Painter and printmaker Christine Koch began her long and on-going association with Gros Morne National Park in 1998, when she was invited to be part of the pilot project of the Gros Morne Artist in Residence program. She subsequently established a home in Woody Point and in 2000 opened her summer studio to the public to showcase her work, effectively becoming the first fine art gallery in the area. She continues to live and work in Woody Point seasonally, and her work continues to explore Gros Morne Park, as well as the Torngat Mountains in Labrador, and Canada’s far North. Her paintings and original prints are shown and collected locally, nationally, and internationally. For a list of her exhibitions and of Collections which hold her work, please visit her website.
For Connecting through Culture, Christine Koch produced a sketchbook of new, digitally-created original drawings and paintings of Gros Morne National Park. These pieces, which encompass the multiplicity of elements and environments which make up the Park, have been shared (“exhibited”) online on her Facebook and Twitter social media channels.
Excerpts from Christine Koch’s Digital Sketchbook: Western Brook Pond with storm clouds (left) and Biking to Killdevil (right)
Working digitally was a new endeavor for the artist, making this project an intensive and challenging exploration of both media and technique.
In a year when travel and tourism were practically non-existent, pivoting to digital creation and virtual exhibition thereof allowed Christine to continue to share her work about Gros Morne with a wide audience. Working digitally and publishing the resulting work on online platforms has made her images of the Park visible and accessible to all, anywhere in the world, inclusive therefore not only of viewers already familiar with her work or the Park, but also those for whom these works might be an introduction to Gros Morne.
