By Christina Haglid
Located in Chicago, IL
"Cactus", by Christina Haglid, is a painstakingly detailed watercolor of a Saguaro Cactus on panel. Each needle from the cactus is evident in this small scale painting. The background gives the idea that is a scene from a solarium with its blurred window panes. The piece is floated within a white wood frame and measures 4.75h x 3.75w inches.
Christina Haglid
Cactus
watercolor and gouache on panel
4h x 3w in
10.16h x 7.62w cm
Tiny Sanctuaries
There has always been an intersection between the process of writing and the act of painting in my work. It has somehow been my guide. In the last four years, during the making of this work, that connection intensified as I started writing short stories and flash fiction while taking online classes. I find the process of writing and painting so different in almost every way, but there is something freeing and generative in writing which helps my painting process. Or perhaps it's a reminder of what painting is for me - something intuitive that needs to be trusted. And what they do have in common is a desire to encapsulate and distill a single moment, a story, about the complexity of our emotions and experiences.
At the heart of my work is the recurring depiction of perseverance, strength of will, and a subtle optimism. Symbolically through the objects, precarious situations depict a moment of possible difficulty, often involving the influence of nature. A paper crane left in the snow. A boat nearly filled to the brim, but not submerged and able to drain its own contents carefully. A slide alone at night...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Christina Haglid Paintings
MaterialsWatercolor, Gouache, Panel
