Hi, I'm Kristi Ahlquist.

I picked up a paintbrush for the very first time in the spring of 2009,  after a devasting ovarian cancer diagnosis.  Sometimes it takes a serendipitous event, like cancer, to make us aware of how short life is and how we need to do those things on our bucket list now, instead of in the future.  Learning to paint and golf (a story for another time), were at the top of my bucket list.  Although I’ve tried a variety of painting mediums, oils and acrylics are my favorite ones.  Each medium presents its own unique challenges and provides the “ah-ha” moments I crave in different ways.  Oils give me the ability to do the fine detail necessary in my dog portraits while acrylics give me the chance to express myself abstractly, limited only by my imagination.  Depending on my mood, I work on my portraits and get lost in the meditative process of the fine detail until the animal speaks to me. And with acrylics, I often use gels and pastes to add texture and dimension or simply pour the paint on a canvas and use a hairdryer versus brush.  The magic just happens.  Painting fulfills my need to create something out of nothing in an almost spiritual way. 

My other lifelong hobby, one I’ve done since 1970, is breed and show Cocker Spaniels and Boxers, having finished nearly 100 homebred champions under the KrisMyth moniker.  I also run my dogs in agility trials which is another challenging dog sport that I love. 

August 2021, my husband and I retired and moved to Hot Springs Village, AR.  Quite the change for me as I’ve spent my entire life in Minnesota!  Our two adult kids live in MN so even though we no longer call MN home, we spend quite a bit of time there visiting friends and family.  I am so excited for this next chapter of my life.  I can’t wait to explore the U.S. with the RV; paint to my heart’s content; and improve my golf game!