arts & theatre
by Keith Loria
S
ome artists listen to music while they paint to keep their heads clear, but for McLean’s own Christine Walters, music isn’t just an inspiration, but a part of her artistic process.
Walters is a performance artist who paints while listening to live DJ music, and her work derives from the beats and rhythms she hears. Be it in an abandoned warehouse, storefront, or even in her own backyard, the artist creates a party atmosphere when painting and dancing to the music becoming part of the art through photographs. “There’s a lot of different types of performance artists and my specialty is I paint the abstract of live DJ music,” she says.” Although she's called herself an artist from the time she was very young, Walters wasn’t trained in any sort of medium other than watercolors due to a family art connection. “My aunt owned an art studio, my dad and grandmother were artists, so are lots of my uncles and aunts,” Walters says. “I also have a big musician background. My grandfather used to write back in the depression and played big band and was a singer. My uncle and brother are also involved in music. So, I grew up around a lot of this stuff.” Born in Indiana and raised in Alabama, Walters moved to New York City when she was 18 and it was there she was first exposed to the live DJ sound. It was also about this time that she decided she wanted to make art a bigger part of her life. “A couple of years ago I decided that instead of using pencils and pastels and all that stuff, which is kind of boring, I wanted to explore this thing that all happened to me when I listened to music,” she says. “Music has always had colors and shapes to me. Where some people can just sit and listen to music and fall asleep, it energizes me and makes me want to get up and do something creative.”
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VivaTysons | may – june 2013 vivatysons.com