Cristall Harper’s paintings, no matter the subject matter, have a “realistic abstraction”. One critic described her stylized look as “beautifully rooted in reality,” while Southwest Art wrote: “No matter the subject, the joy of painting for Harper is all about seeing shapes and colors on an abstract level and then interpreting them in her brush strokes.” Her preferred painting method is alla prima, and her paintings are a study of light, color and form.

Harper’s love for art began young. She often returns to her memory of a monumental lily painting in her childhood home, studying how the artist, using only paint, made the surface look real. Perhaps most influential was the stained glass window of irises that hung in her father’s office; the translucent glass, with its backlit colors and faceted shapes, still impacts her art today.