Christine Purtle

Christine developed an interest in art and painting at a young age and has always loved playing with colour.

She was introduced to the magic of watercolour and pastels while living in Mackay in the 70s and 80s when she took a series of Tafe courses with very talented artists Anne Creber and Sybil Rogers.

Art took a back seat after she moved to the Gold Coast in 1988 and she did not return to it until moving to Beaudesert in 1998, where she attended classes at the Arts and Information Centre with Robyn Orr.

Around 2005 she discovered a web site called Wet Canvas and she became very excited and inspired by the knowledge and talent of the international artists that contributed to the site. She started playing with acrylic inks at this time and fell in love with the vibrant rich colours and the wonderful surprises that happened when she learned how to work with the medium rather than trying to control it.

It was a natural progression to move to acrylic paints and this medium has been her preferred one for the last three or four years. She was fortunate to win a small scholarship to the Brisbane Art Academy in 2012 where she was tutored by Alan Morrison. The unique style that she had developed over the years was nurtured and polished by him to get her to her current level.

She has won prizes for her work in the Quota art show as well as the Beaudesert and Canungra shows. She was named show champion at the Beaudesert show two years running, in 2012 and 2013.

Christine is a prolific painter and since retiring in 2012 spends most of her leisure time with a brush in her hand. She loves impressionistic work and finds her best work is usually produced when instinct takes over and she stops before the piece becomes over worked. She meets every Tuesday morning with a group of other art enthusiasts at the Information Centre. Their first art show as a group, in 2012, was very well received.

Her original art work is on display and for sale at the Lyrebird gallery, as well as prints in the form of greeting cards which can be purchased for $4.50.