Christina Haugh is one of the lucky people who’s hobby is her job.
An artist at heart, Haugh, a resident of Leonard, paints abstract flowers and creates textured collages. The vibrant colors in her paintings blend together in a ‘dreamy? fashion, and compliment any wall they hang on.
‘It’s all God-given talent,? said the self-taught artist. ‘I got luck. I didn’t have to pay for all those classes!?
Haugh, 58, has been painting all her life, but had the opportunity to make it her full-time job in 1994 when she moved to her quiet, lakeside home. Now, she has customers that come from across the country to purchase her masterpieces ? even an NBC producer from New York purchased two of her paintings.
‘I’ve got a little bit of everything for everybody,? she said.
Although Haugh’s main medium is acrylic paints, she does occasionally work with watercolors and spray paints on some of her pieces. Without even looking at a photograph, she begins to layer her paints in a certain way to create unique images. ‘It’s all imagination and vision,? she said. ‘I love the earth and I’ve always been into nature.?
Using various brushes helps her to create different textures on the canvas.
She uses acid-free paper for matting so when a customer purchases the artwork, they can rest assured it’ll last forever.
As if her exceptional skills aren’t enough to be envious of, wait until you check out her studio. Haugh has an artist’s dream studio she and her husband, Ray, built above their garage that overlooks Lakeville Lake.
Whenever it ‘moves? her, she just walks to her studio and paints. ‘When I get into the studio, I lose track of time,? she said.
Out of all her paintings, her collages probably take the most time to create. She spray-paints handmade papers of different textures and fibers and then layers them on top of each other to finish the pi’ce de r’sistance.
One benefit of purchasing Haugh’s artwork is that all of it is original. She doesn’t believe in commercializing her work.
‘When you get something, nobody will ever have that piece ? ever,? she said.
Her philosophy is that computers, television and video games have ‘put our imaginations on hold and have deadened our senses.?
‘We need color to stimulate our creativity and reach a deeper sense of soulful expectation, so that we can escape into a different dimension, enriching our cultural experience.?
If Haugh’s work looks familiar to you, it should. It’s been displayed in various juried exhibitions in Oxford, Rochester and Romeo, and at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts.
She was also invited by the Plymouth Art Council to exhibit her artwork entitled ‘Beyond Black and White? at their center.
On August 2-3, Haugh will once again grace the Fine Arts Fair in Lexington (north of Port Huron).
You can make an appointment to visit her studio by calling (248) 969-6075 or e-mailing her at colorsbychristina@att.net.