A little bit about me

“My name is Christine and I am….”

This was one of the first intellectual exercises thrown at us on the Foundation Art and Design Course that was the start of my degree journey. We were given A4 paper and on each sheet we had to put the above with our name followed by a qualifying word or phrase which had to be artistically depicted. It was a fun start to what became a life changing process. I depicted words like colourful, abstract, childish and disturbed (slashed, burnt, torn etc.). My very last one reflected my hopes, dreams, doubts and insecurities of the moment. I left it blank with just “…an artist?”. Nearly a decade and a half on from that moment I am still learning, still seeking limits and constantly trying to answer that question.

Art isn’t a career…it’s a state of being

I have been driven to creative pursuits all my life, having drawn and painted for as long as I can remember. I still have paintings made in my teens yet for years art took a back seat whilst working and raising a family. I sewed and I knitted and undertook the odd adult ed class; but, it wasn’t until retiring from Computing and undertaking a Fine Art Ba that I finally realised my passion and abilities. University was the crucible in which a more confident and adamant artist formed. Here, my artistry and intellect burgeoned and my eclectic ethos quickly established itself. I was constantly criticised for my ‘lack of coherence’ because I refused to stick to a single pathway. I was, and still am, the proverbial ‘kid in a sweet shop’ tasting all the delights on offer. In my own defence however, drawing underpins everything that I do. It is my strongest skill and usually the starting point of any project. I have studied lots of techniques and incorporated my other loves, photography and astronomy, into my practice. I have worked in clay, stone, oils, watercolours, acrylics and lots of drawing media; but, I particularly like coloured pencils; I have studied how to draw and paint all subjectivities from allegory to pets, and then adapted and adopted what works for me. I have been lucky enough to have been taught by some great tutors: stone carving by Patrick Crouch at Pure Form in Canterbury, and clay portraiture by Steph Rubin at Rye Creative Centre, life drawing with Nick Archer at Rye Creative Centre. I was also immensely grateful for an inspiring art history teacher at uni, Kath Abiker. Along with all the other amazing artists I have met it has been a fantastic journey and becoming…long may it continue!