Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristine Cooper.
Hi Kristine, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been fascinated by creating and by the stories objects carry. Growing up, my family spent weekends searching estate sales, thrift stores, and auctions, reselling treasures on eBay during its early years. It taught me to recognize craftsmanship, appreciate quality, and see value where others might overlook it. Looking back, those experiences shaped the way I see art today.
I went on to earn my Bachelor of Fine Arts, but graduating was only the beginning. There wasn’t a roadmap for becoming a full-time artist. I had to build it myself.
Like many entrepreneurs, I started with more determination than certainty. I spent years painting, exhibiting my work, applying to art festivals, hearing countless “no’s,” and learning every part of running a business—from framing and pricing to marketing, accounting, and sales. Each challenge taught me something new and helped refine both my work and my vision.
The journey hasn’t been defined by overnight success. It’s been shaped by resilience. There were moments when I questioned whether I was good enough, whether my work would resonate, and whether I could truly build a sustainable career doing what I loved. Those experiences ultimately strengthened my conviction to create work that feels authentic rather than chasing trends or trying to please everyone.
Today, I create contemporary landscape paintings inspired by the American West and the places that hold meaning in our lives. My work is rooted in the belief that art has the ability to reconnect us with memories, emotions, and a sense of place.
Becoming a mother added a new perspective to everything I do. It challenged me to build a business that supports not only my creative ambitions but also the kind of life I want for my family. It has made me more intentional—with my time, with my work, and with the legacy I hope to leave behind.
At the heart of it all, I believe meaningful work is built slowly. Every painting represents years of learning, persistence, curiosity, and the courage to keep creating, even when the path forward wasn’t always clear.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My biggest struggles and challenges have been:
1. Finding a way of creating work and selling my paintings without burn-out. I majorly underpriced my work about 3-4 years ago, and paintings would sell within an hour of posting on instagram. It was very exciting, but I didn’t realize that the speed of which those sales were happening didn’t compensate my time, energy and repair needed for creating original work.
2. Sticking to my niche. Every artist I know locally loves prints, but for some reason all I do is compare it to the original. I love the accessibility that prints afford, but it doesn’t feel as exciting or as compelling to me as my large scale works. I have been pivoting my business this year to focus more on my passion and less on prints. Which means I just removed prints from being available online and will continue to focus more efforts on creating my original paintings.
3. Getting into shows. I have been accepted to many juried shows, and have been denied equally as much. It’s challenging to build a business with someone else being able to decide for me if I will be able to showcase. What I’ve had to do many times is create my own show. I have rented out spaces in Seattle and Bend and have hosted my own pop ups without permission. Were they hard? yes. But what I found was strength in standing in my own work and not asking for permission to be successful.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the founder and artist behind Cooper Art & Abode, where I create original contemporary landscape paintings inspired by the American West. My work explores the intersection of memory, place, and emotion, using layered color, geometric forms, and organic movement to create landscapes that feel both familiar and interpretive rather than purely representational.
Over the past several years, I’ve built my practice into a full-time business, selling original artwork to collectors across the United States while remaining committed to creating work that is authentic to my artistic voice. Rather than producing artwork to follow trends, I focus on developing cohesive collections that invite viewers to slow down and experience the landscape in a new way.
What I’m most proud of isn’t simply building a successful art business—it’s building one with intention. I’ve learned to balance the creative and entrepreneurial sides of being an artist, handling everything from painting and framing to marketing, sales, and client relationships. That experience has given me a deep appreciation for what it takes to sustain a creative career while continuing to evolve as an artist.
I believe what sets my work apart is my commitment to originality and connection. Every piece begins with a sense of place and is transformed through my own visual language, resulting in paintings that evoke both the physical landscape and the emotions tied to it. My goal is to create artwork that becomes part of a collector’s story for years to come.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can support my work in the following ways:
Shop my artworks at my website, follow along on instagram and watch my new youtube channel!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cooperartandabode.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cooperartandabode
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@thecooperstudio?si=0Sm6ENjZ9viG66Ai
