I always knew I was - and would to be - an artist.  Even at the age of six, it was a certainty to me and those around me.  There were a few detours along the way but I'm still here and an artist.

Welcome to my website, thanks for dropping in.  If we're just meeting,  I'm Christine Collie Rowland, a lifelong artist living near Toronto in Ontario, Canada.

My passion is painting narrative, storytelling art and also mixing that up with abstracts.

I don't do pretty landscapes or decorative still life paintings.  I just do the art that flows from somewhere within me and onto the canvas.

This website is a work-in-progress as is most of life, so check back or better yet sign up to get updates of new works and events!

My first large scale oil painting at twelve was a still life with flowers, a keepsake that hangs in my home library.  The psychedelic ceramic jewelry I made in my teens got me television interviews and magazine features. My days as a freelance rock’n’roll photographer had me hitting all the concerts with my Nikon equipment, rushing back to my downtown Toronto apartment’s makeshift darkroom to develop prints which ended up on album covers, band promos, and music publications including Rolling Stone.

I took a few temporary detours from fine art to design everything from websites to television animated program openings and news graphics to books, magazines, packaging, retail advertising, and even houses. But always continuing to paint in the background while making money from more commercial art related endeavors.

I’ve been told my art is a bit quirky, original, different and a little weird.  I can live with that.  I’m not sure where my creatures and stories come from; they reveal themselves as a painting progresses. Sometimes what comes out are portraits (sort of), narratives, abstracts or some combination.  I start with a blank canvas and no predetermined plan, and the journey from start to finish propels me to a creative zone lost in the moment. It is pure joy.

My paintings speak to me, I hope they do to you too. I’d love to hear your feedback. and If you’d like to get advance notice of new releases and shows, please signup to my brief monthly newsletter.

A wall of some photos from my rock'n'roll photographer days when I photographed Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, Doobie Brothers, Leon Redbone, Weather Report, Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, George Benson, Larry Coryell, Gordon Lightfoot, John Hammond, Frank Zappa, Johnny Winter, Ugly Ducklings, Ann Murray, John Hammond,  Captain Beefheart, Electric Light Orchestra, George Carlin, and more.