Christine Eyres
Christine has been painting all her life. Ever since her mother wrapped cotton
wool around a bush stick and let her daub with cochineal; and since, at the age
of five or six, she crept up behind horses to steal hair from their tails to make
paint brushes. However art school wasn't an option for a kid from the bush, and it
wasn't until she left teaching to start a family that she realized the need to paint
was still strong.
Christine completed a fine arts degree at Curtin University in 1984. Unhappy with her art work, she returned to university and completed a Graduate Diploma in English thinking she needed to know more about the Australian culture. Ironically it is only after that study, that she came to recognize that her Scottish heritage is an important part of who she is, and has now given herself permission to examine it through her art.
After raising her family on a small alpaca farm in the hills outside Perth, Christine decided to do art full-time, and moved to Cairns. Here she attended James Cook University to complete a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art. She works from her studio at Holloways Beach where the lifestyle of the casual coastal community feeds into her art. She and her partner Alan enjoy exploring the islands and coast of Far North Queensland in their boat Billabong.
Christine has always had a passionate interest in colour, and was fortunate enough to meet Michael Wilcox at university. She worked for Michael for several years and still loves to pass on the principles outlined in his book "Blue and Yellow don't make Green", as they were very important to her development as an artist.
Christine also enjoys writing and is a member of the Cairns based Tropical Writer's Group. She teaches life drawing, painting and colour theory to various community groups.