Th Verve: Realism, abstract mix in Doug Cristafir’s art
Doug Cristafir began his creative endeavors in the first grade where his teacher recognized his talent after he drew a picture of a ship of Columbus.
“She loved it,” he said, “After that, I started decorating all the bulletin boards.” Now, he blends photographs and paintings to create “PhotoPaintings.”
Cristafir’s work is visually stunning; a mix of realism and abstract, the pieces reflect the artist’s adventurous, playful yet peaceful nature.
“Art is very interesting. The creative process is a metaphor for living. You have to learn when to let go, when to control, when to step back, when to go in a different direction or when to stop,” he said, “Some artists are very controlled but they want to be loose. I can do both. What I do now is a blending of the left and right brain.”
Cristafir received a degree in art from West Virginia University. In his senior year, he went on an adventure, hitchhiking west to find a place to settle. He visited Sandpoint, Coeur d’Alene and Spokane. After college he came to Spokane, went into the Air Force for four years, moved on to Montana and Phoenix, and then settled in the Spokane area in 1990.
He has shown his work at galleries in Scottsdale and Sedona, Ariz., Durango, Colo., and Whitefish, Mont. In Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, he has exhibited his work at places that include the William Grant Gallery, Colburn’s, Frame of Mind and Avenue West Gallery.
Before his current medium of PhotoPainting, Christafir created landscapes using an air brush and acrylic paint. About 10 years ago he began playing with photographs. He scans his painted images onto the computer and layers them onto scanned photographs of landscapes. The effect is a curious combination that is recognizably a landscape while added textures bring forth other organic-looking elements that may not belong but somehow do. “The pieces aren’t done until I can step back and get a feeling of ‘awesomeness,’ ” Cristafir said.
His work is awe-inspiring. With names like “Oasis Reborn,” “Yielding to Blue,” “Beyond the Trees,” and “Distant Voices,” his PhotoPaintings are worthy of a stare or even a mental visit to the natural wonders that Cristafir creates.
He also designs Web sites, logos, business cards and other graphic related projects.
Cristafir’s daughter, Jenaya, has been following in her father’s footsteps. “Ever since I was little I remember being next to him in the art studio doing my own work,” she said, “He’s taught me to ‘go with my gut.’ ” She has been told that she has a natural eye for composition. “I was called a master of proportion in school,” Christafir said, “Jenaya has that, too.”
Jenaya, 17, showed her work alongside her father’s pieces at a gallery in December and January. One of her photos, “The Shadows Beneath” is done in black and white and is a strange and beautiful other worldly type of place when, in reality, it is just her recreation of “a CD immersed in the outdoor fountain in my school’s court yard and the reflection of the trees above on the water’s surface.” She plans on going on to study photography and be a working artist as her father is. “Expressing your creativity regularly is the key to balance, happiness and true release in your life and it never gets old,” she said.