Blog: Mark Arts Abstract National Exhibition

Christine Alfery's Snake Charmer was accepted into the Mark Arts | Mary R Koch Arts Center Abstract National Exhibition. The Abstract national exhibition will be on view May 8-July 11, 2020 in K.T. Wiedeman Gallery at the Mark Arts | Mary R Koch Arts Center.

Snake Charmer has received several distinctions including winning the Irving Tashlick Abstract Award and acceptance into Juried National Exhibitions at the San Diego Watercolor Society and the Illinois Watercolor Society.

Christine had this to say about the creation of this award winning work:

When I create I seek freedom - like a child’s mind when they are choosing colors from a box of crayons filled with endless possibilities. I rarely begin a work with intent in mind – rather I let the washes and colors of the paint talk to me.

When creating Snake Charmer I began by what comes naturally - putting washes of color on the paper. I have never before created figures so I had challenged myself to paint figures. What happened was my "Circus Series" where I created a series of women in the circus, Circus Diva, Rings of Fire, Trixie and her Magic Dog, The Healer, Lady Blue and Her Magic Cape, and Snake Charmer. 

Because I have been painting all my life, the elements and principles of design are like the genes in my body – and come naturally for me, I don’t even think about them. But the elements of strong contrast in Snake Charmer are quite evident. Because the elements and principles of design are embedded in me they naturally allowed me to expand the work in the pursuit of creativity and discovery and the freedom – like a child’s mind.