Christine J Holton was born in Durham, North Carolina to two musicians. Her home was filled with music and she was encouraged to create from a young age. Inspired by both the flowers of Georgia O’Keefe and the surrealistic landscapes of Salvador Dali, she played with both styles. The natural setting of mountains to coastal North Carolina were equally as influential to her art as the landscapes of her imagination. She was a voracious reader and often shared stories about her work and that of others.
Christine has been a professional teaching artist for 15 years and resides in Creedmoor, North Carolina with two dogs, three cats, and her husband. She is an enthusiastic gardener who balances that love of cultivating gardens and flowers with naturalizing spaces using collections of seeds from native plants.
She graduated from North Carolina Central University in 2008 Summa cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Arts Education and a concentration in Painting and Drawing. She teaches classes at Artpost, the Levin Jewish Community Center, and Duke University Arts Annex. Her studio is central to Duke University and downtown Durham and is a hub for creatives and students. She mentors young aspiring creatives and other artists who are developing their practice.
As a lifelong North Carolina native, she feels connected to the natural environment there and is always curiously exploring a location thoroughly, walking the streets and alleys and connecting with people, exploring the botanical and urban landscapes. She creates work that features bright color and texture to elevate common subjects. She explores themes of interconnectedness between the human body and the earth, sometimes combining imagery of bones and organs with botanical subjects and places in nature.