Today we’d like to introduce you to Krista Lea.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Krista. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am forever grateful for the therapy that painting has provided in my life. My neighbor Carl in Steamboat hooked me up with a huge canvas, easel, paint, and brushes around eight years ago. He was into airbrush and no longer using acrylic paints. He kindly gifted me with all his old supplies and a 36×48 canvas. We would talk about how I used to draw as a kid and I really showed a lot of interest.
Disney made me want to be an illustrator, so I painted a mural of Alice in Wonderland and got hooked on colors and subliminal messages. I tore my knee shortly after picking up a paintbrush. Sitting all day, I just painted a lot. Moving down to Denver was a big move into a thriving art community. People are very generous with their tricks and trades. We all want to see the talent and realness of artists shine, and just watch. I’ve been showing my work at a few places around the metro. I really must thank Bill Thomason at the Bitfactory Gallery for letting me help promote and support his gallery.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Paying bills is an obstacle on its own. Whatever is going on in the world on a global or local scale will offer it’s set of trials. Being any age has its own set of challenges. My friends and family know my troubles and past way better than I do. Every artist shares the same struggle down to a T. It’s always something and I am guilty of hostility at times to be honest. I know I am very proud of things I have overcome and I still remember the mistakes. Events just happen and we react to them in our own ways. It feels like this is a very broad answer because it is.
We’d love to hear more about your art.
I am a visual artist mostly working in acrylic. I paint small and large scale pieces on canvas or wood. Music, icons, history, literature, painters, and Jungian psychology set the tone of my art project. These works exist between tragedy and humor, truth and fiction, insecurity and self-validation. This artistic endeavor seeks to non verbally question the artist and the audience. Do we speak the same language? A blend of intentional and subconscious desires are released in a therapeutic display of concepts and statements imperative to the heart and soul of the artist. Each piece pays tribute to inspiring images and ideas perceived by the artist. My work is all over the place and I intend to follow it wherever it takes me.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I’m pretty sure the best part about my process is just relaying those moments that spark kind of a fire inside my chest. I never know what I will end up with which is exciting. The message is there in my art. This is how I can express freedom of thought and emphasize communication. Thought and feeling are connected so I paint whatever I’m turned to at that time. Be transferred from mind to heart. Not in any specific way do I aim to make you feel any sort of way. I just want to trigger something inside of people who see it, whatever that may mean. Some of the best art makes people uncomfortable and isn’t that the point? Art is supposed to wake you up.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artby13.com
- Email: kristaleawill@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/13_fridaythe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Artby13/
Image Credit:
Brent Bessey, Peter Massee
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