Crista Pisano

Artful Painter Podcast

Jun 18

Written By Carl Olson

Capturing Nature's Grandeur

Episode 36

Episode length: 1 hour, 25 minutes

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Crista Pisano was born and raised in northern New Jersey and began painting in oils in 1989 under the instruction of John Phillip Osborne at the Ridgewood Art Institute in Ridgewood, NJ. Her career as a painter almost didn’t happen because as a young child she had her heart set on being a ballet dancer. At twelve years of age she nixed that idea and decided it wasn’t for her. Crista's mother suggested that she take a look at Bob Ross, you know, the painter on TV. Finding joy in painting, she pursued an education in fine art. Crista graduated from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in 2000, receiving a Bachelors Degree of Fine Arts Painting, and in 2003, received a Masters Degree of Fine Arts Painting from the New York Academy Graduate School of Figurative Art. With that solid foundation under her belt, she now paints full time.

Aside from participating in various plein air events throughout the year, she exhibits throughout New England and New York. She has received numerous awards and honors, including “Best in Show” at the Adirondack Plein Air Festival in both 2012 and 2014. Crista also won “Honorable Mention” at Plein Air Easton in 2015 and 2016. Plein Air Magazine had included Crista as one of their featured artists in their December/January 2016 issue.

Crista paints landscapes – mostly plein air and also in her studio in Nyack, NY. Though she is known for painting on a small scale, she also paints larger works in her studio. In this delightful conversation, Crista shows that her adventures in painting in plein air goes beyond the brush. When she paints, the unexpected may also follows – whether it’s rescuing a baby in a runaway baby carriage or learning about owls from a scary looking biker. Crista takes it all in stride, adding these fantastical stories to her collection of experiences that could only be had from painting outdoors. If you were to chance upon her in the field painting, you would see Crista Pisano passionately capturing nature’s grandeur.

“It is vital for a landscape painter to study outdoors in order to fully understand how to interpret nature… The unpredictability of light phenomenon during each outing is the most exciting part of each painting I produce… It is the consistent study of natural elements and ever-changing atmospheric conditions that keep me returning to the outdoors and ultimately applying it to canvas.”

— Crista Pisano