a resin artist
Cornwall seems to have somewhat of a magnetic pull when it comes to the world of artists. Perhaps it’s the clear light they adore or just the shear beauty of the place which they capture via the medium of pen, paint or ink. But there are those of us who were born here and have discovered their own unique artistic flair by way of another medium. One such artist is Christine and this is her story.
Christine is Cornish through and through and has lived here most of her life. In fact, she once traced her Cornish family tree way back to the 1560’s, on her dads side that is. Christine grew up in the small fishing village of Porthleven, or “Levy’ to you and me who know it well. She mentioned to me that, “I have the fondest memories of my childhood in this stunning village with lots of family close by”. She also remembers, as part of her childhood, that she was always continuously drawing things that surrounded her.
All things perfect can often fall apart though and Christines life could have of taken a different direction by the announcement one day that her parents had made the choice to leave Porthleven and move up North. She was 15 at the time. Christine was particularly headstrong at this time in her life and she refused to go with them. So, they left, she stayed and moved in with her gran.
Now during that period, her GCSE’s were upon her and part of her GCSE’s was art. It was at this point that Christine felt she could express herself artistically. The theme she chose to capture for that art exam was an acrylic seascape of Porthleven. That painting still hangs in her parents home today.
Over the next few years, Christine painted and sold some of her work whilst she was working full time as a Medical Centre Receptionist at RAF Culdrose. She had to pay the bills somehow but this wasn’t what she really wanted to do. Six months later, a post in the graphics and print department at the base came up and she got offered the job. Finally her creative mind could further develop itself and she could move forward. She stayed at RAF Culdrose for the next 5 years and then decided maybe it was time to move about a bit. She managed to get a transfer from Culdrose and headed up to RAF Cosford where she worked for a while and then met her other half, Callum. A few years at Cosford was quite enough for Christine and the lovely land that we all call home came calling - Finally she came back home….
On returning home, she started her own family and found that maternity leave was the perfect opportunity to take her love of art more seriously and she started to paint full time. She told me, “I got the old paints and canvases out and started to experiment and then I came across acrylic pouring online and began playing with that fluid process” The process reminded her of the flow of the sea and with that combination of colourful resins, so she began her artistic obsession.
We’ve all heard the term “man shed” but on this occasion this is Christine’s “lady shed”. Great things are made, designed and created in small spaces such as sheds and you don’t always have to have a full on singing and dancing studio in order to be creative. Christine’s operation might give you the impression that it’s small but thats simply not the case. Her art sells all over the UK and beyond.
Thank you for allowing me into your shed/world Christine and capturing your work for all to see. RD
RD
