June's Featured Artist!
Welcome
to the first edition of Featured Artists! For those of you who don’t know, each month there will be a new artist interviewed to promote their style and bring awareness to their artwork! The sole purpose of this is to raise awareness of upcoming artists and simply share their skills with the world.
This month, Christia Forest will be our June Artist!
Christia
double majored at California State University Fullerton and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Art Education. During her schooling, she traveled to Europe for Summer Arts program where she worked with various artists from around the world and learn amazing techniques that shaped her style today. She has always been involved with art and loves to paint in her free time.
Christia’s artistic style is contemporary realism and loves to work with oil paint – but she does try to experiment with other mediums, such as etchings, scratchboards, book-making, and crocheting.
Let’s learn more about Christia!
What artists, photographers or designers do you look up to or aspire to be like?
I look up to impressionist artist such as: Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Bonnard, Cézanne, etc. These artist revolutionary techniques and color play is breathtaking. I am fascinated with color and how it can effect a painting.
La Maison de Renoir
Tell us about your creative process (such as, inspirations, influences, rituals, mood/emotions, etc.)
I am mostly an observational based painter that is influenced by the world around me. I find content that interests me and create sketches and studies from them. Once I begin the piece I focus on clean shapes and colors to form my content. I enjoy working with oil paint because the lustrous color you are able to attain is captivating and its versatility makes it fun to work with.
Many of my paintings are self reflections and I enjoy making them to hone my technique and understand myself as an artist.
Do you have any advice for emerging artists?
Communicate and network with other artist and create as much art as often as possible!
Do you have any social media handles you would like us to include in this feature?
I mostly use an instagram account to share my art and lifestyle: instagram.com/christia_forest
Self Reflection, etching on printmaking paper
Thank you for joining us for this month’s featured artist! Tune in next month for our next contestant!
If you know any one who would be interested in submitting their work, please have them fill out the form below!