Article By: Ericka Santos
Photographs Courtesy of: Jim George and Rick Horn

As the afternoon sun glistens off the ocean’s surface, its diamond like reflection sparkles along gentle rolling waves. Refreshingly, a subtle breeze blows throughout the outdoor rooftop lounge leaving a soothing touch against the skin. Welcoming and inviting the scenic backdrop offers a beautiful and comfortable ambiance for the interview with Laguna Beach artist Christiana. Acting as the embodiment of the day’s energy, Christiana exudes a lighthearted aura as she shares her passion for the arts, her work and the lives she hopes to touch through her paintings.

“My hope and dream is for more artists to be able to know they have a gift and use that gift in a positive way to impact the world,” said Christiana. “And the gift I want them to spread is love.”

The substance of her talent is evident in every emotion she captures in a seamless dance of colors, shapes, lines and mixed media that she pours into her paintings. The female form is the chosen muse of her eternal expression. Spanning across her canvases arched and intertwined with arms locked in a warm embrace, hands cradled against a lone figure or a simple sense of happiness transplanted into the strokes of every curve. Christiana’s deep seeded inspiration to help those in need has led her to include elements that explore social issues such as poverty and abuse, racism and prejudices into her paintings and into the forefront.

Photo Courtesy of Jim George

“I feel it is extremely easy to create a piece of art filled with tragedy and pain and make it interesting,” said Christiana, “but to create a painting that exudes pure love, positive energy, grace and sensuality and at the same time has a dynamic flow to it, is a challenge.”

Having showcased her work in a number of galleries and exhibitions over the years, Christiana’s positive message through visual art has been displayed in New York, Boston, Long Beach, Laguna Beach and Los Angeles. Contributing to charities has also proved to be an effortless fit for her. Christiana has recently worked on events for homeless and abused teens and Casa Teresa Home for Pregnant Teens in Laguna Beach by helping raise awareness and funds through selling her art.

So who is this gifted artist and what has truly come to shape the foundation of her work? Like any great visionary she has conquered her share of struggles, battled with her insecurities, fears and the hurdles of learning to embrace exactly who she is and what she has to offer the world as an artist. Continually reaching out to the experiences around her for new inspiration and purpose, Christiana is the essence of the ever growing artiste.

While her golden locks blow in the breeze her smile and enthusiasm never seem to tire as they reflect the radiance of the mid-day sun. The longer you sit with her, the simpler it is to witness how the warmth of her character is so easily bottled and instilled into the very fabric of her life’s work.

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A STAR IS BORN

For Christiana art has not only been her medium for self expression, it has been her companion. By painting, sculpting and creating continuously since the age of 4 her talent has evolved from the innocent abstractions of a child into the self awareness and socio-conscience creativity of a woman.

Extracting beauty from the simplest of places and with the oddest of materials has been her gift. It was this unwavering fascination of breathing new life into the most unconventional of objects that truly begins to tell the tale of Christiana’s artistic career.

“I used to dig through trash cans and hide trash in my room when I was little and put sculptures together and all that stuff and paint on walls. Just crazy crazy art since I was a little tiny girl” she laughs.

She instantly smiles as she recalls putting together one of her more memorable masterpieces. Armed with sticks and stones and a thick shiny paper made of metallic red, silver and blue she found outdoors, Christiana went home to collect the finishing touches for her creation. Adorning her sculpture with Dixie cups and anything you could poke holes into was ‘just so cool’ Christiana confesses. All the while she could hear her mother laughing in the other room.

Growing up in foster care, Christiana was adopted when she was four and came to call Orange County home. It wasn’t until her teen years that she and her family relocated to the serene beach community of Laguna Beach. Keeping true to her passion for the arts she remained involved in various art programs including ceramics and painting throughout high school.

At 16 she participated in a three man art show but it was the following year that solidified Christiana as a rising star after entering Laguna Beach’s Festival of the Arts. At just 17 she was honored with the festival’s Best Painter Award, beating out the competition which included older artists as well as professional talents.

The acclaim won Christiana recognition and art scholarships to attend college. To help supplement her income while in school she took to working as a makeup artist. It was a fateful three month business trip that rerouted Christiana’s life in Laguna Beach or perhaps transplanted her to the precise place she needed to be. While working in New York City helping with styling and make-up for a photo shoot, Christiana took a leap of faith and made a split decision.

