You're here, I'm grateful.

I didn’t plan to be an artist. I fought it, left it, returned to it — but art never left me. I used to say I’d become an artist at 65. But life had other ideas. I studied silversmithing in Mexico and Ecuador. I started a jewelry collection, Bristol & Cole, then added handmade leather handbags. I loved creating them, but the production work drained me. Still, it makes me smile when I see strangers wearing pieces I once made by hand.

For years, I painted wildlife and landscapes, represented by a gallery in Aspen. I’ve always had a strong connection to animals and nature which shoed up in the pieces I created.  Collectors still send me stories and photos of how these pieces live in their homes, and it fills me with gratitude.  But I believe art carries the energy of the artist who creates it. When my joy faded, I stepped away — promising to return only when I could paint with love again.

Here I am now, painting with a happy heart. My hope now is to share my work again, and to build a community of people who also believe that life is best lived in presence.

Even when I resisted creativity, it was always there — flowing through me, woven into the way I see the world.   I’ll go into the garage to grab tape, and instead I’m painting on cardboard with hot pink spray paint, forgetting all about the tape and wondering when I start doing street art. My brain is a wild, messy, creative fire — and after years of fighting it, I’ve finally learned to embrace it. Maybe even love it.  Rather than fighting the fire, I’ve decided to paint because I love it, and to find the people who believe in that fire too.

Over the past two years, I’ve created pieces and even full collections that I absolutely love. Some may never be released, but they’ve reawakened something in me. I’m embracing slow living, slow productivity, and a new way of seeing beauty in everything. My work is born from this presence. Each piece is an offering of calm in the chaos, a reminder of life’s simple joys.

My art is an offering to notice the small joys that surround us every day.

This has been my journey. And I’d love for you to be part of it.

❤️ Kristen