The Story

Crystal Creek brings together two important aspects of my practice, landscape and figurative painting. It depicts me walking alone beside a beloved creek in my hometown of Nelson, British Columbia, a place I have returned to for renewal and reflection since I was a teenager.

The creek has long felt like a sanctuary to me. Walking beside its clear, rushing water allows me to reconnect with myself and with the natural world. In the painting, the solitary female figure appears to move carefully through the luminous landscape, as though crossing a threshold between the everyday world and a quieter, more mysterious realm.

The flowing water suggests cleansing, transformation, and the continual movement of life, while the surrounding trees and moss-covered rocks create the feeling of a natural cathedral. Crystal Creek is both a portrait of a real and deeply cherished place and an inner landscape, reflecting the restorative power of solitude, memory, and our connection to nature.

Materials & Framing

This painting was created with archival oil paint on museum-grade canvas. The canvas was carefully prepared with several layers of gesso to create an exceptionally smooth surface, allowing for delicate details, subtle transitions, and luminous passages of color.

The canvas is stretched over substantial, gallery-depth stretcher bars measuring 1.5 inches deep. The edges are painted white for a clean, contemporary presentation, giving the painting a beautifully finished appearance from every angle. It arrives ready to hang and can be displayed elegantly without a frame.

Crystal Creek

oil on canvas

24 x 20 inches

$4,500 USD

Worldwide shipping is available. For shipping rates please email kristy@kristygordon.com.