“I had probably about $10,000 to my name, said I love [New York] and rented an apartment,” said Christiana. “First and last month’s deposit was about $9,000. I flew home, packed boxes and shipped stuff in two to three month increments to not take up my last $1,000 and I never went back [home] for ten years.”

Diving head first into her new life in New York Christiana started working with an owner of a salon and art gallery. It was during this time that she landed her first east coast show at Christopher J. Hawes Gallery.

"Circle of Life"

"Hope"

“That was really great, it was my first good experience where I felt like I actually was good and someone liked what I did at a higher level,” said Christiana.

The road to recognition as a fresh young artist was not easy.  Excited to share her passion for painting and undiscouraged by rejection from galleries unwilling to take a chance on an unknown artist, Christiana took matters into her own hands. Booking well known, high-end nightclubs, restaurants and lounges to display her work in became her stage. As an audience began to take notice, commissions began to follow.

In the process of learning herself and perfecting her art an evolution took place. To pay homage to the importance of politics and world issues Christiana began to incorporate newspaper clippings into her paintings. Always centered around the female form it was the perfect compliment to her expressions of human connections and emotions. While in the midst of mastering her gift a pivotal sale to a famous art collector turned into just the boost she needed.

His investment in her paintings was well received but not without a few words of constructive criticism. Taking in his comments about her form, her color, her shapes and her visions, Christiana took a step back to focus and reflect on the precise impact she wanted her work to represent.

“It was a great time in my life so I took my work to another level which was to stay out of the gallery except only once in a while, figure out what [I] really wanted to say and what’s [my] purpose here,” said Christiana.

Thus, the confidence to own her skills and embrace her individuality through her talents had been ignited.

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FULL CIRCLE

After her success and adventures in New York, Christiana returned home. Set on spreading her message of compassion and tolerance the perfect opportunity presented itself when Seven-Degrees art gallery in Laguna Beach invited her to put on a show. Knowing that she wanted to make a lasting impression and organize a unique experience, Chrisitiana wanted to share the good fortune with friends. Her vision transformed into a seamless reality. With friend-turned-business partner Tracy Danielle singing live, Christiana herself painting on stage and a live poetry reading thrown into the mix, the event received a stellar response.

For this artist the answer to success was wrapped up in three simple words: diligence, passion and love.

It was then that Chistiana and Danielle decided to continue organizing monthly events that would bring unknown musicians, artist, fashion designers and other talented stars together and into the spotlight. In the process of helping others gain recognition, Lust for Life emerged in March of 2008.

“On my 3^rd event I thought this is so great. I wanted to come up with a title for our events, a company name because this is a lust for life kind of thing and that just kind of stuck,” said Christiana

Finally comfortable with the impact she was making in the lives of others through her work and with her business Lust for Life, Christiana began conquering a new goal. Her intent has always been to inspire others to better themselves. Her approach however did evolve. Shifting from the darker art of her adolescent years she realized there was a brighter way to bring awareness to pain and suffering without having to allow herself and her art to be consumed with the negativity.

“In the last twenty years I have grown spiritually as a person. I started creating beautifully positive paintings in my early twenties and the reaction as I have been told is a sense of peace, love and grace,” said Christiana.

Photo Courtesy of Rick Horn

Photo Courtesy of Rick Horn

As with all of her milestones that have led her to dream of greater things, she has taken on the task of initiating her very own art movement titled Movism. Inspired by her continual evolution as an artist, Christiana came to classify Movism as:

Constantly moving forward with no end in a positive pay it forward way. A humanitarian movement for artist and people to create only positive art and gifts from the heart which will keep giving back, spreading the gift of love and helping to heal the human spirit and condition.

There are no boundaries in the medium of the created art other than it must be created deep within the creator’s positive core. The end result must affect someone in a positive way and if it is sold a portion of the money must go to help someone less fortunate. The creator of the art must keep the positive movement flowing forward in a philanthropic manner and the receiver of the gift must do the same.

“In my research, almost all if not all art movements have been about the art, which [to me is] more ego driven. Movism takes the ego out and puts the human condition in its place,” said Christiana. “I truly believe that when you follow your passion and your passion is to help others there is no way it can fail and my passion and gift happens to be art.”

If you’d like to find out more about Christiana, her art or how you can become part of the Movism movement please visit www.colorfulsouls.com.

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Connect with Christiana:

Website