Hello! Crazy artist joining in!

Hi there, Steemians!

I'm Christie. Last name Snelson (yes, I know it's kind of a funny name). I'm an artist consumed by my craft. The only way I know how to introduce myself is to talk about my work. That's what I'll be writing about anyway! I'm a painter most specifically, though I love dabbling in other mediums. I pay my bills freelancing art completely as of January. It's honestly still so weird to me even as I type this especially considering about ten years ago I was telling my high school art teacher I couldn't paint. It certainly has been an adventure. That's a long story that will have to be for another post.

Here in am in my natural habitat:

Consumed. Art is not simply my job. I've called it the love of my life for years. My buddy @artistgarybedell told me that art is his religion and boy do I relate to that too. From the moment I wake up to when I slip back into sleep my mind is turned to my work intertwining itself into every aspect of my life. It challenges me in all the right ways and it begs me to come back to see what I can do next all while teaching me all sorts of lessons about art and even life.

In the meantime I get to create meaningful pieces of art for my clients. I do all sorts of different work ranging in subjects but my most popular are portraits and pet portraits and center around my love of color and optics. Oftentimes these are memorial pieces or they signify a special time or event for someone. Being able to provide a beautiful memento that will stir emotion or refresh a spirit for someone is very special to me. Here's one of my favorite pet portraits from last year.

I suppose I should share a portrait too. My favorites are my tributes that I started when Robin Williams passed a few years ago to memorialize the greats. This Gene Wilder is one of my best, I think.

I also do things like gallery shows. I submit to all kinds of local group exhibits and am super excited about my upcoming space-themed solo show in September using images from the Hubble telescope and dealing with individual perspectives. Here's a sneak peek.

I try to get out in my community and share my artwork when I can as well. I'll be participating in another Chalk Festival in a few weeks! Last year I chalked Albert Einstein benefiting Foster Adopt Connect.

Art and community are my pulse. That's where you guys come in. I see an art community building here and that's super exciting. I'd love to be a part of it.

Thanks to @giftedgaia and @winstonwolfe for showing me the light.

Throughout my career, social media has proven to be a great way to spread the word about my work, but it also has been enriching in that I get to write you in my story. I love using it as a tool to brainstorm bringing in others' input and ideas, artists or not! I'd love to use this platform to do just that and hopefully make some genuine connections along the way. I also have ideas on sharing how I foster creativity, musings on being self-employed, plenty of jabberings about color and optics, and a place where I can share my process. I'm open to all sorts of suggestions!

I'd love for you to introduce yourself!

*I'll be sharing plenty of artwork here with you, but if you'd like to see more you can find all your eyes can desire at my website, Facebook, or Instagram:

https://www.christiesnelson.com
https://www.facebook.com/ArtbyChristieSnelson
https://www.instagram.com/christiesnelson_art/

Thanks for looking!