“Always be sure to do what is in your heart, because then the art you make will be you. It will be the most important thing you do,” says Kristina Simkins, a local watercolor painter, pyrographic artist and business owner.
Simkins has been running her shop located in The Basement in downtown Reno for the past nine months, after having sales locations at Old Town Mall and Meadowood Mall.
Her latest space is an eclectic mix of painted gourds, nature inspired watercolors, air plants and moss balls. There is even a corner for her to continuously create art and work on new projects throughout the day, while she waits for customers to walk in and peruse.
Simkins sources her painted gourds from her own garden. She in fact has a barn full of the dried vegetables waiting to be decorated with stunning watercolors and a layer of hand-painted sealant.
“Painting gourds became natural after painting flat for so long.” Simkins reflected, “You get tired of painting flat, so about 20 years ago I decided to start painting on what I grew in my garden.”
She has been making art since the third grade, when she had her first and only art class. The natural world has always been a main inspiration in her art, and she remembers being brought out to draw studies of birds and plants by her science teacher when she was nine.
In addition to creating art of plants, Simkins is well versed in the care and keeping of botanicals. She operated a plant nursery for years with her mother, and has a wealth of knowledge to offer customers on how to keep their plants thriving.
Plants and art are what Simkins loves, and she chooses to go into work every day because of this.
“I will never stop working,” she said. “It’s the kind of job I get to play all my life.”
This isn’t a simple walk into work either. Simkins lives out in Yerrington, and has to drive two hours into work each day. On the weekends she stays overnight in casinos to cut the drive shorter and give herself time for paperwork.
Do what you have a passion for, so that every day feels like play. That is Simkins motto, and what she hopes to inspire people young and old to do as well.
Her shop is not only full of wondrous art but also a fountain a wisdom.