Christy Olsen is an award-winning artist & fine art instructor. She teaches studio art classes for adults at the Art Verve Academy and is an active member of the local Tucson Arts Community. Her visual art skills developed from formal education, drafting, self-directed practice, experimentation, and tutelage under several contemporary masters.
She was born in Memphis, Tennessee, as a third-generation artist and grew up within a family of oil painters who encouraged her to be creative. Her family took her to multiple museums and notable art exhibitions that she remembers affectionately.
|
| Christy Olsen |
When most university curriculums did not offer representational or figurative arts in the '90s, she chose to study the Old Masters via the classroom instead. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in Art History & Anthropology.
Christy is also a member of the last generation of drafters to be formally trained to draw with pencil on vellum paper before computer-aided design software. Her earliest professional drafting experience was creating architectural blueprints and technical drawings meticulously by hand. She's also had a successful career as a systems engineer and earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Drawing, painting, or mark making brings me moments of respite where I strive to be present and visually interpret the world around me. My work is a responsive process, integrating shape, color, or other design elements to create a cohesive whole.
I primarily work in the pastel medium because I appreciate its vibrancy. I also use other mediums or paint in oils to capture a variety of subject matter, including animals, landscapes, still life, or portraits."
-- Christy Olsen