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Watercolor Wednesday: Kristy Rice
Kristy Rice is an American watercolor artist, author, teacher, and business owner. Her journey as an artist is unique in that she was in the business of art before she developed her personal artwork.
Kristy owns and operates Momental Designs, a wedding invitation design business which provides handmade watercolor wedding invitations. Momental Designs, which started at Kristy’s dining room table 14 years ago, has grown steadily over the years and now employs 9 professional artists and designers in its West Wyoming, Pennsylvania studio.
Kristy’s artistic focus was primarily on building the business, until about 5 years ago when she began concentrating on her own art. After much experimentation, she discovered her passion in painting watercolor flowers.
“Watercolor is ever changing and at times feels as if it is literally alive on the page,” Kristy says. “The way colors can blend on the page without any encouragement from me as the painter is fascinating! With watercolors I feel like I have a dancing partner whose next step I’m never 100% sure of.”
Kristy uses a #6 mop brush from our Neptune series for painting loose florals noting, “It holds a ton of water and pigment and can be THE only brush I hold during a painting session for anything from fine line work or big sweeping strokes!” The #8 filbert from our Snap! Series is also at the top of her favorites list. “[This brush is] amazing for botanical work. It allows me to rough in effortless petals of all shapes, and the bristles have the most inspiring bounce as they touch the page.”
Kristy also has also written and published a series of watercolor books, called Kristy’s Cutting Garden. All three books in the series, Kristy’s Summer Cutting Garden, Kristy’s Spring Cutting Garden, and Painterly Days are available in popular online retailers and bookstores.
If business, art, and authorship doesn’t keep her busy enough, Kristy also offers online workshops through Craftsy. She says, “#artforjoysake is my mantra as I’m passionate about teaching others not only the difference between joy and happiness, but also giving them the artistic tools to live out this reality. Learning simple, easy to implement painting techniques can unlock a storehouse of calm and joy within us.”