Kristen Reiner is an Australian-born abstract painter, currently residing in Burnaby, BC. After picking up painting in 2021, her hobby has since developed into a daily studio practice. Kristen is mostly self-taught, through observation of historical figures in abstraction and an often tedious process of trial and error. This rule-free method of self-education created the perfect environment for Kristen to discover her creative voice early on in her career. Kristen began exploring abstraction through gestural mark making, however has since branched off into geometric compositions. Gestural marks can still be seen throughout her latest pictures but sharp, highly contrasted fields of colour are at the foreground of her new work. Kristen seeks great inspiration from the artists associated with Abstract Expressionism, particularly Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler and other colour field painters of the 1940's and 50's. Kristen is increasingly using non-traditional mediums and textiles in her work, including thrifted bed linen, tablecloths and house paint. She is currently exploring how unprimed, dyed bed linen can play a part in the composition of a colour field painting.