Reality Hurts You Because You Are Sensitive, The Art of alone family. April 2013

Reality Hurts You Because You Are Sensitive,
the art of alone family

NX ArtHouse April 2013

Artist Statement by alone family:

This show is the product of a year’s worth of growth and learning. I’ve spent close to two decades writing and performing music, but this last year, I picked up a brush and bought some black ink to start putting down some of my ideas on paper. 

I began by creating simple single panel comics, then transitioned to working on Post-It Notes. This choice was partially inspired by boredom during work, but I also enjoy the limitations of a Post-It. 3”x3” yellow paper fundamentally influences every image’s color and use of space.

Creating images in a small space made the move to digital manipulations on my phone natural. I’ve cut, manipulated, and/or composed close to 1000 images over the last year. I use three to five separate programs, bouncing the image back and forth multiple times until the desired effect is achieved.

The onslaught of information gleaned from the internet is the biggest inspiration to my work. Image-based blogging sites like Instagram and Tumblr create a novel communication that transcends language and context. Delineations between media platforms and how they interact with the user have all been destroyed. 

Combining the abundance of information with the accessibility of relatively easy-to-use programs has allowed me to create images that were never before possible to someone with my skillset. Thank you for looking at it.

Deliverance, The Art of Christine McBride. Feb 2013

Deliverance, The Art of Christine McBride

NX ArtHouse February 2013 

Artist Statement:

“What the caterpillar thought was the end of the world was but the birth of a butterfly.” –Deepak Chopra. The life of a fine artist is not only about the art but also about determination, self-reliance, perseverance, and living simultaneously on infinite levels of self-discovery. Christine’s work is ever-revolving as she gains insight and unique perspective on her world and life.

Drawn to the aesthetic qualities of the human form, Christine finds the body interesting and beautiful. Her aesthetic interest in the body is reinforced by Christine’s health issues (breast cancer and autoimmune disease). She holds an appreciation for the regenerative qualities how we are in a continued state of breaking down and rebuilding. “Bodies are malleable like clay. You apply the right pressure and an obvious change results. But it’s much more complicated than what we see with our eyes. In a single lifetime we go through a multitude of deaths and rebirths, physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, and psychological. A beginning is built into the end of all things.” Christine McBride. It is this cycle that Christine explores in her work.

Christine expresses her artistic spirit through painting, photography, and a wide variety of other mediums. Growing up, Christine painted side by side with her mother, the first and most important artist to influence her as a young painter. Later, as Christine developed artistically, she became drawn to The Late Modern era, as artists began to branch away from art as a strict recording and began to explore the psychological side of creative expression. Her attentions have been drawn to the modern era artists such as Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse, and Chagall. In addition to these artists, Christine’s holds a close affinity for painters Frida Kahlo, Amadeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, and Edvard Munch.

Born and raised in Southern California, Christine currently resides in Bakersfield, California. She holds a BFA, attending CSUB in Bakersfield and Cal Poly Tech in SLO, CA. She is currently enrolled in the MFA program at AAU in San Francisco, CA. She is a Navy veteran.

nXmas All Day Art Sale. December 2012

nXmas All Day Art Sale

NX ArtHouse December 2012

A group of artists came together to sell arts and crafts for holiday presents. The art sale lasted from noon till night.

Stone Soup NX ArtHouse Nov 2012

Stone Soup

NX ArtHouse November 2012

The idea for this exhibit was to have a group show like the concept of the story Stone Soup.

Stone Soup is made by boiling a pot of water with a stone in it. Everyone contributes something to enrich the soup. By the time everyone contributes something there is a thick soup for a large group of people to enjoy. Using this concept the NX created a group art show with multiple artists.

Speakeasy Open Mic

SPEAKEASY Open Mic

NX ArtHouse May 2012- Nov 2013

An Open Mic is a place for acoustic performers of music, spoken word/poetry, singing, comedy etc. Performers of all levels are encouraged to share (if you have the guts to give it your all).

The Speakeasy Open Mic began at the Reiter Gallery under Amber Ajoloa and Evan Ross.

 It moved to the NX ArtHouse in May 2012 and was hosted by Evan Ross and Terry Deroushie. Christopher DeBondt guest hosted it for a bit. Then it was co-hosted by Alex Ortiz and Zeke Hughes.