CHRISTINE SOMMERFELT

ARTIST STATEMENT - BIO

Chris Sommerfelt discovered watercolor at an adult evening class in the early 1980s and has since been intrigued with what happens when you mix pigment and water. Chris has since studied with Bridget Austin, Win Jones, Joye Moon, Sharon Crosbie, Ann Miotke and Alice Struck. All of these artists have influenced Chris along her journey, and she thanks them.

Chris’ favorite subject is nature, because she never ceases to be moved by the beauty of God’s creation. “When I paint, I seek to share the excitement the subject initially gave me through my interpretation with watercolor, striving to capture that brief moment in time."

©Christine Sommerfelt - Coneflowers

Chris had her first solo show at the gallery of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Brookfield, WI in 2002. In September of 2002 she was one of 33 Wisconsin artists featured in the Business Connection show at Alfons Gallery in Milwaukee. She had a solo show at Friendship Village in Brown Deer, WI during the summer of 2004. Chris’ painting “Waiting for June” was juried into the competitive “Midwest Winter” show at the Center for Visual Arts in Wausau in 2005. Since becoming an LMA member, she has had paintings juried into 2005 shows at Gallery 110 in Plymouth, WI and at Mount Mary College. Chris is also a fiber artist who has received local and national recognition.

Chris teaches a bi-monthly Watercolor Workshop at the Wauwatosa Senior Center and has tutored privately. She also teaches a weeklong watercolor workshop at The Clearing in Door County, WI, and teaches fabric painting for a Milwaukee area quilt shop. Chris has been asked to conduct critiques for local art groups. She is a past president of the Wauwatosa Artist’s Workshop and has exhibited with them at Mount Mary College, the Wauwatosa Public Library Firefly Gallery, the West Allis Public Library, the Unitarian Universalist Church, the Cedarburg Cultural Center and Alfons Gallery. She has received three merit awards at WAW gallery shows.

Chris’ work is for sale at Lakes Gallery in North Lake, WI and at the Red Geranium in Bailey’s Harbor, WI during the tourist season. Her work can be found in both private and corporate collections.

CONTACT:  csommerelt@wi.rr.com