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What gives Pristas's work it's edge is the way that she searches for her images directly within the paint itself. Pristas does not do any preliminary sketches, but prefers to trust in the magic of the intuitive process. What she does plan is her color palette, which is limited. Keeping the colors in the same family results in a harmonious painting. She mixes all of her colors by hand to create unique, subtle tones and values. Using many layers of paint, she has developed her own surface manipulation techniques to create this remarkable style. This exceptional combination of multiple layers of colors, and surface-manipulation techniques used to build textures, creates a sense of space that whisper landscape.
It was the texture on one of her large scale paintings, Majestic Whisper, that caught the eye of Hollywood set designer, Dan Clancy. After visiting her studio, he chose several paintings for the Universal Studios blockbuster, "The Break-Up", starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. Pristas was later interviewed by Mai Martinez and appeared on CBS Channel 2 Chicago News. She was also featured in Chicago Magazine and The Pittsburgh Tribune. Her paintings also appear on Life Time TV, Drop Dead Diva.
Pristas is influenced by nature in its abstracted form. While some of her landscapes may remind the viewer of a particular place what excites her is establishing a mood. According to Eastern philosophy the painted landscape is spiritually restorative even when actual visits to nature are impossible. Recently, St. John’s Mercy Medical Center, in St. Louis purchased Pristas’s Ethereal Whirl for their new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The painting will be displayed in a respite area for adults and family on that ICU. May of 2009, Settled Season a large scale uplifting landscape painting was commissioned by Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL for their ICU. Pristas just finished designing two monotypes of serene water lilies for Central Dupage Hospital in Winfield, IL " Invisible Tides" 26 x 40 inches and "Sought Solace" 26 x 40 inches have been purchased for the hospitals new addition. Plus the commission of a 40 x 48 oil painting due August 2009. All an appropriate placement since Pristas is a certified Reiki practitioner and yoga instructor. The influence of these two practices contribute to the tranquility felt in her paintings. Reiki is a Japanese system for channeling Universal Life Force Energy to someone for the purpose of healing. It was discovered by Dr. Usui in the late 1800’s.
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| Tracy on CBS2 Chicago News |
Copyright ©2009 by Tracy Lynn Pristas. Site by Fianchetto 
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