Statement

My art is grounded in pattern, color and movement. As a child, I studied and played the piano, and as a result, my art often expresses the rhythm and movement found in music.

My process typically begins with an energetic drawn line followed by layers of washed, brushed and poured paint. I then scrape and sand away paint to create depth of field. It is this tension, between the painting’s background and foreground, which holds my work together.

Botanicals and scraps of patterned fabric, which I often incorporate into my paintings, are a significant source of inspiration. Their varied hues and textures work together, through the push and pull of layers, to promote a colorfully appealing synergy.

The juxtaposition of hard edges against soft blurred lines and the interplay of thick paint with thin washes and drips of color serve as an expression of the tensions in my own life: joy and sorrow, service and selfishness, clarity and confusion. As in life, these conflicting elements often work together to create something that is surprisingly harmonious, joyful and visually sound.

Bio

Kristina Bass Bailey, a native of Macon, Georgia, is an Atlanta artist and the owner of Kristina Bass Designs, Inc., a decorative painting business.

While completing her BFA in Fabric Design at the University of Georgia, Kristina studied art and design in Cortona, Italy. She then interned with fashion designer Cynthia Rowley and with Yoma Textiles in New York City, a stint that reaffirmed in Kristina the power of art in all its forms, both decorative and graphic; in pattern and style, her paintings reflect these collective experiences.

The South, however, plays a significant role in her art and her love of beautiful things, and it was to the South she returned to live and work. Once back in Georgia, Kristina became a visual merchandiser for Brighton, the fashion accessory company where she began her career. There, Kristina contributed to fixture, event and display design for the company’s U.S. outlets. Ultimately, Kristina left Brighton to pursue, wholeheartedly, painting and decorative art.

Since then, her work has been featured at several galleries and Shows and also in several magazines including Coastal Living, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles and, most recently, Creative Homes, a Better Homes & Lifestyles publication.

For inspiration and creative direction, Kristina draws upon her range of work, life and travel experiences.

Press

• 2008, Creative Homes, a Better Homes and Gardens Publication (Winter) Hand painted patterned wall finish and furniture featured in magazine
• 2008, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, Little Green Book (January) Kristina Bass Designs, Inc was voted one of Atlanta’s Top Green Design Resources and featured in the Little Green Book Issue
• 2007, Coastal Living, Bon Secour Village Idea Cottage (October) Paintings by Kristina Bailey were featured in the Idea Cottage and photographed for Coastal Living Magazine