Christina Spann (Day 2)

Live demonstrations of mixed media collage and painting.

About the Process

Christina Spann's paintings lay bare the breadth and depth of human emotion, sometimes thunderous and sometimes subtle. Applications of paint, brush and line create two and three dimensional depictions of my soul responding to my environmental surroundings. A tension is created between the quiet, close up drawings and the bold abstract forms that float in and out of a single space, resulting in an expressive yet precarious balance. In making fluid and fiery marks, sometimes using the Sonoran Desert's natural beauty as a guidepost, my artwork has evolved into abstract emotional expression. It feels musical to me, like jazz; improvising and depicting movement in unexpected directions by layering, erasing, and exposing a composition. This is a multi-sensory physical dialogue with the various art media within my reach, and often feels like I am conducting a symphony. For a recent painting, "Agave Spring," I was captivated by the fiery beauty of an agave blossom, with so much vibrant color emerging from what seemed like a dormant cactus. I decided to make this image recognizable, amongst a a flurry of color fields and abstract shapes using the palette of the desert spring. I intuitively created graphite and charcoal pencil lines to add the feeling of motion and energy.