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Artist Statement:  I was the kid that loved art. I’ll never forget my fascination with a stained-glass window of irises at my dad’s office and the time I spent studying those bright facets of color. Today I paint in very much the same way that a stained-glass artist works: in simplified, geometric shapes. One critic said of my work: “Your style is wonderful. Your personal version of abstraction is so beautifully rooted in reality.” I either paint “alla prima

Artist Statement:  I was the kid that loved art. I’ll never forget my fascination with a stained-glass window of irises at my dad’s office and the time I spent studying those bright facets of color. Today I paint in very much the same way that a stained-glass artist works: in simplified, geometric shapes. One critic said of my work: “Your style is wonderful. Your personal version of abstraction is so beautifully rooted in reality.” I either paint “alla prima” (all at once, wet oil paint on wet oil paint), or I build up transparent acrylic layers finished with oil paints.

My dog paintings are joyful and a consistent favorite with collectors. I had a yellow lab named Buttercup who passed away in 2016. She epitomized loyalty, joy, and friendship. I started painting her as a pup and these pieces inspired a whole new dimension of my career. Dog-lovers far and wide are connecting with my work. Dogs are furry angels of comfort and joy, and especially now that my sweet Buttercup is gone, I feel driven to spread that simple joy.

My florals are powerful and I inherited my love of flowers from my parents. As a funny side note, my dad and I take more pictures of the local flowers than of our family when we vacation. I like the artistic challenge of taking something traditionally feminine and fragile, like a flower, but underlining that femininity with confidence. I’ve heard this again and again at shows from people looking at my composition and brushwork. They feel a strength and determination in my florals.

My seascapes are personal. Because my ancestry comes from the Adriatic Sea, the beach feels like home more than any other place I’ve been. The moods of the ocean reflect my own feelings of peace, hope, struggle, or pain. I feel a spiritual connection with the ocean, and I brush this into every seascape I paint. Stormy waters can become still, shores are washed clean each day, and the vastness does not diminish the importance of one viewer on the shore.

Cristall Harper graduated in 2002 from Brigham Young University with a BFA in Painting. Her studio is located in Utah where she lives with her husband. Her work is collected and enjoyed nationally.