When Memphis artist Christina Huntington began a weekly series of small, alla prima (wet-on-wet, in one sitting) oil paintings of still life arrangements, she did so as a way to reawaken her dormant art skills. On her website, christinahuntingtonart.com, Huntington states that most of the paintings for this first “real show” were produced in one sitting. The idea, inspired by Carol Marine’s book Daily Painting, is to practice a lot and enjoy it by not getting too invested in getting it right.
But she did get it right and has already sold nearly two dozen pieces framed in black resin or wood frames with glass, cropped to show the raw edges of under-painting, and floated on an off-white mat.
Courtesy Christina Huntington
Christina Huntington’s Seven Radishes
By day, Huntington is a senior information architect at Archer Malmo. She graduated from Rhodes College with degrees in studio art and creative writing but gained her appreciation for art-making from her father who maintained a lifelong art practice. Her mother is a Philippines-born Spaniard and her father is from Mississippi.
“My father is my biggest and first artistic influence,” Huntington says of her late father, who passed away eight years ago. “My mother struggled with English. I often helped her understand during a time when Memphis wasn’t as diverse. This plays into my work as an observer — taking in information and translating.”
Her brushwork in this series depicting fruits and vegetables, flowers, and nostalgic objects balances the illusion of depth and volume while honoring the medium of painting.
“Recent Still Lifes,” Eclectic Eye, 242 S. Cooper, viewable by appointment through the first week of January.
