April 1st, 2010 
I love colors and textures and paintings that surprise me. It was indeed a very act of surprise that first drew me to Kristine Baerlin’s paintings. I naively assumed it was digital media. With the “pixilated” images, it seemed like a photograph that had been digitally re-mastered. Then I looked closer. Then really close. It was at that point that Kristine introduced herself.
She carefully explained that all the portraits and still life images were hand-painted. Most frequently, she is privately commissioned to paint people’s children and pets on large canvases that are then hung in dens and living rooms. Other times, she creates still life portraits like this sailboat (right) that are lovingly rendered from an image.
There is something both pop-art and neo-classical about her work that I can’t put my finger on. Its cute but 
contemporary. Its sweet yet salty. In short, the work is both contradictory and engaging. I simply can’t explain it. All I can say is that I want one.
Working in New York City as a successful painter for nearly a decade, Baerlin has developed two distinct portrait styles– one utilizing dots and the other circles. You can find her work featured on Martha Stewart, HGTV, Daily Candy, the NY Post and others. Or you can visit her website, here, to commission one of your own.
This sure looks like “mascot” daisy…. hmmmmmmmm.
Neat! I love the colors and “pixelation” of the paintings. They look much nicer and more original than digital photos, too.