Christine Awad Schmalz, well-known artist and instructor, has been actively painting almost her entire life. Her colorful works are familiar in local galleries and fine dining establishments. Specializing in large format paintings of mixed media and acrylic on canvas, her art extends to scuplture, oils, pastels, watercolor, printmaking and some pencil and pen.
Ms. Schmalz received her formal art education from the prestigious New York School of Visual Arts in New York City. She also studied at the highly respected Atlanta College of Art in Atlanta, Georgia.
Ms. Schmalzs' art career encompasses hand- painted original women and children's clothing design as well as prop creation and illustration work for PBS Television's 'Barney and Friends.' Her paintings have been exhibited in solo exhibitions in the prestigious Montserrat Gallery (Soho) in New York City and the famed LA Artists Gallery in Los Angeles. Exhibitions include the Nepthene Gallery, 500X Gallery and Dallas Visual Art Gallery in Texas and The Point Art Gallery and Marco Polo Gallery in Mukilteo, Washington. Her work has been lauded in a variety of local and regional competitions, including the Plano Art Association, Richardson Civic Art Society Show, and the North Texas Art Competition.
According to Ms. Schmalz, "I am originally from the rural south and had to overcome an upbringing in
an area with a huge deficit of fine art instruction in the public schools. Endless hours were spent in frustrating attempts to problem solve the ever popular question: "What is wrong with this picture?"
The Art Workshop Inc. is dedicated to maximizing the artistic development of each student in an enjoyable, supportive setting. The program has been successfully implemented in over 35 public elementary schools in two states.
