"Butterfly" Drawing

Crystal Leavitt is a Seattle-based visual artist working primarily in colored charcoal, creating imaginative works that move between abstraction and surrealism.

Art has been part of Crystal's life since childhood, although the responsibilities of raising a daughter and working full-time left little room for creative exploration for many years. As her daughter grew more independent, Crystal gradually returned to drawing, initially finding in it a way to process and express deeply personal experiences.

What began as a means of self-exploration developed into an increasingly essential part of her life. In 2024, at age 36, Crystal was able to reduce her working hours and devote herself more fully to her art.

Her creative process is intuitive, spontaneous, and deeply tactile. Working directly with her hands, she blends and moves colored charcoal across the surface, allowing imagery to emerge gradually from an initially undefined composition. As forms and expressions begin to reveal themselves, she follows their direction, bringing into focus images she could never have anticipated.

Crystal's work invites viewers to look beyond conventional ideas of beauty. She finds meaning in the overlooked, the grotesque, the absurd, and the unexpectedly humorous. For her, beauty is not confined to pleasing appearances but can be found in the honesty of an expression, whether sorrowful, unsettling, or hilarious.

Today, Crystal spends much of her time drawing while also exploring another creative outlet as a vocalist in a proto-punk and electronic band. Through both visual art and music, she continues to discover new dimensions of her imagination and herself.