Mixed Emotions Painting

Los Angeles based abstract and mixed media artist, Staci Cross, uses color, formation, and line discovery to express thoughtful, emotional imagery to the canvas. Staci believes the art is already in the room and that she is simply the vessel between what exists and what is seen. Committing to the work begets a blessing from the muses and therefore daily practice and time are essential to the process. Inspired by the abstract expressionist movement, pop art, cubism, and graffiti artists of the 70's and 80's, Staci's ever evolving connection to painting roots itself through music, Motherhood, photography, political commentary, pop culture, human energy and emotion, social awareness and the beauty of nature. Lately, Staci has been embarking on a new endeavor--working on the floor with unstretched canvas which provides an intimate fluidity with the paint while allowing an unencumbered physicality to the process. Freedom arises. Change can be scary, but often times, a real gem stems from it. Picasso, Rothko, de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Miro, Franz Kline, Warhol, Cy Twombly, Howard Hodgkin, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Ed Ruscha are among her favorite artists. Staci graduated from the prestigious USC School of Cinema-Television and studied abstract painting at The Brentwood Art Center in Santa Monica, California. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.