Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Smith-Atkins.
Christine, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I have been an artist in my heart from the time I could hold a pencil, and always knew that art would be a large part of my life. I started my professional Artist career straight out of the Art Institute of Dallas, into the Interactive Entertainment industry where I created 3D art and animation for video games. I’m accredited on 7 published titles with several companies over a decade span. I left the Video Game biz when my second daughter was born, so I could be a full-time mom to them for years leading up to them starting school. I then freelanced as a graphic artist/photographer during those years with my children, and then branched over into the technology field and became a founder of an innovation incubator in McKinney that I ran full-time for about 4 yrs. During this time fine art became a pastime activity for me, but my heart was always pulling me back in that direction. In the beginning of 2017 I joined forces with a handful of wonderful talented artists in Allen Texas, and together we formed the Visual Arts League of Allen, a non-profit organization that supports and promotes local artists and the arts in our community. I’ve now finally come back to my fine art roots full-time, and now teach art through various channels including college courses, workshops, instructing classes at a local paint-n-sip studio, teaching private art lessons and of course creating and selling original artwork and Giclee Prints online, and at shows and events. I work primarily with Acrylic paint, Resin and various mix media mediums. I feel like I am finally doing what I was meant to do with my creativity.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My style has evolved over the years from surrealistic portrayals to a more emotional expression of abstract art. This work explores techniques that embody color, composition and form in an attempt to capture the emotion of a memory or feeling that is translated to the observer while maintaining a beautiful aesthetic quality. I am fascinated with exploring the different processes in art creation. I spent a year working almost exclusively doing Fluid Abstract Art, which is the process of mixing paints and pouring them onto a canvas in different ways to produce cool flowing abstract with lacing and cell effects. I have worked on refining the process to have the most control possible, while still allowing a certain amount of surrendering to the process. This form of art is a capture of movement and color, with interesting effects that occur through additives in the paint. Each piece is completely unique and can be quite captivating. I’ve also been exploring Resin painting using mica pigments. It’s a very challenging medium to master, but it’s interesting effects and glossy finishes make stunning artwork. When I decided to be an artist instead of a photographer (second passion) it was because I wanted to be able to create imagery that you couldn’t see in the world naturally, only through art. When I create abstract art, my mind goes to another place…deep in thoughts, through automatism, art flows from somewhere in the soul onto the canvas into what it becomes. I believe each piece, when created like this, holds a piece of the artist’s soul, and can reach the souls of others. That is my goal to stir the soul of others through my art.
What would you recommend to an artist new to the city, or to art, in terms of meeting and connecting with other artists and creatives?
True, and although we love our alone time, we can find ourselves in times of extreme isolation if we don’t get out and share with other artists! I am a huge promoter of collaboration and am so inspired by working with other artists. My advice is join a group of artists, and stay active in working with them, and sharing ideas and techniques. People have told me I’m crazy for ‘giving away’ my art secrets in workshops, but the reality is anything you do can be figured out or found on the internet by a creative mind. Sharing and learning from others is the secret to evolving art to new levels! The greatest masters in art all formed groups and supported each other during their periods. My goal in the near future is to start and run a collaborative art studio/gallery/art space, where artists can work in studios in a shared space, alongside and with each other to grow exponentially and share in running the space in a co-op fashion. There is SO much that can be achieved when creative minds collaborate!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I exhibit in shows in Allen, Fairview and the surrounding cities, and currently I have work at The Blue House Too Gallery in Allen in a collective show. I am always looking for places to show and sell my paintings, though I am still fairly new at doing this so I hope to increase exposure to my work in the next year. My work can also be seen and purchased from my website: artistchristinesmith.com
Joining and/or supporting the Visual Arts League of Allen through our events is a great way to help all artists in our community. valatx.org
Contact Info:
- Website: www.artistchristinesmith.com
- Email: christinesmith.atkins@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistChristineSmith/
- Twitter: @CSATechArt
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CSAtkinsArt
Image Credit:
Christine Smith-Atkins & Robert M. Atkins
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
