Christine J Newton Art Bio

Art and painting have been part of my life since I was very young. My introduction to oil painting occurred around age 13 when my middle school art teacher, Mrs. Lewis, presented a lesson on oils. I immediately loved it and the challenges it presented. After I finished my painting, she continued to teach me oils while she instructed the other students on general art.

I knew I wanted to continue working with art so I went on to study graphic design at The American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois where I gradated with an associates degree.

After finishing college, I went to work as a graphic designer for a sign business in Hammond, Indiana and I was promoted to art director after about a year and a half. Since it was a smaller business with less than 30 employees, I ended up learning many new skills. Most of the signs made in this shop were electric signs, but occasionally they needed a person who could hand letter a sign. By the time I left this employer, I had hand painted several billboards and designed hundreds of signs and awnings.

In 1986, I started doing freelance design work for numerous sign companies, and I sold 'pen & ink' drawings to some local businesses, which were used for publications and advertisements. In addition to designing, I expanded my business to constructing signs and awnings. I began to work with a couple franchises who came to me for the majority of their signage. I also worked with several freelance sign makers and companies. During this time, I designed and painted many billboards onsite while standing on scaffolding or from a bucket truck. This was such a fun and rewarding business. At the age of 27 I had my beautiful daughter Danielle. She was always with me, sitting under my desk while I drew, in her bouncy seat while at a jobsite, or in a papoose on my back while I drew out a pattern. My stepdaughter often helped me with the work as well. After 12 years, I took a complete turn in careers and opened an insurance agency, which I still run today.

In 2018, I started Plein Air Painting, which combined two of my favorite pastimes; being in nature and painting. I believe that painting onsite improves the quality of your art because you can see a wider spectrum of colors and capture the emotion and feel of the location.

I was born and raised in Northwest Indiana and continue to live in a rural area of the Duneland Community of Chesterton, Indiana with my husband, dog, and many chickens.