(American, b. 1960) Christina Painter is from DeLand, FL, and received her degree from Stetson University. She also participated in The Art Students League of New York, the Francesconi Residency in Ceramic, Pietrasanta, Italy, the Philadelphia University Textile Intensive, and has studied with portraitist Daniel Greene in NYC. She has also studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design.
The artist states: “My work is a response to the struggle between thought and action, imperfection, breaking the rules, and remaining within the uncomfortable realm of vulnerability. Observing the beauty and simplicity of wildflowers, grasses, and weeds, I am capturing their essence as a moment in time of the seasons in nature. The sun is imperative in their growth, as is the sun in the cyanotype process. A botanical impression in the striking blues of cyanotype.”
Painter works in several different media, and often uses the process of cyanotype to make works on linen. A cyanotype is a camera-less technique invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842. Considered one of the earliest photography processes, a solution of iron salts is first treated on the surface of the paper or fabric. Objects are laid onto the surface, exposed to UV light and then rinsed with water. The background area where the surface had been covered by objects remains white, while the surrounding area that has been treated and exposed to the sun turns blue. The result is a beautifully detailed image instilled in white and surrounded by shades of Prussian blue.
In her recent series Barnyard Chickens, Painter brings her signature sensitivity and humor to a playful new subject. These bust-length portraits of chickens are framed like formal portraits and adorned with whimsical flower crowns. The artist finds joy in the expressive faces of her feathered sitters, whose moments of angst and personality feel both funny and deeply relatable. Through this series, Painter expands her exploration of character and emotion, revealing the humanity within the natural world.
