Crystal Whelan was born on July 13, 1976 in Longmont, Colorado to Dennis and Larene Whelan. At an early age, she first began her journey into the field of fine art during her childhood in Colorado. Growing up around the beauty of the Rocky Mountains served as her inspiration which eventually led to a love of realism-based artwork. Crystal had a love of animals which was reflected in her early drawings of the family pets, horses, cats and dogs.
When her family moved to Iowa and Nebraska during her teenage years, Crystal buried herself in her schoolwork and discovered an interest in human anatomy and the beauty of human form became her artistic focus. Throughout her 20's, Crystal spent most of her artistic time creating custom designed portraits for friends and acquaintances, usually with little or no payment. She won numerous awards, honors and recognition for her artwork and has had her work shown at the Nebraska State Art Show in 1994.
It was in 2003 when Crystal married Nebraska native, Cory Vandevoorde. With his pursuation, she decided to refresh her basic art skills by enrolling into the Fundamentals of Art course offered by the Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She completed the program in 2006 with high marks and a new outlook on her future as an artist.
Now in her early 30's, Crystal is promoting her artwork in and around her local community of Wahoo, Nebraska. Some of her recent works include bookmarks for the local public library, 2009 Saunders County Christmas on the Prairie artwork and custom designed paintings and portraits for various clients. Crystal hopes to market her talent throughout the Omaha and Lincoln areas before finally returning to her home state of Colorado where she plans to bring her artistic flair back to The Rockies.