Christine’s paintings are about the human experience: relationships, emotions and introspection. She strives to evoke the feelings of empathy, hope, serenity and comfort through her work. Her paintings have a commanding presence, yet are quiet and exude a sense of intimacy. To be in a room with one of her paintings is like being in the presence of a close friend. Christine often paints children from different cultures, for children experience the same thoughts, fears, hopes and aspirations as adults, but they do not have emotional masks to hide behind. She paints from different cultures to highlight our inner similarities and because she is enthralled with the diverse ornamentation and design found throughout all lands. She feels that cultural decoration adds richness and beauty to life, especially when harmonized with the native landscape. Christine Lytwynczuk was born in Tucson, AZ in 1974. She spent most of her formative years, and as much time as possible now, in the Sonoran Desert. Her love of the desert and nature is revealed in many of her paintings. For twelve years she attended an open-classroom school where she had unlimited access to art materials. During high school she spent a summer in France under the direction of Parsons School of Art and Design: painting, drawing and exploring the crumbling chateaus, caves, streets, museums and cathedrals. She graduated Cum Laude as a painting major from the Maryland Institute, College of Art in 1997. Since then, she has regularly painted custom art works, commissioned portraits, taught art classes to both adults and children in her studio and taught art to students ages 3 through 18 for six years at Kino Learning Center, the same school she attended as a child.