Born and raised in Northern New Jersey, Crista began to study painting in 1989 at the Ridgewood Art Institute. She went on to receive a BFA from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and an MFA from the New York Academy Graduate School of Figurative Art.

Crista is known for her small-scale format landscape paintings and is a member of numerous art organizations, and is represented by Sylvan Gallery in  Wiscasset, Maine and Box Heart Gallery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Trippe Gallery in Easton Maryland.