Meet the Artist Kristine Brown

My name is Kristine Brown. I am a watercolor and mixed media artist from Buffalo, New York who loves to draw and paint botanicals. When not teaching math to 10-12 year olds during the school year, I am living a full and happy life with my 3 children, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and husband. Painting began as a hobby in 2020, and is now a passion I am regularly pursuing in my free time.

KINGART asks: How did you get started and what are your favorite ways for continuing to develop your skills?

I grew up in a crafty family. My mother worked with ceramics and needle crafts. My father’s profession was carpentry. But I never took an art class in secondary school. I never had the the time with my schedule. But I always longed to be good at something artsy. During the COVID pandemic with my family at home, I realized that painting flowers could be a safe and lovely escape. I used Pinterest, instagram and online course offered by various talented artists to understand the basics and develop my passion and skills for watercolor.

KINGART asks: With a family and a demanding job as a Math Teacher – which we know often requires extra hours, how do you make sure you make time for painting and following your passion?

Outside of the beautiful things one can create with the watercolor medium, it’s really accessible for those with little time to craft who want to. With a full time teaching job, I can still find 30min-1hr nearly every day to commit my brush to paper, with a tiny fraction of it needed to prep and clean up. And if I can’t, I usually have a couple of hours on the weekend to commit to myself and my art practice while my kids and husband get their device time in the evenings. It’s also a great financial choice for those who want to art on a budget. All watercolor paints that dry can be reactivated with water. No tossing out dried up acrylic globs!