Christine was born in Switzerland and grew up as an only child after being adopted by an aristocratic German family that lives in Munich.
Christine felt very fortunate to be exposed to different styles of music, art and literature at a young age but her education in life and the arts had been strictly directed by the influence of her parents and teachers they had chosen for her. She started out as a classical musician (piano) and found her passion for abstract painting much later in life after having moved to Canada in 1993. While studying piano she also was guided in her artistic expression of drawing and painting by her aunt, an accomplished artist and musician.
Spiritually interested and searching answers within herself she started studying Theology in Bonn, Germany and continued playing the piano and painting at the same time. Her continuous interest in other cultures and people brought her to Atlanta/Georgia/USA , where she graduated with a Master of Theology at Emory University.
When she moved to Canada in 1993 she entered an Interior Design Study Program in Toronto at the International School of Design where she learned to draw, paint and design.
Shortly thereafter Christine married a Canadian and embraced family life for many years. She has three grown children and calls Halifax/Nova Scotia home to this day. During the pandemic, she fell in love with expressing herself more on paper, canvas and panel, discovering and exploring different materials in ways she had not done before. She loves painting and expressing herself through colours and materials in a way she never found while playing the music of classical composers.
Today Christine feels the freedom to allow her inner voice to guide her in the creating process. She prides herself on having given her children a creative space as they were growing up and allowing their own imaginations to flourish.
Christine has a deeply ingrained drive to create something beautiful and colourful in a world not constricted by fear, but in a world which stays open to limitless possibilities.
ARTIST STATMENT
Making art has always been a very important part of my life. I create abstract art with mixed media and/or acrylics and immerse myself in the creating process without feeling any limitations or fear. Every piece is a new experience and I approach each painting with no plan or end in mind and stay open to respond to every mark I make with another mark and colour patches until many layers have been built. Gradually, there is a call for coherence through structure and form. Those elements slowly emerge from the mark making and many layers I built on the surface. They create the necessary main design and structures which are necessary to support the more free flowing expression. This process continues for some time, bringing together main structures and intuition which are finally connected in harmony and balance I feel good about.
I am inspired by the world around me: by nature, light, shade, colour and lines and how those intersect, including the unknown and imagined within myself. Abstract forms are my principal focus and I feel they give me the most creative space to express myself and make new discoveries.
My goal is to inspire people through my work and to illustrate that the world around us can be viewed and interpreted in a variety of imaginative ways.
