Local artist Cristina Tuser is hosting an art giveaway on her Instagram page. Once the page reaches 500 followers, she will be giving away a custom “paint pour.”
Tuser decided to host a giveaway as a way to foster a community among her followers. She said that this, along with story sales and polls, helps her stay engaged with her audience.
She first discovered the “paint pour” technique — which is when one mixes acrylic paints with pouring mediums and then pours the mixture onto a surface — on Pinterest and has been perfecting her own style ever since. To start, she dilutes paint until it is thin. She chooses as many colors as she wants and one by one, she drops the paint wherever it makes sense on the canvas. She said the key is to pour plain white paint all over the canvas and swipe lightly with a palette knife until the colors start to bleed through. These days she has been experimenting with more minimalistic pours.
She said that this technique has pushed her out of her comfort zone and helped her experiment with her style.
“I’ve worked in so many new mediums simply because someone asked if I could and I just don’t believe that I can’t,” Tuser said. “I want to have that faith in myself that even if I’m doing something I haven’t done before, that it’s going to be okay.”
Tuser hopes to inspire people with her art, especially during these difficult times.
“It’s really important right now. I spend so much time at home and I want something on my walls that looks good,” she said. “So I would love to give that to someone and talk to them about it and inspire them to maybe make their own.”
“I feel like it not only expands the reach for me, but it also just shows people that you can get lucky and win something and it’s really fun.”
Tuser found her love for art when she was in college. Besides having no prior training, she ended up falling in love with every assignment. It was a combination of an amazing art professor and the support of her friends that pushed her to start selling her art.
“I feel like having that support was really key for me, it kind of validated me in that sense and you don’t really realize it until more people start telling you,” she said.
She graduated and started her art Instagram account in May of 2019 and said that this is what really transformed her work into something more public. Tuser describes her style as eclectic and loud. She said that she appreciates texture and likes living in color. She primarily works with acrylic pouring, oil paints and regular Sharpies or other markers.
“I feel like the people that I connect with and who are commissioning me also want something that is loud and in your face,” she said.
Pre-COVID, Tuser would get together with friends to make art but since lockdown started, it has become much more of a sacred practice.
“’m really happy about the fact that I can make art and it doesn’t feel like a nine to five job for me,” she said. “It’s something that I do have as a second income, but I just see it as something that’s so relaxing and therapeutic. It’s me and my paints, maybe music and the energy that I feel. And regardless of what I’m feeling, it’s really nice to just take it out on my canvas.”
To enter the painting giveaway, follow the artist on Instagram and check out her website.
Featured photo: Cristina Tuser
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