A child prodigy in art, Kristen began winning awards for her drawings
at the age of seven. An art major in high school, she went on to
graduate from Nazareth College, Pittsford, New York in 1988, with
a Bachelor's of Science in Fine Art and a concentration in Illustration.
Along the way was a curriculum that included jewelry-making, stained
glass, sculpture in clay, photography, weaving, art history, painting,
drawing, figure drawing, commercial illustration and graphic design,
as well as chosen studies in biology, animal behavior, genetics,
and a brief foray into medical illustration. Well-versed in this
multitude of media, scrimshaw has become a fulfilling and exciting
extension of her illustration skills.
Kristen at 2 years old,
already at work on her new drawing board from Santa.
A nature lover from toddlerhood, Kristen draws inspiration from
animal subjects and the natural world. From the very beginning she
learned to draw wild animals with National Geographic books as constant
desktop companions. She learned the names of trees and wildflowers
as a small child walking the upstate New York woods with her grandfather,
while her maternal grandfather captivated her with stories of his
deer camp and of duck and pheasant hunts. Kristen's all-time favorite
animal and subject, the horse, is drawn from life and picture, committed
to memory by a long and loving study of anything equine since the
age of three.
Kristen and Winkie winning
at the 1996 Brandywine Driving Show.
"I've been horse-crazy for as long as I can remember. My parents
always said that it was just a phase. I have been studying the horse
for at least twenty-five years... any book, picture, poster, or plastic
model I could get my hands on, and then some! When I was a kid, getting
up close to the real thing was a special treat. If you eat, sleep,
breathe, draw, and dream horses, if you really observe them,
you commit to memory their images. I've now owned horses and have
cared for, ridden, driven, and trained them, and have developed some
very special relationships. They never cease to astound me or bring
absolute joy to my face and heart each and every time I see them.
It is the one subject I never tire of talking about, the one subject
I never tire of creating."
Kristen and her husband Karl live in northeastern Pennsylvania and
have an assortment of animals (ponies, cats, birds, fish, and snakes)
instead of children.
Special Interests include...
Riding and driving horses, polo, falconry, hunting, fishing, shooting
trap, skeet and sporting clays