Christina Thomas-Virnig (she/her/hers), is Director of DOVS Translational Research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (DOVS). Her watercolors, El Yunque-As I Remember It and El Yunque II – As I Remember It, were published in the Inaugural and Fall 2022 issues, respectively.
Question 1: What drew you to watercolor and what is your background in it?
Thomas-Virnig: I am mostly self-taught and have been creating 2D art since I can remember. I started with pencil, then oils and now mainly concentrate on watercolor. I enjoy all these techniques, but watercolor allows for a way to express myself quickly after a long day at work without a lot of prep time.
Question 2: What motivates you to create and what inspires your art?
Thomas-Virnig: I have always been fascinated by nature which also led to my career in science. That career in turn also inspired my art. I enjoy taking a step back from the microscopic natural world and admiring nature through art. I attempt to capture the natural world by emphasizing some of the key features of what I am drawing or painting with striking contrast and bright colors to hopefully engage and inspire the viewer.
Question 3: Do you have any favorite artists or art that have influenced you and who/what are they?
Thomas-Virnig: Definitely Georgia O’Keeffe. She depicted nature in a modern form using vibrant and distinct color combinations that I found fascinating. The fact that she was a woman artist was also inspirational. When I was younger, I had a very large poster of her work hanging in my bedroom that I would see every day. After moving to Wisconsin, I discovered that she was originally from this area. It is intriguing to think that she may have seen and experienced some of the same things I do every day living here.
Question 4: How do you balance your art with the rest of responsibilities in your life and does art help you in those other arenas of your life?
Thomas-Virnig: Art is my form of meditation. Art fits very well into my life and brings balance. As I mentioned before, I can come home from a long day at work and pick up a brush and work on a composition without much prep; essentially just filling a cup with water, having my paints at hand, and finding some paper. Even if I only have time to work on a project for 30 minutes it helps to alleviate the stress of the day.
Question 5: What is next for your art (anything you are working on now or planning to)?
Thomas-Virnig: I just completed a watercolor of a scene from northern Wisconsin, and it features the mouth of a river meeting Lake Superior. Water is so ephemeral and dynamic which is a challenge for me. I have been concentrating on more scenes with water as a focal point to facilitate my own growth and development as an artist.
Question 6: Do you have any advice for anyone curious or interested in getting into art who hasn’t before?
Thomas-Virnig: Don’t hesitate, just try it! The reason why I love art is because there is no “one” way. There is no right or wrong approach to generating art. If you create something that puts a smile on your face or others, then that is really what is truly meaningful.
Madison has a very active and supportive community of artists at all skill levels. Several associations in and around Madison organize public art shows at least once a year for their members if that is something of interest.