About Krista
Krista graduated in 1994 from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Arts focusing on painting and biology. She then studies for two years at an atelier, The Schuler School of Fine Arts, in Baltimore, MD. In 1998, she earned her Master of Arts from the Johns Hopkins University in Medical and Biological Illustration. After establishing herself as a medical illustrator, she returned to painting and studied with painters at The Art League School in Alexandria, VA and completed a yearlong apprenticeship with portrait and landscape painter, Edward Reed. In 2007 she moved to Charlottesville, VA and began showing her work in Virginia and Washington, DC. Her work has entered many private and public collections including the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University, University of Virginia Medical Center, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System, Martha Jefferson Hospital, The Country Club of Virginia, and more.
Statement
I spend a lot of time wandering the meadows and woods near my home in central Virginia. It’s where my paintings begin. I gather ideas and impressions as I explore, imagining the lives of and among the trees and vines and grasses. When I return to the studio, I use photo references as compositional resources and reminders to begin, but very quickly memories and impressions take over. I often focus closely on the plants and ground, zooming in on nature so that she dominates my canvas and demonstrates her power to consume space and continue to prevail. But she also protects and nourishes, and I love thinking about the symbiotic relationship of the plants and animals. I also contemplate my own relationship with and dependence on nature. It's a beautiful interconnected web that I try to represent on my canvas. My hope is that my work inspires a similar curiosity and personal response in my viewer to appreciate the magic and mystery of nature and act on our collective stewardship to protect her.
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Semifinalist, Bethesda Painting Award, 2023
Children’s Hope Gala, Bon Secours, Richmond, VA, Featured Artist, 2020-2021
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellow, Amherst, VA, J & E Berkley Foundation Fellow, 2019
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA, Fellow, 2017
Piedmont Council for the Arts, Charlottesville, VA, Member, 2013-2018
McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA, Member, 2010-Present
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Country Club of Virginia
Dominion Energy
Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University
Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center at The University of Virginia
Harris Williams
Inova Schar Cancer Institute
Miller Financial Services
Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
Towne Bank
University of Virginia Medical Center
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System
Women's Center at Culpeper Medical Center
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Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Krista Townsend of Charlottesville, VA, Bold Journey, December 4, 2025
Sargent, Sarah, “Natural progression: A dual show at Phaeton Gallery interprets beauty in layers”, C-ville Weekly, March 26, 2025
Meet Krista Townsend, Canvas Rebel, May 20, 2024
Sargent, Sarah, “Sense memory, Krista Townsend’s ‘Second Nature’ bursts with visual excitement”, C-ville Weekly, June 22, 2022
Richard DiCicco, In Charlottesville, Artists Disagree on How — or If — Art Can Heal the City’s Wounds, The Cl!ck, December 10, 2019
Sathe, Jane Dunlap, “Krista Townsend's new paintings at McGuffey explore strength in diverse forms”, Daily Progress, Oct 23, 2019
Gorey, CM, “In Living Black and White—with Shades of Gray: Colorless Expression Proves Lively in Second Street Gallery’s ‘She’s in Monochrome’”, Cville Weekly, October 17, 2019
Wright, Charles, “Check out Krista Townsend’s Artwork”, Voyage Dallas, May 1, 2019
Sargent, Sarah, "Immersion", Show Catalog, April 2018
Derby, Elizabeth, “Lightness of Being,” Cville Weekly, July 26, 2017, p. 33
Sargent, Sarah, “Warm Welcome Group show at McGuffey Invites Colorful Observations”, Cville Weekly, May 22, 2011
