About the Artist

John M. Kissling, was born in South Jersey just outside of the Greater Philadelphia area, and pursued a passionate interest in art at an early age attending classes as a youth with local instructors. Shortly after graduating from the University of Arts in 1993 with a B.F.A., majoring in illustration with a minor in fine arts, he ended up finding work with one of his college professors, developing concepts for the collectible design industry, educational publishing and advertising. During this early part of his career he also exhibited and sold originals in small galleries throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area as well as spending a summer creating clay models for molds with an area sculptor.

John worked for several design firms in the Philadelphia area and completed illustration work for clients such as Agway, Just Born, Campbell's, National Geographic, Coca-Cola, Vlasic and other national and regional businesses. Packaging design, character development for branding such as the Vlasic stork and Peeps chick, as well as collectible figurines for National Geographic were among early accomplishments.

During this period John exhibited original pieces at several local and regional shows as well as entering multiple national contests receiving accolades and Best of Show awards multiple times.

Currently he is focused on a series of newer works and looking for gallery representation. His work can be commissioned by contacting him through this site.

A note from the artist:

The creative process has always been a source of relaxation for me. As I have grown both artistically and conceptually over the years I have come to fully appreciate the diversity across the visual arts mediums including digital works, sculpture, photography and traditional media. I prefer to work traditionally and although I have a background in programming never really developed a passion for digital in my creative process. I hope my work inspires and is enjoyed by others as much as I enjoyed the creative process."