I tell stories through ART.

I love garish and fantastical characters. I enjoy human beings, and my art explores stories of human emotion as well as my passion for costumes, colors, textures and intriguing environments.

Growing up on the coast of Maine, I was surrounded by stories and images of the region's folklore. Seilkies, Mermaids, Ghosts and Pirates were all believably real entities to me. My childhood fascination with monsters and supernatural beings continues and influences the way I choose to portray people.

I also have a need to express with my art. I become inspired, and have worked hard to train myself to go into a sort of a trance that allows what's inside to come out. It's only later that I can look with any objectivity on something that I've created and perhaps get a glimpse of what I was feeling or thinking.

It is akin to the way one might analyze a dream.

I may start a painting or puppet with a certain image in mind, but I allow the original image to change or even get completely painted over whenever I start to see new things. I am often quite confused about how I am feeling until after I paint, draw, or build things and the truth comes to the surface. This is the way I best communicate with myself.

In this way, I suppose nearly all my paintings are also portraits of my life.

Thank you for your interest in my work. I hope that the world I have created sparks your own imagination and provokes many hours of daydream in the years to come.

BIO

Christian Smith grew up in the coastal town of Cushing, Maine. As a child she was fascinated by the region’s folklore. She was also blessed with a creative family that read to her every night and provided lots of crayons to encourage her art.

She learned early in life how much she loved to draw and tell stories through her artworks.

Christian Anne Smith studied illustration at Parson’s School of Design, NYC and has a B.A. in Studio Arts from Western Washington University.

Christian currently lives in Bellingham, Washington where she paints and teaches.

She is a member of the Waterfront Artist’s Collective, The Allied Arts Education Project, and is involved in various projects throughout the community that mix art and people.