THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9506290256
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 34 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Ain't no post-parenting blues happening at the Haltigan home in Kill Devil Hills these days.
The fledglings have left the nest, and after 21 years of motherhood, watercolorist Chris Haltigan is happy to have more time to dedicate to her art.
``I've been waiting for that day for a long time. I mean in a good way,'' the soft-spoken woman said of her two sons' independence. ``I was very patient while they were here.''
While Haltigan has always been involved with creative projects, she didn't begin painting until she was in her 30s. But as she said, ``There was always that whisper there that it was something I had to do.''
That whisper was present when Haltigan went through Radford University; as she taught early childhood education, home economics and science in Virginia schools for 11 years; and as she raised her boys and worked with her husband in their family business.
``One day I said, `It's time to paint. I've waited long enough. I might as well find out if I can do it,''' she said.
After more than a decade of painting, done in between all those other duties, Haltigan managed to become an accomplished watercolorist. She's primarily self-taught but has studied under several artists, including Virginia watercolorist Ralph Smith.
There was never any question that Haltigan would work solely in watercolor. She set out determined to master the difficult medium right from the start.
It's the unbridled quality of the medium that attracts her, along with the depth. ``I love the radiance and the luminosity of watercolors,'' said Haltigan, who has won some major awards in her field.
She recently captured second place in the prestigious Watercolor of North Carolina Society show and took the ``best in show'' award at the Edenton Bay Art Days. Haltigan also won an excellence award at the annual Frank Stick Art Show in Nags Head this year.
Haltigan is inspired by nature. ``I love to be outdoors. I love to garden,'' said the master gardener.
Haltigan concentrates on nature in her paintings and especially appreciates the marsh.
She breaks down the landscape into shapes and applies her paint in an impressionistic fashion.
``With impressionism you can see the artist, you can feel how they felt about it,'' Haltigan said. ``I like to do a watercolor in a sitting. I don't like to go back, whether it takes me an hour or five hours. The feeling may be gone later.''
On occasion, though, Haltigan will go back and rework an entire piece to achieve a different effect.
``When I do that, I lose what some people call the freshness of watercolor,'' she said. ``You lose the white paper, but you pick up other qualities. And accidents happen, wonderful accidents. You learn to use them to your advantage, which is nice. I guess that's one of the special things about watercolor.
``I like surprises in my painting.''
Haltigan is a master at applying paint. She works with the flowing medium to achieve layers that shimmer on top of one another. What might appear as a gray shape at first glance is really a rich combination of multiple hues that work in a strangely harmonious fashion without creating a muddy feel.
``I hate to paint from photographs,'' said Haltigan, who finds them stiff and unfeeling. ``I use them to trigger my memory, but I won't paint from it.''
Haltigan's brush has immortalized Bodie Island trees, Beaufort, S.C., street scenes, Outer Banks seasides, the subtle marsh of the barrier islands and fruit and flowers. She paints with passion, bringing to the viewer a street scene where one can almost smell the passing rain or feel the afternoon sun.
Her beach scenes don't just replicate a dune line or a sandy beach; they have viewers tasting the salt in the air or feeling the wind in their hair.
Subtle shadows separate changing and fluid light that Haltigan creates by guiding the water-soaked colors. She looks forward to learning watercolor portraiture.
``I think portraits done in watercolor are just beautiful,'' said Haltigan.
``And someday if I have grandchildren I'd like to be able to paint them.
``It's wonderful to paint. I can't think of a more wonderful place to live and have water surrounding - that and the marsh, always changing, always different,'' Haltigan said.
``Mauves of the marsh in the fall, the grays and mauves and purples. I can't think of anything more beautiful.'' by CNB