TUCSON, AZ.- The artist, Kristin Harvey, has commenced her debut solo exhibit in Tucson, AZ. The exhibit titled “Sonoran Joy" is at the DeGrazia Museum in the Sun, Little Gallery in Tucson, AZ. The exhibit opened on January 28th, and will run through February 9th, attendance is free and open daily. The artist attended the opening reception and will be at the exhibit daily.

The artist is originally from California and attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, graduating with a BFA in illustration. Her mastery of those skills became the foundation for a career in digital design, where she created video games, characters, and animations for Sega of America, Activision, and Maxis. She also had a successful career in user experience design.

In 2015, Kristin and her husband moved to Southern Arizona to be closer to family. It was at that moment that the landscape of the desert Southwest spoke to her and inspired her to paint. She is now a full-time artist and paints daily. She has shown her artwork in various shows. The Tucson show, “Sonoran Joy”, is the artist’s premier solo exhibit and first exhibit in Tucson, AZ.

Kristin explains the theme of joy in her artwork by saying, “I may not know what I will ultimately find in each piece, but I know that the process of creating and finding elements to draw out brings me immense joy. The fact that the viewer finds joy in experiencing my art brings it full circle for me. I see my work as a shared smile.”

Kristin’s paintings evoke an exhilarating feeling of joy, and perfectly harmonize her passion for painting and her love of the desert landscape which is a constant inspiration for her creativity. She is also influ- enced by her appreciation of Mexican art and celebration culture. That influence has an inspiring effect on the color palette she selects for her artwork. When creating her works, Kristin paints intuitively by ini- tially incorporating a free-flowing abstract approach. Shapes or lines that appear then set the direction for the subject matter that she will pursue in each painting.

The artist’s keen love of the landscape, desert sunsets and birds, intriguing cactus shapes, and mountain vistas then become the main focus and subject of her paintings. But it is the unique style that she has developed and mastered that makes these paintings unique expressions of the beauty that surrounds her. She focuses her painting practice on bringing the joy of the Sonoran Desert’s beauty to those who view her work and invite it into their homes.

Kristin Harvey exhibits regularly at galleries and art centers. Her work has most recently been included in exhibits at the Tubac Art Center, Tohono Chul, and SAACA.

Originally from Fresno, California, Kristin Harvey grew up believing she was an artist and received the love and support of family in that identity. After being influenced and taught by many talented teachers and artists in the community, Kristin headed for San Francisco to study at the Academy of Art University.

Graduating with a BFA in Illustration in 1990, Kristin pursued a digital design career in video games, creating backgrounds, characters and animations for Sega of America, Activision and Maxis. An opportunity to design Sega’s first ever website eventually led to a successful career in User Experience Design.

Throughout her digital career, Kristin continued her traditional medium practice on the side creat- ing art for newspapers, magazines and books. In the early 2000’s she finally had the studio space to begin painting on large scale canvases and soon knew that was what she wanted to do as her full time career.

Kristin and her husband moved to Southern Arizona where she was immediately inspired by her surroundings in the Sonoran Desert. Kristin Harvey now exhibits regularly at galleries and art centers. Her work has most recently been included in exhibits at the Tubac Art Center, Tubac, AZ, Tohono Chul, Tucson, AZ, and with the art organization SAACA.

Kristin Harvey’s work today reflects her love of the desert and appreciation of the Mexican art and celebration culture which inspires her color palettes. She paints intuitively, with a free flow- ing abstract approach to the canvas until a shape or line suggests the subject matter to her. Her love of desert sunsets and birds, intriguing cactus shapes and beautiful mountain vistas is appar- ent in her finished abstract impressionist works. She focuses her painting practice on bringing the joy of the Sonoran Desert’s beauty to those who view her work and invite it into their homes.