Khristyn Richardson’s mom will tell you that the Detroit native has been making art for as long as she could hold something. Her love of art rose from her reading books, watching cartoons and playing video games. She often stayed up late, enraptured by the worlds that artists created.

Khristyn, 25 , learned to draw by replicating her favorite cartoons. Her family noticed her interest in art and always supported her pursuit of excellence as an artist. Other kids got dolls. She was thrilled to get art supplies and books.

Khristyn had few art classes throughout elementary and middle school, but that changed when she entered Renaissance High School, which she credits for providing a major part of her art development. There she learned new ways to create and had opportunities to grow in and out of school. She was sponsored to take classes at The Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center. She earned a scholarship to attend Cranbrook Academy of Art for a summer, and she attended classes in the College for Creative Studies (CCS) Community Arts Partnerships (CAP) program. She said she didn’t know CCS existed before those classes, but they recognized her talent, and a recruiter visiting her Renaissance art class convinced her to apply.

Khristyn now holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Illustration and even went on to teach those same CAP classes that once inspired and influenced her. 

Khristyn joined Luis Bloom in 2016 and collaborates with him on original traditional and digital art. The duo recently co-hosted a major art exhibit and auction for young artists, Young, Gifted and Woke, with the city’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship and the prestigious Detroit Institute of Arts that gave artists searching for a platform, major exposure to thousands of patrons. Gene Gargaro, the chairman of the DIA, purchased an artist’s work at the event.