Award winning artist, Ingrid Christensen, was born and raised in the small town of Golden, BC in Canada. She studied art and English at UBC in Vancouver and received an Education degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. For a time, she taught in the public school system. But art was always Ingrid’s primary passion, and she eventually quit teaching in order to pursue it wholeheartedly.

After studying silversmithing in Thailand and jewelry and ceramics in Canada, Ingrid settled on painting when she discovered that it was all that she had been looking for. She is largely self taught though workshops with artists Zhaoming Wu and Ignat Ignatov whom were key in launching her work to new levels.

Ingrid is inspired by the complex rendering of light by both the French and Russian Impressionists and by the bravura brushwork of painters such as Zorn, Sorolla, and Sargent. Her favourite subjects are figures and still life, with a special interest in images of figures in water. Ingrid’s bold and colourful paintings have won honours and awards in both national and international exhibitions.

Ingrid teaches oil painting at the Calgary School of Art in Calgary, Alberta and regular workshops in Canada and Mexico. She is a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, the Alberta Society of Artists, and Oil Painters of America. Her paintings are held in the offices of the Alberta Pharmacy Association, who commissioned her to create their Centennial artwork, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and in private collections in Canada, the southern United States, Mexico and Scandinavia.

EDUCATION
2013 – Painting the Alla Prima Portrait with Ignat Ignatov, Scottsdale, Arizona
2010 -Painting from Life workshop with Zhaoming Wu, Edmonton, Alberta
2006 – Watercolour workshops with Brent Laycock, Tim Packer, Brian Atyeo, Ray Cattell, Tony Batten, and Lori Lukasewich, Calgary, Albert
1995-96 – Studied glassblowing, ceramics and metalsmithing at Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta
1994 – Studied silversmithing from local artisans, Chiang Mai, Thailand
1987-88 – Bachelor of Education, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
1982-85 – Bachelor of Arts,and English, University of British Columbia,Vancouver, BC

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXHIBITIONS & AWARDS
Nov. 2012 – “Autumn in the Okanagan” group exhibition, Tutt Art Galleries, Kelowna, BC
April 2012 – Honourable Mention “FCA Classic” national exhibition, FCA COC Kelowna, BC
Nov. 2011 – “Small Gems” group exhibition, Rendezvous Gallery, Vancouver, BC
June 2011 – “Peaks of the Canadian Rockies” ASA travelling exhibition, AB
April 2011 – Award of Excellence “TNSC Artist’s Choice” juried national FCA exhibition, Kamloops, BC
Aug.201o –  Awarded Centennial Art Commission for Alberta Pharmacy Association Edmonton, AB
Oct. 2010 – Gold Medal Winner “Art Visions 2010”, juried national FCA Exhibition, Kelowna , BC
Sept. 2010 – “New Arrivals” group exhibition, Collector’s Gallery, Calgary, AB
April 2010 – “New Members Work”, ASA Exhibition,Calgary, AB.
Oct. 2009 – Gold Medal Winner, Art Vision 2009, hurried National FCAExhibition, Kelowna, BC
June 2009 – Symposium Internationale Jean-Paul Lapointe, Chicoutimi, QC – Winner of Prix Chapeau (Artists’ Choice)
Aug. 2008 – First Place “Journeys into Art”, Leighton Art Centre, Calgary, AB
April 2007 – Juror’s Choice FCA Calgary Chapter, Calgary, AB
March 2007  – Juror’s Choice “Human Figure”, Federation Gallery Vancouver, BC
Nov. 2006 – Two paintings selected Juror’s Choice, Calgary Chapter, Calgary, AB

EXPERIENCE
2009 – present – CALGARY SCHOOL OF ART, Calgary, Alberta – Oil painting instructor
2005 – present – IC ART STUDIOS, Calgary, Alberta
Active member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and Alberta Society of Artists

COLLECTIONS
Alberta Pharmacy Association head office, Edmonton, AB, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, private collections in western Canada, southern USA, Mexico, and Norway.