Kris Ekstrand

Painter

Petaluma, California

Kris Ekstrand is a painter and printmaker whose work is a deep meditation on landscape, memory, and the quiet beauty of the natural world. Rooted in the estuarine flats of Washington’s Skagit Valley and the gently undulating hills near her home in Petaluma, California, her practice reflects a lifelong attentiveness to place. Whether through monotype or oil paint, Kris captures more than just scenery—she distills mood, movement, and atmosphere into grounded, soulful compositions.

Her visual language is subtle yet powerful, guided by the rhythms of light across land and water, the edges of fields, and the ever-shifting skies overhead. Each piece feels like a still breath—an invitation to pause and look more closely at the world around us. Drawing from her background in design and her decades of experience in the arts, Kris brings both discipline and intuition to her studio practice, allowing the land to speak through form, texture, and tone.

When she’s not working in the studio, Kris shares her time with her husband, writer Carl Molesworth, and their two Norwich terriers. Whether walking through open fields or tending to her creative practice, she finds daily inspiration in the natural rhythms that surround her—quiet moments that continue to inform her evolving body of work.