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Above, Krista with her little Cocker cross, Darla. Below is a photo Krista
snapped of her cat, Faloola.
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Krista has a passion for all things vintage! It began during her years at
Georgia State University in Atlanta, where she received a BFA in graphic
design. She would go without lunches in order to buy books featuring vintage
design collections. She loved it all: Opulent cigar label lithographs of the
early 1900's, sleek and elegant Art Deco posters and packaging, whimsical
images on vintage matchbook covers. When she first moved to New Mexico in 1995,
she faced an apartment of bare walls. She decided to decorate in her favorite
style and since she couldn't afford the real thing, she turned to her book
collections.
"I pored through my books and found the images I loved best, then
painted them large, on masonite or old wood and antiqued them," Krista
explains. A couple of years later Jason Suttle, a friend knowing she was an
artist (and a starving one at that), asked if she would do a painting of his
Jack Russell named Fergus. Krista loved the idea and when Jason told her to
just do whatever she wanted, she loved it even more. "I figured why not do it
as a beer label, Flying Fergus Pale Ale - Good Dog Good Beer, with his little
dog leaping through the center," says Krista. Jason loved the end result and so
did everyone else, so she started taking commissions in the spring of 1998.
Nowadays, instead of taking commissions, Krista concentrates her
time on making new prints. Dogs are center stage right now but she plans to add
cats, horses, pigs and even birds to the Retro Pets gang. As Krista puts it,
"I'm painting as fast as I can!"
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