Kelynn Z. Alder, featured in Cynthia Maris Dantzic’s book 100 New York Painters grew up in several countries. From early childhood, peoples’ diverse backgrounds and the wide range of living cultures fascinated her. Portraits of everyday people from all corners of the world, but most especially Mexico remain her favorite subject matter.

She was awarded a scholarship from The School of Visual Arts, to enroll in a master’s program entitled “Artist as Visual Essayist,” which encouraged students to follow traditional expeditionary methods of drawing, painting and journal writing out in the field, combined with studio work. For her thesis Kelynn worked with Time Magazine on an article entitled “A Tale of Two Societies” regarding the urban drift of the highland Inca to the country’s capital Lima, and the cultural and economical clash that ensued. Traveling to Peru, she conducted interviews for her article and also created accompanying portraits and sketches.

After earning her MFA, she collaborated with writers in Australia from Time on a feature about the migration of the Indochinese, and contributed five paintings. Kelynn also traveled to Papua New Guinea with journalists from the Melbourne Age to interview and paint Prime Minister Pious Wingti, and other, for a feature contrasting the country’s tribal warfare with their urban violence.

While in Australia, she created a series of personified landscapes and portraits of Aboriginal leaders such as Bill Neidjie. The work was exhibited extensively throughout Australia, the Australia Gallery in New York City and the Australian Embassy in Washington D.C. It was Kelynn’s distinguished honor to be invited by the Australian Geographic to join them on scientific expeditions as their on-location artist in order to document remote and environmentally sensitive areas in Australia.

Following Australia, Kelynn traveled to Chiapas, Mexico to live among and paint Mayan families in the Lacandon rainforest communities. Her work in Chiapas has become a life-long passion, and having formed close relationships with the Lacandon people, she and San Francisco based artist, Michael Bartalos, established art workshops for the Lacandon and other underserved Mayan communities in Chiapas. VISIT HERE TO LEARN MORE

Inspired by the colorful spirit of Latin America’s outdoor marketplaces, Kelynn painted and exhibited a series entitled “Vendors.” The work has been exhibited at Viridian Gallery in New York City, as well as Gallery North, Huntington Library, Smithtown Township Arts Council, The Knox School, The Armory, Nesconset Library and Smithtown Picture Frame on Long Island.

Kelynn has had work published in magazines such as The New Yorker, and illustrated several books, including Journey to the Bottomless Pit, a story about slave Stephen Bishop, written by Elizabeth Mitchell. This illustrated historical biography was selected as a ‘must read’ by The New York Public Library.

Awarded Artist in Residence by the Smithtown Township Arts Council, Kelynn was honored with an exhibition entitled “Portraits of Family Life” which included portraits of her dogs. As a dog-lover, she frequently exhibits her “Dog-Art” at Mascot Studio in Manhattan, and illustrated Moments of Wonder, a book written by Barry Schieber, chronicling the touching stories of his therapy-dog.

She authored a humorous memoir entitled It’s Just a Dog, about the adventures of living with her mischievous Bernese Mountain Dogs. And as a sidebar, Kelynn once swam across the Long Island Sound to raise funds for the North Shore Animal League.

Kelynn has lectured, conducted art workshops and taught art in Mexico and at various institutions including the School of Visual Arts, the University of Utah, The Lower Eastside Girls Club in Manhattan, and Gallery North, the Smithtown Township Arts Council, and Nesconset Library on Long Island.