Artist Christine Kerrick is a mixed media and forensic artist. Filled with symbols and text, her work features central characters with stories to tell. See more by visiting her website.
“Battlefield of the Mind 2” Acrylic and Mixed Media with Found Jewelry on Nested Board, 12” x 16”
I’ve never thought of being anything but an artist. I have always written stories, and I find it an interesting challenge to tell stories in my art.
“Babylon: I Sit as Queen” Graphite on Strathmore Paper, 11” x 14”
When I was little, I was always drawing pictures of celebrities and friends and selling my drawings to my classmates for fifty cents. Living out in the country, I wasn’t able to go hang out in town as often as the other kids, so I drew and painted.
“Awakening Love 2” Acrylic and Mixed Media on Nested Board, 11” x 14”
For most of my young life I felt insecure, but I loved doing art and I knew that I was good at drawing likenesses. At the time, I thought the only art job was being an architect, but college showed me differently.
“Calavera Bonita” Acrylic and Mixed Media on Nested Board, 16” x 16”
I graduated as an illustrator, but took graphic design jobs for steady work. This informed my use of layout grids and typography in the assemblage I create now. One of those jobs was in Florida at the Broward sheriff’s office, where I did print jobs in support of law enforcement, department of corrections and fire rescue divisions.
“Emily’s Flowers” Acrylic and Mixed Media on Nested Board, 11.5” x 15.75”
When our criminal investigations division discovered I could draw, they called me to take the testimony of a rape victim and to try to create a forensic art drawing of her attacker. I came up with an image, but when detectives said it “looked like a soap opera actor,” I realized I needed forensic art training.
“Let Your Music Out” Acrylic and Mixed Media with Found Jewelry on Nested Board, 6” x 9”
The sheriff’s office sent me to the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia. The class was a study in 3D sculpture, 2D drawing, cognitive interviewing and age progression techniques.
“Mexican Red Knee Tarantula” Acrylic and Mixed Media on Nested Board, 8” x 10”
Most of my forensic art is facial reconstruction from skeletal remains. This helps me see more clearly the transitory nature of our bodies and lives, and makes it all the more important to tell the stories of people in portraits and assemblage. No matter the cases I work on for investigators, I treat every person as important with something to say and share.
“Shemar” Acrylic and Mixed Media on Nested Board, 6.5” x 6.5”
In my paintings, I use faces to tell stories. The combination of typography, historic texts, handwritten words, shimmering glazes and a central character is something I am exploring, as I love drama. Sometimes I create fields of color, inspiring text, and patterns as abstracts without a character, still revealing a narrative.
“Provision 1” Acrylic and Mixed Media on Nested Board, 6” x 12”
My goal is to show these pieces (which are made from castoff items and what others may have considered trash) as one-of-a-kind works of restoration, like our own lives. Each of us has a story, with areas of our lives which are messy and which we would rather forget, but which our Creator fashions into a new work. I feel I’m just beginning this exploration, and am excited about where it will lead.
“Mosaic Elephant 2” Acrylic and Mixed Media with Found Jewelry on Nested Board, 16” x 16”
I am thankful that people seem to respond to these pieces and their stories, and that I have the opportunity to exhibit at shows and in galleries.
Artist Christine Kerrick invites you to follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
Fabulous work. What is nested board?
Thanks for your comment, Tirzah, That’s how the description appears on Dick Blick. Basically, it is a roughly 1/8″ smooth birch panel with a 1-7/8″ wide piece of that same thickness (1/8″) of birch wrapped down the side of the wood stretchers on the back. Basically, it is a very shallow box. It’s like a deep canvas, only the canvas part is 1/8″ birch.
You can look here at the 4th picture to see the back, though mine doesn’t have the center brace:
https://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-studio-wood-panels/