Christina Bates possesses a connection to nature that defines her artwork as well as her daily life, linking her creativity with her ongoing work in ecological restoration.
Bates is one of four artists whose works are being exhibited in Stewards, a multi-media show featuring paintings, ceramics, sculptures and drawings that focus on environmental stewardship in Indian River County.
The exhibition, which runs through October at the Raw Space gallery in downtown Vero Beach, also features artists Sean Sexton, Madeline Eberhard and Gabriela Hernandez, who curated the show, and will include workshops, guest speakers and special events.
Bates says Hernandez knew all the artists in the show and, aware of their affinity with nature and conservation, came up with the concept of incorporating that guardianship aspect into the exhibition.
A Florida native, Bates grew up in West Palm Beach, and it was there that she and husband Clay operated a family-owned native plant nursery. When the nursery needed room to expand, they made their way up the coast to a 20-acre property in Fort Pierce.
About 10 years ago, after handing the nursery back over to her husband’s father, the couple moved to Vero Beach and founded Environmental Services Unlimited, an environmental restoration company.
“We create natural areas for new construction, and we restore wetlands, preserves, native habitats and other areas that are overcome with exotics. We come in and we’ll clean them out and then we’ll replant and make these natural areas successful,” she explains.
Bates says she started working on her art more seriously about five years ago, after taking an abstract art class taught by Hernandez through the Vero Beach Art Club.
“I do have a graphic design degree that I did in school, but I quickly realized that I am not great at designing on the computer. I’m more of a hands-on person,” says Bates.
She feels that her work in land stewardship has deepened her appreciation of the natural world and has greatly shaped her artwork. Her paintings are generally abstract works, created using acrylics and ink on raw canvas.
“Raw canvas has been my new thing. It’s a canvas that’s had no priming or adjustment to it. It’s in a raw state and is just like a piece of material. It absorbs the paint much differently than if you were to buy a primed canvas. When you put paint on them, they really absorb it. It acts a lot like watercolor,” Bates explains.
“And one of the things that I really like about painting this way is you get different layered colors. You get like beautiful shifts and tones that are really hard to create on primed canvas. I really enjoy it. It almost gives you like an atmospheric effect,” she says.
“I think that it’s beautiful to look at. It feels alive when you’re looking at it, almost like it’s breathing. I really am attracted to that aspect.”
One such work in the show is “Horizon Song,” whose waves of layered colors suggest a roiling ocean in motion.
“When I look at it, I really feel that it stresses the need to be stewards and to care for our waters. I think that it’s a great representation, in my opinion, of how we need to protect water; keep it clean and filtered.”
Likewise, the soft tonal wash of blues and greens in “Where Water Lingers” are easily reflective of a waters’ edge. “Between Currents” is another ocean-inspired piece, albeit with an aspect many swimmers don’t usually appreciate.
“It kind of reminds me of a big jellyfish and again, preserving our oceans. I love the ocean. We always spend every summer in the Keys and spend many summers wading through all the jellyfish. So this painting is just another reflection on the ocean and how we need to preserve it,” Bates stresses.
“Marsh Light,” with its layered and complex shades of greens, evokes the murky feel of swamps and marshes while at the same time revealing their underlying beauty.
“We’ve done a lot of wetland work and those colors and the way it looks just feels very marshy to me,” she says.
Unlike the abstract style of her paintings, her ceramic sculptures are often clear representations of wildlife, reflecting her admiration of their beauty and need for their survival in our ever-changing world.
Bates’ only ceramic work in the show, “Shared Air,” is a grouping of three striking birds, each with a patina finish, and set to flight.
“I showed them to a few people, and they thought that they were bronze because of how they look, but they’re actually patinaed ceramic.”
Asked if she has a favorite medium, Bates demurs.
“It’s a tough one for me because I love painting and ceramics both. I really enjoy doing both of them a lot.”
Bates will share her love of ceramics teaching a Leaves of Stewardship workshop on Aug. 8 at Raw Space ($30 pp), where participants will create clay leaf impressions. The finished pieces will become part of a collaborative Gathered Leaves, Shared Voices installation.
She will also be part of an Artists Panel roundtable discussion with her fellow exhibitors there at 6:30 p.m. July 30.
Bates has participated in shows at the Vero Beach Museum of Art through the Vero Beach Art Club, at the A E. Backus Museum and other galleries, and occasionally holds pop-up markets for her functional ceramic works.
For more information about the exhibition, visit StewardsIRC.org.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
