About the Show

 

 “Branching Out…On A Limb” by Artist Kristin Aplin opens the mind and spirit to a myriad of   wonders.

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This series’ theme allows the viewer an opportunity to wander amidst beguiling tree dreamscapes.

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With her keen exploratory eye, Aplin works with both brush in hand and digital painting techniques that make the totality of beauty in each piece come alive.

Her trees’ majestic beingness has luminance and beckons us. Their leaves are anything but static, they almost sway with light and color. Aplin’s tree branches, trunks and even boulders have a gamut of textures.  

 

 In some of these works one may find symmetrical patterns, in others a stained-glass feel, leading the viewer to a sense of calm or mystery. Some extremely intricate and complex ones ask us to pause and to decipher the many twists and turns, to find what is there, perhaps lurking or welcoming, beauty or self-reflection. 

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The answers lie in the viewer’s imagination - one may land on fairytale-like pathways or discover completely unidentifiable surroundings. 

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In between the branches, boulders, and mirrored waters - “Branching Out…On A Limb” dares us to reach out to explore other dimensions, and new ways of seeing.

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Artist Statement

 

Artist Kristin Aplin talks about her show “Branching Out…On A Limb” at the Nevada City Winery Gallery.

 

Something compels me, day after day, to photograph the oaks around me—the intricate architecture of their trunks, branches, twigs, and leaves. I can't fully explain this compulsion, but I sense these venerable beings offer something to those willing to pause: a glimpse of nature's sacred perfection embedded in wood and bark.

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On my computer, I massage these photographs. I layer them over photos of my own sketches and paintings, apply filters, recompose until the literal tree dissolves into something else—pattern, rhythm, visual prayer. Sometimes I follow a deliberate path; often I wander through digital tools until an unexpected composition speaks to me in a new voice.

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Some pieces feel complete as is and I print them as digital paintings. Others become blueprints for acrylic and mixed media work. I do with my mouse what I can't do with my brush, and vice versa—each exploration reaching toward the visual complexity of these trees and the feeling they provoke. I yearn to express a sense of reverence, witnessing something both ancient and immediate.

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My paintings explore color, symmetry, and effects that alter reality and hint at transcendence. Underneath these techniques is a simple invitation: look longer. Let yourself be arrested by a branch, a shadow, the complex miracles of nature standing right outside your door.

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About the Artist

 

As a young child, Kristin rarely went anywhere without her crayons. Every evening, she climbed the big mulberry tree in the backyard to watch the sunset. Her passion for art and nature was evident early on.

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She earned her degree in Environmental Studies and worked writing environmental impact statements in the Bay Area. In the 1980s, she began experimenting with graphics software on early personal computers. These digital skills, combined with traditional media experience, opened doors to a career in graphic design, screen printing, illustration, and aerospace graphics.

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When Kristin retired, she focused on her own creative voice. She felt compelled to photograph tangled masses of branches, roots, and leaves. Initially, she used photos only as references for paintings using traditional media. But she noticed that some of her digital works felt complete in themselves.

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Today, (In “Branching Out…On A Limb”) acrylic paintings and digital paintings hang side by side—reflecting Kristin's desire to explore the spiritual dimensions of nature with both traditional and digital media.

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Kristin’s Artwork was shown at last year’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival juried Art Show in Grass Valley and was again chosen for this year’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival’s 2026 Art Show. Her Work has also been shown recently at the Natural Wonders Show in Auburn, and as well, she has participated in the ’24 &’25 Open Studios Tours in both Nevada and Placer Counties.

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She works from her home studio among the trees in Auburn, California.

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Kristin Aplin's Website

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