Eston artist showcased at Kerrobert Courtroom Gallery

By Joan Janzen

The Kerrobert Courtroom Gallery held the opening reception for the Prairiescapes Art Exhibit on November 10th. The exhibit features 23 landscape paintings, created by Christine Code from Eston, Sask. The show will be open Monday to Friday, until December 31st, and all paintings are for sale.

This self-taught painter was born and raised in Eston, and has been a full time painter for sixteen years. Her paintings are unique, as she will start and finish a painting in a single sitting. Her husband Travis handcrafts natural wood frames for her paintings. “The frames were a big hit at the show. They are made of specialty woods that a lot of people might not have heard of,” Christine said.

Christine’s love of painting began when her parents gave her oil paints, brushes and her dad built her an easel. “I was ten or eleven,” she said. “And I had a really good art teacher in high school.”

She said she fell out of painting in her teens and early 20’s. “In my mid-20’s I decided to pick it back up again. By then I was ready to commit, be persistent, and do it almost every day. Here I am now, sixteen years later, doing it full time, and I’m doing quite well.”

With the help of the Internet, Christine has sold paintings to other countries. She also shipped three paintings to a group exhibit in New Jersey, where one of the paintings was sold to a gallery owner.

Christine also does commission work. “I am constantly booked until July of next year. I purposely space them out so I have time to do my own paintings,” she said. “When you’re painting from a photo it’s really stressful. The real pleasure is doing what you like to do.”

Being self taught, this artist says she learns by practicing every day and as a result gets better and better. “I’ve taught a few classes at the high school, and a few adults in a private setting in my home. I’m considering doing a workshop. Teaching adults who have some painting experience will be rewarding,” she said, as most of her teaching thus far has been with kids or people who have never painted before.

The future looks bright for Christine, as she was recently contacted by the Western Art Showcase for the Calgary Stampede. It will be another great opportunity to showcase her work.

Whether she’s preparing for an art show or not, Christine continues to paint every day. “I feel a sense of urgency. Every time I go outside I’m inspired by something. There’s so much to do and so much to learn. The craft is like an evolutionary process; there’s no end goal. One painting leads into the next painting, and the next painting wouldn’t have existed without the one before. I’ll never feel like my job is done,” she said.

Christine Code’s Prairiescapes Art Exhibit at Kerrobert Courtroom Gallery features 23 landscape paintings framed in specialty woods.