Page 17 - Veterans' Issue

It’s a Whimsical
It’s a Whimsical

World of Art
World of Art

BY ALICE FRENCH

Hold your breatH and imagine swimming matter, medium and techniques: Sometimes
through a sea of mushrooms with “Tank”, the realistic, sometimes abstract; always full of color.
fancy tailed goldfish with the steampunk goggles! She’s done sculptures, mainly out of wood,
No doubt an artistic adventure inspired by a pet worked with layering inks, enamels on glass,
belonging to this month’s featured artist, Christi pointillism, (like the name sounds, it is the use of
Barrett. tiny dots which become blended to create images
for the viewers’
Christi and her husband moved to the area eye). How about
about 17 years ago to raise their kids “out of the Encaustic oil
fray”. So when her youngest son started driving,
about 6 years ago, she really dove into her art painting? Have
full-force and full-time. She’s been very happy you ever heard
and extremely busy ever since. One of the things of that?! Me
she’s enjoyed the most has been finding and neither. It’s a
embracing the ‘big, huge artist family’ that is combination of
here in East Texas. oil paint and
wax! A heat gun
Her artwork is hard to describe, but whimsical is used to melt
definitely comes to mind. “I like it to be Happy!” the oil and wax
“My art comes from a happy place in my brain”, in order to thin
she says. And what a place that must be as she it and manipulate
demonstrates such a wide variety of subject it on the canvas.
Just be careful
not to burn the
canvas!
But Christi’s first love is acrylics. Almost every
piece incorporates an element of nature. She “…
did a cityscape one time! And it was Abstract, no
less!” she says, just reinforcing her love of nature.
Christi was one of the founding members of
Gallery 211. It wasn’t long before she and Steve
Willis got the bright idea to paint the mural
in the alleyway adjacent to the gallery to draw
people in. That was about 5 years ago. Starting
completely from scratch, the Gallery has grown
to house some 50 local artists.
Every 10 weeks Gallery 211 hosts a “themed”
juried art show. Come out and enjoy some
live music and local art. You never know when
you might meet a goldfish wearing steampunk
goggles!

NOVEMBER 2017 17