Kristina Mekdeci was born with artistic talent. Her mother recognized this talent and enrolled Kristina in summer art programs at a young age. She majored in Fine Arts and Marketing at the University of Central Florida. After graduating, she worked as a Mural Artist for Walt Disney Studio and Nickelodeon. She then spent over a decade working as a graphic artist at Florida Today News, WB18-WKCF, and New Horizons. Along with creating her own art, she is also a Children's Book Illustrator, Educational Project-Based Video Editor, and is skilled in Character Animation.
Kristina believes there are a variety of styles so why restrict one's artistic freedom to only one style. She is always pushing the limits in visual communication with a style that brings up a feeling of joy inside the viewer while also telling a story of the possible realities we appear to be living in. Her 4 series of art are uniquely different while still expressing an overwhelming theme of bright colors and flat 2-dimensional brush strokes. She pushes the limits of this flat 2-dimensional paradigm in her “Centrifugal Force Series.”
Kristina was a professional surfer in early 2000 and continues to spend her free time surfing the exciting and playful waves in Maui, Hawai’i. This motion of surfing a wave influenced her “Centrifugal Force” series. She had a desire to visually represent the powerful motion of surfing and the energy of 'mother oceanʻs waves' in a way that ‘pops’ off the canvas. Her family's love for golfing also influenced the golfing paintings in this series. Kristina would say, “The swing of the golfer is very much in harmony with the line carved into a wave by the surfer.”
The “Sun Salutation” series is a tropical expression of all the beautiful places Kristina has visited through her career as a professional surfer. She found inspiration from nature, especially during her time playing in the ocean. The viewer is transported to those tropical views with the warm colors of the setting sun contrasting against the deep blues of the salt-sprayed ocean waters.
Through her desire to understand the human psyche better, she became a Certified Medical Hypnotherapist and a Quantum Healing Hypnotherapist Level 2. This training inspired her “Quantum Awakening” series. This artwork pushes the limit of one's visual comfort, as these paintings expose many of the so-called conspiracy theories, some of which are now proven to be real. These paintings are painted ‘through her’ as if by some divine guiding force. She explains, “I don’t plan, I just allow the creative energy to move my hand to direct the paintbrush around the canvas.” While these paintings are rarely on public display seen upon request. For Kristina, the Quantum Series is painted as a way of art therapy and self-discovery.
This remarkable artist still finds a way to balance the depth of her work with a ‘lightness’ you will see in her humorous illustrated mixed media series “Women of the World.” This series expresses the beauty of all women of every color and every culture around the world. She has always emphasized the importance of women loving themselves. With a little humor, this series is a reminder for every woman to remember just how beautiful we truly are. She expanded this series to include hand-painted illustrated earring holders. These earrings are made from the gifts of the ‘mother ocean’ in the form of hand-picked shells she finds on her beach walks.
We hope you enjoyed getting to know this artist.
