Christine Steinmiller- May 2025

How and where did your art practice begin?   I've always had the urge to create and spent time as a kid drawing.  While focusing on my career in banking, I've work in charcoal, pastel, acrylic, stained glass and oils, and dabbled in other medums.  Since 2008 I've used mainly oils with a focus on plein air painting and landscapes.  However, I also love the challenge of doing portraits.  

Where do you draw inspiration for your forms/designs?   Since I enjoy plein air painting, my inspiration is landscapes and capturing the effect of light.  

How do you plan your pieces and how do you decide when they’re finished?  The most important step in creating a painting for me is to start with a good composition.  You can execute the painting successfully, but if you don't have a good composition,  the end result will not be as impactful.  Once I've decided on the composition, then I work to capture the right values, making sure that I've captured the effect of light on the subject, whether it's a portrait or a tree lined stream.  

What draws you to your specific/preferred medium? 

Since my focus is painting outdoors, I've found that the longer working time of oils lends itself to plein air painting.  Acrylics dry quickly and I can't get the mixing/blending that I prefer when doing landscapes.   That said, I love working in acrylics when doing abstracts or mixed media because they allow for making changes more quickly and for more creative expression.  .  

What result can a finished piece or your process yield that makes you feel

rewarded or proud?   There's nothing more rewarding or inspiring as when someone can admire my work in person or purchase one of my paintings.  What a compliment!  

Upcoming events/sales/where can your work be purchased?    Along with the art currently on display at the Art Hub, I have three paintings in the Mary Hoard Art Show in Fort Atkinson WI until May 3rd.  I also have a piece in the Art of Water exhibit at the James May Gallery in Milwaukee until the end of June.  And from time, to time, I have artwork in the Pewaukee Area Arts Council exhibit at the American Family

Gallery in downtown Pewaukee .  The current exhibit will be up until the end of June.  

How do community art spaces like Art Hub enhance your ability to make, distribute, and celebrate art?   Without galleries like the Art Hub, artists would not have opportunities and exposure that they often don't have the time, space or resources to do on their own.  I'm so grateful to the Art Hub to allow me to display and sell some of my artwork, for letting me conduct workshops from time to time and providing a space to network with other artists.  I get a lot of my inspiration and motivation from spending time with other artists and the Art Hub provides a place to do that.