Rest in Peace Ely KIsh

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Rest in Peace Ely Kish, we have lost the artist who created the Dinosaurs of CHina set today sadly.......this artists work will be missed.

[Doug Watson]

Thank you for posting this Amargasaurus I wasn't aware she had passed on the 12th. I was lucky enough to work along side Ely on a couple of occasions at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Once at paleo division while she was working with Dale Russell on the paintings for the book "An Odyssey in Time: Dinosaurs of North America" and again while she was painting a background for a diorama I was working on. She was a great artist but more importantly a great person with a good heart. She didn't have to but she took an interest in me and encouraged me to pursue my sculpting and gave me tips to help me avoid the pitfalls of a life in art. We became friends and I was lucky enough to spend some time with her and Huguette outside of the working environment. Ely did two books with Dale Russell on dinosaurs and her process involved sculpting the main subject so she could use it to determine shadows for her painting. It was great watching her work and picking her brain. She also painted diorama backgrounds and murals for the National Museums of Canada, the Smithsonian and the New Mexico Museum of History and Science in Albuquerque. Ely was also very interested in Native American culture and painted some beautiful murals for museums here as well as paintings she did for sale to the public. As well as the Dinosaurs of China that she did with Safari Ltd she also sculpted some of the skeletons in the Tiny Perfect Dinosaur series that the Canadian Museum of Nature produced. She probably did the artwork on the boxes as well.
I hadn't had any contact with her in a few years so I am truly saddened at this news but happy still that I was lucky enough to know her and call her my friend. I will always be thankful for her help.
Here is the link to her obituary in our local paper: www.legacy.com/obituaries/ottawacitizen/obituary.aspx?pid=172854851

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Terribly sorry to hear. I grew up seeing her art on dino documentaries , in books and in collectibles..I recall saving for weeks to get the Mamenchisaurus and I bet she did do the art on the Tiny Perfect Dino series Doug..seems right to me now I think about it. She will be missed , but I'm thankful for the role she took shaping my love of the prehistoric past.

[Gwangi]

It's unfortunate that I never became familiar with her work or even knew who she was until I wrote a review for the DoC Therizinosaurus. Her DoC models are still some of my all time favorites dino-toys (still need the Mamenchisaurus). She certainly had a style all her own and now I can spot her work right away when I see it. And sure, her dinosaurs may have been shrink wrapped to the extreme but they had character and charm, truly works of art.

[Doug Watson]

And sure, her dinosaurs may have been shrink wrapped to the extreme but they had character and charm, truly works of art.

The thinness  of Ely's dinosaurs was a result of her collaboration with Dr. Dale Russell. That was how he liked them.

[tyrantqueen]

Just to echo what everyone else said. Rest in peace.

[CityRaptor]

The thinness  of Ely's dinosaurs was a result of her collaboration with Dr. Dale Russell. That was how he liked them.

Ah, that explains why I have seen some not shrink-wrapped Dinosaurs painted by her. Very informative.

Rest in Peace, Ely Kish!

[Crackington]

Very sad news. Her dinosaur art has that lovely graceful quality to it , exemplified by the DoC Yangchuanosaurus, one of my favourite models too. RIP.

[Gwangi]

And sure, her dinosaurs may have been shrink wrapped to the extreme but they had character and charm, truly works of art.

The thinness  of Ely's dinosaurs was a result of her collaboration with Dr. Dale Russell. That was how he liked them.

Thanks, that's good to know. It figures that Dale Russell would be the one behind that, him and his dinosauroid. But like I said, even shrink wrapped the dinosaurs and the scenes they're depicted in are still quite lovely.

[Manatee]

Sad news indeed, even though I am not all too familiar with her work. Although (this is Dale Russell's fault) that Masssospondylus is essentially the definition of shrink-wrapping, I love the Yangchuanosaurus as a model. Rest in peace

[Paleogene Pals]

Rest in Peace

[amargasaurus cazaui]

I am sorry to have been the one to bear bad news...however I am also glad that I could provide you the information so you could know and do the things we all do when we lose those we have been shaped by. I do submit that this is why I seek out people and ask them for their signatures on figures..none of us can know what the cards hold for each and it is a method of being able to say...without intruding into that persons life enough to be bothersome I mattered to them for a moment, enough time for them to insure I would have a keepsake from their efforts or career. I think that is important ...and it offers each artist and paleo figure in my collection a small tiny, but elusive spark at immortality I never knew Ely Kish well enough to have something signed, but for those who question my sanity, this is why I collect such things....and why I treasure each and every one. Life is short and unpredicatable and I am so sorry the paleo world has lost such a  beacon of light