Kris is an artist living outside Philomath Oregon. She has been painting en plain air around the area for many years. Kris taught numerous workshops in the area in addition to teaching art classes through LBCC from 1999 thru 2017. Kris’s artwork resides in many private collections, as well as at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Radiation Oncology in Corvallis. Kris’s work has been on display and won awards in numerous group shows throughout the Willamette Valley. Kris has participated in the Philomath Open Studios Tour since 2010. Currently she is represented by Pegasus Gallery in downtown Corvallis at 312 SW Madison Ave.
Kris in her Art-mobile
“I have been making art for decades my muse coming and going through the years. Early in life I’ve felt part of nature, ultimately dependent and connected to the natural world. Eventually, the years have led me to try to express the poetic heart of the landscape. I feel at peace when I am surrounded by nature and lighthearted when I am painting. It’s what feeds my soul. My hope is to represent in my art the magic and spirit that I found while there.”
Kris grew up in Idaho in the Treasure Valley, the heart of the lowland farmlands between the picturesque foothills of the Rocky Mountains and the Owyhee Mountain Range. Kris moved to Oregon with her family in the late 80’s where she became inspired by the majestic glacier covered mountains, peaceful meadows and farmlands of the Willamette Valley as well as the ever-changing hillsides of the Coast Range she now calls her home.
Kris begins each of her birch panel paintings by covering them with handmade paper and gesso, creating a random organic surface that she finds fascinating and impromptu to paint on. Kris uses combinations of water based pigments, building many layers to give her paintings even more depth. The textured surface of the paintings as well as the buildup of paint layers make the appearance of the paintings change as the light changes in the space.
