Christine D. Crosheck
Christine D. Crosheck is an artist with a visual impairment, who also suffers from chronic migraines. But she is not the sort of person to let a neurologic disorder -or two -keep her down. Christine creates abstract paintings on paper, using soft pastels, pastel pencils and markers. Her mixed media pieces come in a multitude of colors. When she is not occupied with those projects she creates modern black and white drawings using a white colored pencil on black paper. Christine is a Metro Detroit artist residing in Tecumseh, Michigan.
Services Offered: In a world where first impressions matter, I have fine art for sale for the discerning palate.
About Christine D. Crosheck:
Since childhood,Christine has lived with vision loss. Since the turn of the century, she has lived with chronic migraines. But there came a day when she got so tired of the medical problems stealing so much time and joy from her life, she did something about it. When she got hit with the aura of a migraine, instead of immediately taking medication and retreating into a quiet, dark room, she took the medication and went to the drawing table. She said a prayer. With just a tiny bit of light coming through the window, she pulled out a sketchbook and started making arbitrary marks on the paper. She used a pen so she wasn’t tempted to erase anything. She made quick, spontaneous strokes, using a combination of straight, curved, angular, and jagged lines. The marks were made without any preconceived plan. These were totally spontaneous sketches. She held off on all judgment and concentrated on just filling up the sketchbook, allowing her subconscious to express itself. Ironically, the brain fog that accompanied the migraine made it easier to bypass her inner critic. She filled up an entire sketchbook with these spontaneous scribbles, then another and another - all without worrying about the results. Then when the final sketchbook was filled without analyzing what she had drawn, she laid down, waiting for the migraine and all the accompanying symptoms to pass. She eventually fell asleep. When she woke up, the migraine was gone. She went to the drawing table, picked up a sketchbook, and looked at each page, rotating it 180 degrees while asking herself what, if anything, she saw in the spontaneous scribbles. Faces, animals, and objects appeared unbidden. On some pages there were abstract figures. Yet other pages held optical illusions (images that could be interpreted in two different ways).
She was amazed at what appeared, especially as most if not all of the figures were drawn upside down or sideways and weren’t apparent until she later rotated the page.
Since that day, Christine has taken some of those spontaneous scribbles and enhanced them with soft pastels and markers, transforming them into more structured paintings. The impromptu, unplanned sketches have interesting textures and colorful backgrounds and are now vibrant, expressive,colorful multi-media pieces that might appeal to those who love the maximalist aesthetic, abstract figures, and/or surrealist art.
Other impromptu sketches have been transformed into simple line drawings. The abstract rendition of basic forms using white pencil on black paper often appeals to those who love a minimalist esthetic or modern contemporary art.
More About The Artist: Christine is a mostly self-taught artist with background in interior design. Whether it is with colored pencils or soft pastels, much of her spontaneous art up to this point has been drawn while fighting off a migraine. Her work, she says, is often quirky like her personality. She often clothes herself with vibrant colors, and has matching bejeweled eyepatches that go with each outfit. She jokes: "You may love my style or hate it, but one thing for sure is that you will not forget it anytime soon." The same thing can be said of her artwork.
Sometimes her art takes surrealist forms. Often it is a reflection of her emotional state. Some of it is whimsical and fun. Some of it is full of anxiety and angst. Some if it is created on the backside of a migraine when she just doodles. She creates all of it for herself, but is willing to sell her work to others who also appreciate it. She would like to think that no matter what a person’s decorating style, they might find something that appeals to their love of color, their desire for simplicity, or their love of the unexpected.
Additionally, having one of her creations always gives the owner a conversation starter when having friends over since they can say to their guests, "Let me tell you about the unconventional artist who painted this piece. She draws when she has migraines. She has dealt with the vision loss since her childhood. Yet she hasn’t let that stop her from creating things. This is an original piece by her."
She wants people to know that:
It is okay to start something even though you have no idea of how it will look when finished.
Material things come and go, but time only moves in one direction. You have to decide what to do with the time you are given each day.
Your entire life can change in an instant. Take the turn that is unexpected and make the best of it.
Try venturing out of your comfort zone every now and then, just to see where it leads you. You may love or hate the end result, but if you are learning from your experience and/or having fun, that is what truly matters.
No matter what adversity you face, do not let anything, or anyone, permanently steal your joy.
When Christine is not making art, she enjoys reading, writing, thrifting, decorating, taking nature walks, and playing with her dog.