My earliest memory is of light filtering through the rolette shades of my childhood room. Fragments of sunlight landed on the braided mesh of my baby crib, creating luminous patterns that have stayed with me ever since. These early impressions of light and color shaped my perception of the world, intertwining with sound, scent, and emotion.
I paint people and objects as I encounter them in daily life. I rarely arrange scenes or pose models, choosing instead to observe moments as they naturally unfold. My sketchbooks are filled with quick studies in graphite, ink, and watercolor that capture the fleeting vitality of lived experience. These sketches serve as charged reminders of presence and energy, qualities I strive to carry into my paintings.
My first painting teacher and inspiration Nikola Reiser and I during our last meeting in 2007 on the Island of Losinj, Croatia
I find inspiration in the quiet stillness of objects on a table, the subtle dynamics of human interaction, the contours of landscapes, and the movement of crowds. My work seeks to peel away the dullness that can settle into perception, revealing the responsiveness and intensity of the world around us.
My creative process is deeply personal yet rooted in shared experience. Moments of connection, loss, or reflection often give rise to series of works across mediums. Rather than describing events, my paintings layer emotion, tension, and inquiry, sometimes as playful exploration, sometimes as raw release.
My earliest training under the Croatian painter Nikola Reiser instilled a deep respect for materials and fundamentals. Long before I began painting, I learned to grind pigments, stretch canvases, and prepare surfaces, developing an intimate relationship with the physical act of making. When I finally began to paint, it felt inevitable, as though something long held back had finally been released.
Over decades of work, both figurative and abstract, my practice has remained rooted in authenticity. Painting is a dialogue between intention and improvisation, control and surrender. It is this ongoing exchange that shapes each work and invites viewers to form their own relationship with it.
Through still lifes, portraits, cityscapes, and landscapes, I seek to honor the moments that have touched my life and echo the shared rhythms of human experience.
Tatjana Krizmanić
Brooklyn, NY