Stevie Kriesler
A COLORFUL TALENT

"I treasure my alone time
with nature and love to have fun
in the mountains "

by Gabby Anstey

Stevie Kriesler doesn't have just one favorite color, she loves them all; especially when using as watercolors. As a resident for almost eight years, Kreisler not only found her home in Telluride, she found the ultimate subject matter for her paintings. Between the mountains, wildflowers and now the faces of the community’s many dogs, Kreisler’s brush is on the move whenever possible. Just recently, she released her first book, Tails of Telluride, a dog-ography filled with watercolored portraits of some of Telluride’s famous furry friends.

A native Californian, despite a birthplace of Buffalo, New York, Kreisler happened upon Telluride in a rather unique fashion. While the area’s natural beauty and lifestyle were certainly part of her decision to leave the beach and move to the mountains, another motivating factor was involved. “I came here because of my now-husband, Truck,” she admits, “but he was my boyfriend when I was 20 and we reconnected after 30 years of separation.” In those 30 years, Kreisler was married for 19 and raised three sons, Tyler, Michael and Justin, while living in Santa Barbara for 25 years. She was also a freelance interior designer and later, a color separator for Santa Barbara Ceramic Design doing projects for such animation names as Walt Disney and Curious George.

About a week into restarting her future with Truck and moving to town, Kreisler began working at Telluride Trappings and Toggery as a sales representative. She is a full-time employee of the successful main street clothing store and says she not only loves the people she works with, she enjoys the constant contact with various elements of color and design. “Art has always interested me and I’ve loved drawing since I was a little girl,” admits Kreisler, who grew up in La Jolla. “Whenever I had anything on my mind, I’d shut myself in my room and draw pictures.” Despite attending the Escuela de los Bayas Artes in Sevilla, Spain, among other schools and courses, and pursuing art-oriented careers, Kreisler explains that watercolor was always more of a hobby…until recently. “I’ve always painted in my spare time, even when I was working on the book. That’s why it took two years, two years of days off,” she chuckles. “It was worth every minute though. I loved doing it and I learned so much.”

Now that Tails of Telluride is out on the streets, Kreisler says she’s looking forward to a little more time to enjoy her surroundings—hiking, rafting, skiing, cross-country skiing, and hanging out on the deck of her Aldasoro home. “I’m pretty low-key and I adore escaping into my world of painting,” she says, “but I’m also crazy about this place. I treasure my alone time with nature and love to have fun in the mountains.”

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