GICLEE PRINTS

Kalon’s oil painting technique is an intensive process that involves applying layer upon layer of paint over the course of many months. This creates a unique luminosity to his paintings that is difficult to capture in an image for reproductions. For the creation of giclee prints,  Kalon exclusively works with Digital Planet in Kalispell, Montana, for their unparalleled dedication to reproducing the detail, tone, and richness of Kalon’s art. Digital Planet’s technique begins with a high-quality optical scanner that captures the richness of his color to create high-quality reproductions.

“THUNDER ON THE PRAIRIE”

24x48” GICLEE PRINT

The sheer power of stampeding bison brings to life the spectacle and romance of the archetypical, pre-settlement “Wild West.” For the vast majority of his paintings, Kalon photographs his own reference images, however, images of bison stampeding are hard to come by. This painting was composed from a series of reference images generously shared with Kalon by his close friend, Harvey Payne. Harvey is the former director of the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma where over 2,000 bison make the tallgrass prairie their home. These unique photos afforded Kalon the opportunity to paint “Thunder on the Prairie.”

DETAILS OF “THUNDER ON THE PRAIRIE”

This work, like much of Kalon’s art, contains contradictory forces. The soil and dust kicked up by the stampeding bison and their slackened tongues lend movement, drama and even terror to the scene, while the lushness of the grass and softness of the bisons’ fur conveys a feeling of calm and quiet. In this painting, as in nature, violence and tranquility exist in equal measure. Kalon included a Native American hunter on horseback in this work in order to pay tribute to this era of North American history. He is cognizant of the way non-native people have monetized Indian imagery and was careful in his representation of this individual hunter.

“WATCHFUL SENTRY“

36x24” GICLEE PRINT

A pair of cougars appear on a rock outcropping; one surveys their surroundings. In Kalon’s work, animal portraiture is taken just as seriously as human portraiture. This painting is an example of a commissioned piece where the patrons worked hand-in-hand with Kalon to arrive at an image symbolic of their own relationship to each other and to nature. Just as humans and animals receive equal attention in Kalon’s work, so do flowers and lichen. The intrepid wildflowers that have planted their roots in these inhospitable rocky crags and sent their blooms into the unforgiving wind are rendered with equal care and attention as the cougars. 

DETAILS OF “WATCHFUL SENTRY”

The angle and position of the sun on this summer evening scene brings warm light, soft edges and gentle shadows to the cougars’ ears, cheeks, and chests, as well as to the cliff face. Kalon portrays the flowers reaching toward the sun, almost straining in their effort to bathe in the waning rays.

“THE CHALLENGE”

16x24” GICLEE PRINT

The ancient, towering peaks and rock faces of the Rocky Mountains form the backdrop of this primeval ritual. The behavior and pose of the elk portrayed here is symbolic of the annual autumn rut — a wild spectacle that leaves the human voyeur in awe.

DETAILS OF “THE CHALLENGE”

High mountain winds blow snow off hanging cornices crystalizing the refracted evening light. Warm light glints off the antlers of these majestic creatures, white hot at the edges due to their perpendicular position to the sun. The dry autumn grasses catch this same light forming a thin golden carpet on which the animals stand.

“REFLECTION”

36x24” GICLEE PRINT

Inspired by the relationship between Kalon’s parents, “Reflections” illustrates the dedication of a mated pair of Sandhill Cranes. The idea for this painting came from Kalon’s observations of a breeding pair of Sandhills behind his parents’ house in Sheridan, Montana.

DETAILS OF “REFLECTION”

Kalon studied the feathers of sandhill cranes in great depth in order to reproduce their appearance in careful detail for this piece. The feathers demonstrate a larger theme in Kalon’s work – the marriage of scientific illustration and artistic expression. For most of his work, Kalon prefers to utilize his own photographs to build his compositions and render each unique creature in their scene. In the case of this piece, however, Kalon was inspired to execute the work based on his close friend, Harvey Payne’s imagery. Harvey shared a reference collection of images from his time spent observing the cranes of Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.

About | Contact | Policies

Site Design by Townsend Collective