About Crystal Leavitt
Crystal Leavitt – Artist Biography
Crystal Leavitt is a Seattle-based visual artist working primarily in colored charcoal, creating imaginative works that move between abstraction and surrealism.
Art has been part of Crystal’s life since childhood, although the responsibilities of raising a daughter and working full-time left little room for creative exploration for many years. As her daughter grew more independent, Crystal gradually returned to drawing, initially finding in it a way to process and express deeply personal experiences.
What began as a means of self-exploration developed into an increasingly essential part of her life. In 2024, at age 36, Crystal was able to reduce her working hours and devote herself more fully to her art.
Her creative process is intuitive, spontaneous, and deeply tactile. Working directly with her hands, she blends and moves colored charcoal across the surface, allowing imagery to emerge gradually from an initially undefined composition. As forms and expressions begin to reveal themselves, she follows their direction, bringing into focus images she could never have anticipated.
Crystal’s work invites viewers to look beyond conventional ideas of beauty. She finds meaning in the overlooked, the grotesque, the absurd, and the unexpectedly humorous. For her, beauty is not confined to pleasing appearances but can be found in the honesty of an expression, whether sorrowful, unsettling, or hilarious.
Today, Crystal spends much of her time drawing while also exploring another creative outlet as a vocalist in a proto-punk and electronic band. Through both visual art and music, she continues to discover new dimensions of her imagination and herself.
Crystal Leavitt – Artist Statement
I never know what I’m going to draw when I begin a new piece. I don’t start with a subject or a particular image in mind. I let the moment and my subconscious guide me, allowing something unexpected to emerge.
I love the physical experience of working with colored charcoal. I like getting my hands dirty, using my fingers to push colors around, blend them together, and discover what begins to take shape. It’s almost as though the image is there but out of focus. As I continue working, adding color and moving it around, forms begin to reveal themselves. I start to recognize expressions, figures, and relationships, and gradually guide what I discover into focus.
I’m interested in things people don’t always take the time to look at, or perhaps don’t quite know how to see. Beauty isn’t always found in a sunset, a landscape, or something traditionally pleasing. Sometimes it’s in something strange, grotesque, ridiculous, or uncomfortable. I find beauty in honesty, whether that honesty expresses sorrow, humor, vulnerability, or something I don’t yet have words for.
Making art began as a way for me to work through personal experiences, but it has become much more than that. Every drawing takes me somewhere I haven’t been before. Sometimes what comes out surprises me, and sometimes it teaches me something about myself.
I’m always curious to see what comes next. I can’t predict it, and the only way I can really know is to do it.
If you see anything you like prints and original drawings and paintings can be purchased through Crystals Saatchi Art online gallery. We are trying to keep up with her so please check back every couple months or so to see Crystal’s most current works. If you have any questions or comments about any of her pieces, herself, or anything art related at all please reach out to Crystal at crystal.leavitt.art@gmail.com as she always loves to hear from you.
