Interview
Christine Kenny Frisbee
Christine began painting at the age of 14 and continued until she had her first solo show in 2010. She received her Bachelor of Arts at Fairfield University, CT and graduated Cum Laude. She went on to receive an MBA from University of Connecticut’s Executive Program. She studied art at The Art Students League and The National Arts Museum in New York and Silvermine Guild Arts in New Canaan, CT.
Over the years Christine has been affiliated with the National Association of Women Artists, Silvermine Arts and The Carriage Barn in New Canaan, CT, Birdsey Gallery, Osterville, MA and Bedford Frame and Gallery in Bedford, NY. Katonah Art Museum and the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM).
As a child, she was always enthralled with art and it became her passion in life. She loves traditional art but is drawn towards modern and abstract art as well. Painting in both traditional and contemporary styles allows her to discover the real and best painter she can be. She believes that the work involved in transitioning a concept into all styles of paintings of the same subject, stretches her to see what she can achieve.
Christine’s new work is abstract studies of colors and shapes. It is dramatic and bright. It will hopefully bring happiness and imagination into your home or office. There is a section on illustrations. She is working on writing and illustrating a few children’s picture books. Christine enjoyed painting in a more traditional style until recently. Presently she concentrates on abstract expressionism and is influenced by Helen Frankenthaler for her interesting compositions, Rothko, for his outstanding use of color, and de Kooning for his complex compositions.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I started creating as a young child at home, in Summit, New Jersey. We had 12 children in our family. It was a very creative family. I loved to go to a quiet space to make something artistic. I made little rooms out of shoe boxes and flowers out of tissue paper when I was in school. When I was 14 one of my teachers encouraged me to do oil painting. I fell in love with painting and have continued ever since. It has been a way to express myself in a unique way.”
“To paint is to show a secret part of who you are.” Christine Frisbee
What inspires you?
“I am inspired by nature, the woods, the ocean, and gardens. I love architecture and how the building designs create an atmosphere that has offered various types of space and relationships between the walls; where the doors are located, how we gaze out windows, how it protects us and provides space for family and friends.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“The process that I take is intuitive whether I am thinking of water or forests or architecture or homes. Coming from a large family, the environment in which we live and how we live our lives is of utmost importance in my mind. I am conscious of how we speak and react to people around us. I attempt to relate this in my paintings with color and harmony. The large strokes are emotions that drive us and the smaller lines, shapes and stokes are the influences that create our thoughts and reactions. The total brush strokes on the canvas reflect our character and total being. The colors and shapes are who we are. It is a canvas of our personality. That is how I express my art.”
How would you describe your work?
“My art is thought-provoking, emotional, and has visual harmony. It is unique and strong, yet restful. It is distinctive.”
What artists influence you most?
“Helen Frankenthaler, Wolff Kahn, Willem De Kooning, Wassily Kandendsky.”
What is your creative process like?
"I paint in a quiet sunny studio without music. I feel I can hear the colors. My best work comes when I hear what I should paint. I don’t like everything I paint and I need to put it away. Sometimes I go back and work on it. About half of the time it works. Sometimes it does not. It is like an addiction for me to be creative. I love to stretch my canvas'. I somehow feel it is the best, yet it takes time and so I will purchase ready-made canvas' as well. I am not very neat. I do better with a slightly confusing array of paint tubes. I love painting in oil. The smoothness of the brush and the paint against the canvas brings out the artist in me. I have no preconceived ideas when I start. I feel the work, I hear the colors. I know that my background is influencing me with every stroke of the brush.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“An artist's role in society is to make people see in a new way, to view the world through someone else's eyes, whether you agree or not. To enlighten and stir emotion.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
Rockport Museum Show, Providence Art Association Show, Cahoon Museum Show, Katonah Museum Show, Mass General Hsopital, Art Student's League Show.
Christine’s Art has been exhibited at:Katonah Museum Art Association, Osterville Museum Art Show, Cahoon Museum of Art Show, Rockport Museum Show, New York Library Show, Provicetown Artists Museum Show, New Canaan, CT Stone Barn Show. Christine’s Art has been exhibited at: Rockport Art Association, Birdsey on the Cape, Osterville, Osterville Historical Society, The Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery, New York, Lambertville Fine Arts, Lambertville, NJ, Multicultural Art Center, Cahoon Museum Brush-Off, Cotuit, MA, Cohoom Museum of American Art, Cotuit, MA, Armory Art Center, Palm Beach, FL, The Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery, New York, NY, Faneuil Hall, Boston, MA, Creative Arts Center, Chatham, MA, Wianno Club, Osterville, MA, Hub-Robeson Galleries, Penn State University, National Association of Women Artists, New York City, Osterville Village Library, Osterville, MA, Wianno Club Art Exhibit, Osterville, MA.
