BLACKFOOT — For Trynity Kesler, painting started as a job she didn't ask for.
Kesler, a Blackfoot artist known for her colorful window paintings and mixed-media pieces, never took an art class in school. Her introduction to the craft came at 16, when her mother arranged for her to paint windows at Martha's.
"Why did you do that to me? I don't know what I'm doing," Kesler said of her initial reaction.
The job became the spark for a growing business. Word spread and requests followed, with residents asking her to paint designs on backyard fences.
From there, commissions expanded to canvases, colored pencil drawings, pots, wood and even cars. She's also picked up face painting to fill slower stretches in her schedule.
Kesler's creative work isn't limited to painting, either. She also sculpts, works with wood, welds and draws, and said she's open to bringing nearly any idea to life, regardless of how big or unconventional it may seem. She added that turning customers' photographs into custom paintings or drawings is another specialty of hers.
Kesler said her process usually begins with a digital sketch on her phone before she starts painting freehand.
"It never ends up looking like that. I always call it messy painting, and I kind of just turned it into a messy design," Kesler said.
Her ideas often come from merging several inspirations pulled from Pinterest, ensuring no two pieces look alike, she said. Family has also played a role in pushing her forward, as relatives have long promoted her work around town and occasionally refused to let her sell certain pieces because they wanted to keep them.
Among her favorite projects are the windows she painted at Kessler's Market, a store connected to her extended family.
"Every time I drive past, I'm like, oh my gosh, I did that," Kesler said.
Windows have also proven to be her most difficult surface, she said, requiring different techniques than canvas work. This year, she said her skills have noticeably improved as she's taken on more detailed jobs.
Kesler primarily shows and sells her work through Facebook, where she said most of her Blackfoot clientele stays active online. Business tends to pick up during the holiday season and slow in the summer.
Rather than replicate popular trends, Kesler said she aims to create work that feels unfamiliar to viewers, something distinct enough that people can trace it back to her hometown.
"I just want to be totally different and outside the box, and be just something that nobody's ever seen before, to be able to have a conversation about it, or stop and have to take a double look," Kesler said.
One challenge she's encountered is pricing her work fairly, as she said many customers don't realize the time and effort each piece requires. Looking ahead, Kesler said she hopes to take on large-scale murals, even if it means traveling outside Idaho to find the right space.
More of Kesler's work can be viewed on her Facebook page: facebook.com/trynity.kesler