Krista Morey moved from Central Michigan to Bozeman in 1995 to attend MSU. After graduating in 1999 with a BFA in Painting, she decided to stay in Bozeman, which she now regards as her home. In 2004, she came up with an idea to make purses from recycled cowboy boots, and started a hand-crafted handbag line called Rodeo Queen Essentials Recycled Boot Bags. She now divides her time between creating paintings and making boot bags, both of which can be seen at the Bogert Farmer’s Market throughout the summer. For more on Krista’s artwork and contact information please visit: www.absolutearts.com/kristamorey and www.RecycledBootBags.com.

“It is through the impulsive process of both my painting style, and my imagination, that my paintings evolve. No structured planning takes place previous to the fabrication of my work. Color plays a huge role in the inspiration of my ideas. My imagery is born from the initial coloring stage of the underpainting. In a sense, the paintings create themselves.

First, I conceal the white void of the painting surface by applying various colors in a very loose and liquid manner to create the underpainting. I then study what will be the underlying marks, and search for any possible imagery that may already exist within the first thin layer of paint. Secondary layers consist mostly of a primary outlining of the images that I have extemporaneously perceived. In later development, parts are solidified with additional color, texture, and pattern. Other parts are left hollow, revealing the original underpainting. This creates a stained glass effect, and allows the painting’s inner-light to shine through.Within the work, there is a vast abundance of varying color combinations used to create visual illusion and invite emotional context. Form and space are implied through the interplay of color intervals. Relationships can be established with the harmonies and tensions of variations on color.

Through painting, my aim is to invent mysterious worlds full of color embellishment and strange life forms in a unique relationship. I hope to create a visual language that is unlike anything in our natural world, yet can be related to and contemplated by the people of our world. The final result is a fresh reality that hopefully poses a sense of intrigue, forcing the viewer to construe their own ideas about the visual narrative.”