Mista, the Artist

Before she became a watercolor artist, Mista found her first artistic inspiration as a child in the mountains of North Carolina where she was surrounded by the outdoors and nature. She spent many hours drawing and painting the beautiful things around her and continued to paint into her adulthood. After a few private artist lessons her interest in watercolors began to grow. Watching how watercolors flow and wondering what will happen next pushed her into what now is a passion for painting and art.

“I’m inspired by all the things I see every day – people, the mountains here in Western North Carolina, flowers, birds, a sunset. There are so many beauties around us every day. I think sometimes we are all so busy we don’t stop to notice all the miracles that are happening around us all the time,” the Burnsville native said.

With her watercolor paintings Mista hopes to give others a piece of art that is also a very personal and long-lasting keepsake.

“As an artist it brings me so much happiness when I see I have touched someone’s heart through my work,” she said. “To see a smile or sometimes a tear when a person receives one of my watercolors is worth all the time and energy I had spent on it.”

Mista enjoys the personalization that embodies the spirit of her work as an artist.

“I want my watercolors to trigger a memory in people’s lives so that every time they look at a painting I did for them it will bring back that special moment. It’s wonderful to have art in your home, but to have a piece of artwork that is painted just for you is special. It could be a painting of you and a loved one looking off a balcony in Italy or a vacation spot you never want to forget.”

Mista’s personalization also extends to her technique, which establishes her signature style.

“I try to bring out all the wonderful details in each subject,” the artist said. ”If a person has beautiful eyes I will focus on bringing that out in a painting. I will also sometimes use very bright, bold colors, which in themselves are very unique to watercolors. Most people are used to seeing watercolors as very soft and pale. They don’t know that when more color is used with less water the result is very bright and bold. I love the contrast.”

Though the time and crafting both give birth to artwork of vivid and energetic beauty, the artist finds that watercolor painting is the key to serenity.

“I paint because it’s my passion. There is nothing that calls to me like painting does. When I start to paint, it takes me away from everything else in the world. It is the most wonderful form of meditation for me that there could ever be. I am so calm and at peace when I paint.”

Visit Mista's Gallery or read what her clients say about their watercolor paintings.