Bio
After graduating from Pratt Institute in New York City, Chrystal Jackson studied with Eliot O'Hara, the father of American Watercolor. She then spent the next four years traveling and painting throughout Spain where she held her first exhibitions in Barcelona and Madrid. While living in Spain she recorded her life in four priceless watercolor diaries. Upon her return to America, she showed her diaries to such people as Victor Hammer who said, "I think we have a regular lady Gauguin". The editors of National Geographic Magazine, upon seeing these diaries asked the opinion of the curator of the National Gallery, Dr. Lester Cook, who said, " After she completes her assignment for you, I want to send her as 1 of 47 artists to Cape Canaveral to do her version of the Space Program." She was then sent by National Geographic Magazine to Bavaria to paint 15 sketchbooks in the same manner as she had done in Spain. Upon her return from Bavaria, she immediatly began her work at Cape Canaveral. There, Chrystal was given permission to interview and paint anyone she so desired, including astronauts and German scientists. The work of the 47 artists was exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. in 1970. The 149 watercolors she did for NASA, plus a journal of her experiences, are in the permanent collection of the Air and Space Museum where they are periodically exhibited, and shown in traveling exhibitions throughout the United States. Chrystal has been included, on an equal basis, in more than 8 coffee table art books with such artists as Norman Rockwell, Robert Rauschenberg, and James Wyeth. She then moved to St. Louis where she developed her theory, The Dematerialistic Theory of Painting, where she strives to change the viewer's idea of the highest form of natural beauty from the material to the spiritual. Chrystal inherited her talent from her mother who was a gifted photographer. She won the diploma of honor for her gumprints in the Leipzig exhibition. She also sold 4 of her unique colored gumprints to Alfred Stieglitz, curator of the Stieglitz Gallery in New York. Chrystal's son Christopher was a talented artist and composer, having written more than 30 musicals. At the age of 2 1/2 he was featured in the associated press for his amazing watercolors. His shows have been produced in New York City and all over the United States. Two of his musicals, "Gaslight Square" and "Where the Lights are Shining" are shown and archived at the St. Louis History Museum. Chrystal is known for her butterfly paintings and her unique feather-light watercolor murals, which vary in size up to 4' x 8'. She is also a renowned writer and has written 4 children's books entitled, "Wendy and the Gypsy", "Ladybug Village", "Christmas in Ladybug Village", and "The First Butterfly Garden". She has also written, "The Dematerialistic Theory of Painting", which explains and depicts her art theory. Her latest books are, "How I Witnessed Space" and "The Donut Shop". If you desire custom art, would like a portrait made, or would just like to speak with the artist, you can reach her at 636-227-8762
