Christine Highland
Please can you tell us about your background and upbringing?
My parents were upholsterers and furniture restorers. Antique furniture was my first love
Did you make art as a child?
I created my own history scrapbooks which included drawings of furniture etc.
What is your earliest memory associated with art?
Looking at my much older sister's story books and studying the images as they were more interesting to me than the stories, Alice in Wonderland etc.
Please could you tell us who or what has had the most significant influence on you as an artist.
Mid Century art and artists have become hugely influential in my work the last 10-15 years
Please describe your practice for us in 3 adjectives
Colourful, joyful, precise
Where are you finding your ideas and inspiration for your artwork right now?.
Researching 20th Century design
What motivates you?
Creating new colours and using them in a balanced way
Which item in your studio could you not live without?
Magnifying glass! My eyesight is poor and I want to be as precise as possible
Please can you talk to us in detail about the creation of one piece of your artwork.
My maps which are often done to commission are a unique design to me using my own pattern designs that I have created. I cut out a map and use it as a template to draw round in pencil then go over pencil freehand with a pen. I then fill in with my own pattern designs in ink and usually in my signature colours of red and black on white paper
Please could you tell us about the piece of artwork you are most proud of, and why.
Ziggurat which was my first large piece which created a lot of interest online and locally and was actually sold very quickly when displayed during lockdown. The purchaser bought it to hang in her bedroom so that it was the first thing she saw on waking as it was so joyful
What’s the best thing about being an artist?
Having fun in a studio on your own with paints
And the worst..!?
For me it is trying to come up with a design that you hope is new and dredged from your memory bank. Also when lifting tape from a painting and the paint lifts (nightmare!
What is the most important thing to know about you?
Colour is a huge part of my life, I think carefully about what colours I wear and endeavour to balance one colour with another. It is an every day part of my life