Opening Reception: Saturday, May 20th 4pm - 7pm
Dune Pilgrimage
This collection of paintings, done in the Fall of 2023, is a display of visual gratitude for the wild dunes of Provincetown. Before moving to Vermont in the Winter of 2023, Christine hiked into the Dunes with painting supplies to portray the vastness of the miles of sand and the sense of being alone, yet not alone, sharing the land with other creatures who call it their home.
“It took me forty years to find the Dunes and another fifteen years before I began to paint them. It was a form of gratitude and saying “good-bye” that took me with my paint box to the Dunes in the Fall of 2022. I would be moving to Vermont over the winter and I needed to formally recognize, through a series of paintings, how the wilds of the Provincelands has nourished me over the four years I spent living on this salty, sandy spiral of land.
My challenge was to portray the vastness of the open miles of undulating sand with the infinite sea and sky beyond. Also, to convey the mysterious feeling of aloneness, yet not aloneness, that is experienced in that space. There are the footprints of coyotes and deer, humans and dogs, and the uncertainty of what lies around the next bend.
I am forever grateful to the winter wind in the pitch pines, the surprise of coyotes and foxes, the damp grey days and the brilliant sun, a briny mouthful of seawater and a crust of salt on my skin.”
Christine Niles received her BFA from The Swain School of Design. In recent years she has studied with Mary Giammarino, Laura Shabott, and Pete Hocking. Her work has been displayed at the former Kmoe Gallery in Provincetown and can now be seen on her website:
christineniles.art and Instagram @SeptemberLuna.
She lives in Shelburne, VT.About Christine
Christine Niles Fine Art