture the fine detail he wanted and oils took to long to dry.

Currently a freelance artist and illustrator, he also served as the artist and art director for an indie comic - The DOZD www.facebook.com/TheDOZD, published in Mesa, AZ, has been published in an international book of fantasy art - Infected By Art, and has just recently finished illustrating a book cover for soon to be published, Ashes To Phoenix. His work can be seen at various comic convention and shows from Southern California to Missouri.

Artist Statement

I sketch and paint (mostly paint) fantasy images that just sort of come to me. Things I think would be though provoking and engaging to see. Many times there is a story I am trying to tell. Other times I just think, "Wow. This would be an amazing subject to paint." When I draw or paint female subjects, I try to keep in mind a certain sense of realism with regard to their figure. They are usually some archetype and as such have better than average features such as being athletic and muscular. They are not the damsel in distress, but the heroine who will come save you or kick your ass if you misbehave.

Lately, I have been trying to plan out my compositions better to cover all the fine details of what is going into a piece and why. Occasionally though as I am painting, the story unfolds in my mind and I find myself adding or changing small things to add nuances to the piece. I find this adds a great deal to the story. Sometimes that story changes. Sometimes it shows a reflection of myself I had not previously seen.

My work comprises some pop-culture icons and references, but mostly fantasy and pin-up pieces, which I am trying to focus more and more on. Sometimes I find that the story I am painting is a metaphor of what is going on in my life. The most challenging thing I find is I can have an image in my mind of what I want the piece to look like and getting it there can be quite difficult. When the final solution ends up like I envisioned it makes my heart stop.

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Finished Images:

Avenger

Acrylic on Paper 20x30, (c) 2012 My friend Toni and I collaborated on this images; she is of Swedish- Norwegian ancestry and I am Danish-German (mostly) and we had discussed what if the god Thor was female. We did a photo shoot for her cosplay and my art at the beach in San Diego where I lived at the time and this was the result. When we were designing her costume, we wanted her to be sexy, but powerful. We decided on leggings instead of a bikini-style which is typical of most female fantasy warriors in the genre these days. We had the metal bra and bracers custom made. The helmet and hammer were from a comic book store. Loki's helmet, I just had to make up in my head. We debuted this piece at Phoenix Comic Con in 2012 and to date it is still my best selling print.

Death Dealer

Acrylic and water color (background) on illustration board 16x20 (c) 2018 I have always been a fan of fetish and leather / latex attire as well as vampires. I saw this image of Miss Mandy; a Swedish Fetish model and contacted her and her photographer to get permission to as a ref. photo. This was the result. The title itself was inspired from the movie Underworld. The focus or theme is this Death Dealer is both judge and executioner in a more medieval period. Since Tyr is the god of justice I felt it appropriate adding his sigil / rune to this piece. I am particularly proud of how well her boots turned out.

Freyja

Acrylic and oil on illustration board 11x14, (c) 2017 I just wanted to pay tribute to the goddess Freyja. I tried something new I hadn't done in a while: her skin tones were done in oil; the rest was done in acrylic. Extra (clear) gesso was used on the illustration board after I had my sketch completed. Originally the background (airbrushed acrylic) was a teal; I didn't really like it so I had to remask and re-do.

Last Erinyes

Oil on canvas 18x24, (c) 2001 One of my first fantasy pieces, this image is based on a character from a story I wrote called "Empire to Ashes". At the end of the story the character D'Lahl is the last of her kind. She is victorious in an epic war, but at the cost of all her friend and all those that she knew. Born immortal she later ascends to god-hood and so will carry her grief and sorrow forever.

Pagan Goddess

Acrylic on clay board 18x24 (c) 2018 Bits of this just sort of came to me as I was sketching it out. In the reference photo, the woman is laying on a chair, so I had work around that a bit and come up with a reason she was arched back. The skull is possum or skunk skull I borrowed from a friend. I really like how the composition ended up. I think it is one of my stronger fantasy pieces.

Baal

Acrylic on paper 20x30 (c) 2012 I was at a convention in early July of 2012 and was approached by Cliff Simon (Ba'al of Stargate SG1) to do this commission for him. He really wanted something (prints) by Dragon-Con which is usually Labor Day weekend. He gave me his favourite photo and asked if I could do something with it. Cliff was super nice and since Ba'al is my favourite TV super-villain so I busted my ass to get this done. I feel it is perhaps my best piece.

Work in Progress images:

Athena

Acrylic on clay board 18x24, expected completion: fall 2020. I saw a photo by Koeal Braxton Photography of Nicole Aniston and really thought it would lend itself to something amazing. I had already begun the background on my medusa piece and so I continued the same type of background and colors with this piece to tie them together a bit.

Wonderful Terrible Things

Acrylic on illustration board, expected completion: fall 2020 The reference photo of her face is from a fetish image by Lucy Alice Photography, used with permission. The human torso was a pose I used (with license) from Figurosity. For the snake torso and tail I bought a posable snake toy I found on Amazon and twisted into the desired position. Inspiration hit me for this one in the most strangest manner. I had been traveling to Yuma-con and listening to my Spotify when 'The Source' by God Module came on the line "I will show you things; wonderful terrible things." and it hit me to do a Medusa-themed image, but make her something you would want to look at; beautiful, not hideous and of course that is the title. I was originally going to debut this piece at Wondercon 2019, but I was running behind I have learned not to rush things; they will finish when they finish. And they will be wonderful and terrible at the same time.