Khrystyna Khristianova
My creative journey began long before I learned about a color wheel, values, rules of composition, etc. It began in my childhood and stayed with me though the years like a good friend. Unable to afford art classes, I simply painted my days away, drawing on the walls of my grandma’s apartments, clothes, on the backs of my math assignment sheets in school. However, when the time came to choose a college major, I was convinced by my family to pick something more financially secure and, given my good math and programing skills, I joined a computer science department. Four years, three colleges and one tough move across the world from my hometown in Ukraine to New Jersey later I finally realized that if there was a calling for me in life it was definitely to create art and eventually I graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Fine Art. Being the first family member to pursue art full time, the decision it was both a blessing and a challenge.
Unable and unwilling to pick only one art form to concentrate on, I decided to combine them all. I am currently enjoying working with both traditional and digital media from oil painting and ink illustrations to graphic design and photography. And I have found that one always teaches me something about the other. Painting taught me patience and photography taught me to see and capture moments that pass in a blink of an eye.
I consider myself a realist painter, but my painting practice is my escape from reality. Therefore, I like to paint scenes that look and feel real as if you have seen them yourself, but at the same time coming completely from my imagination. Edward Hopper once said that “if I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint” and I couldn’t agree more. I use my paintings as outlets for expressing my feelings and emotions though scenes, colors, atmospheres, and it always amazes me how something so unexplainable could be translated into simple visual forms. This is also something that I enjoy teaching in my painting class – the art of expressing your inner state rather then simply describing the scene or on object. After all, as my other favorite quote by unknown artist says, “A work of art is something that is made with an intention and leaves you with emotion.”