Eva Christensen
AQ is our series of hardcover catalogs celebrating extraordinary women artists. Available on Amazon. Visit the AQ Catalog Webpage to learn more.
Eva Christensen, featured in AQ Volume VI, is a watercolor artist from Hanwell, New Brunswick, who creates figurative paintings telling intimate stories of family life with her dogs. She is interested in capturing ephemeral moments of domestic life and Maritime landscapes and is influenced by narrative painters like Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper because of their ability to evoke emotion through ordinary scenes and their masterful use of light to transform the familiar into the profound. Over the last five years, her artistic vision has centered on creating a series called Stay that explores the intersection of Maritime landscapes, personal narrative, and the human-canine bond, finding that these narratives resonate deeply with viewers through our shared experiences of connection, loss, and the passage of time. Christensen has received recognition as an Elected Member of both the Society of Canadian Artists and Federation of Canadian Artists, and has exhibited at the Saint John Art Centre in Saint John (2025) and Charlotte Street Arts Centre in Fredericton (2022). Her work has appeared in Created Here Magazine and as cover art for The Fiddlehead literary journal. She plans to continue developing her Stay series while preparing for her upcoming solo exhibition at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre in summer 2026.
evachristensenart.com
What inspired you to become an artist, and how did you decide to commit to this path?
I can’t imagine not creating art; it is something I have always done and one of my earliest memories from childhood. I began painting with watercolor in 1992, when I was 11 years old. I had a big pause in my consistent artistic practice once I started university and then work, which was not art-related whatsoever. I returned to art seriously in 2019 when I relocated to New Brunswick, finding that painting helped me process the significant life changes of moving provinces and eventually losing my first dog, which gave my work a newfound focus and urgency.
Could you share the story or concept behind your recent work?
My Stay series of paintings explores the brief, precious time we share with our dogs, playing on the double meaning of “stay” — both as a command we (try to) teach them and our deeper wish for them to remain with us longer. The paintings capture everyday moments in locations around our home and travels, documenting the passage of time as dogs age, new puppies arrive, and others disappear, creating a visual chronicle of love, loss, and the continuity of life.
What role does experimentation and exploration play in your artistic practice?
While I maintain a consistent medium and subject matter, my experimentation happens in composition, lighting, and narrative structure, often drawing inspiration from art history to find fresh ways to tell familiar stories. I'm particularly interested in exploring how different qualities of Maritime light transform everyday scenes, and how the arrangement of figures within a space can convey complex emotions and narratives, without explicit explanation.
What message do you hope your art conveys to the world?
I want my work to remind viewers of the profound value in everyday moments that might otherwise pass unnoticed or unappreciated. Beyond the specific subject of the human-canine bond, my paintings speak to universal experiences of love, loss, and the bittersweet awareness of time's passage, inviting viewers to recognize the extraordinary within their own ordinary lives.
Share a mantra or favorite quote that keeps you going.
“Paint what you love” serves as both my creative compass and philosophical approach to life, reminding me to observe deeply and preserve moments of beauty and connection before they pass. This perspective has transformed my daily routines into opportunities for artistic discovery and gratitude, where even a simple dog walk becomes a structured chance to witness the extraordinary within the familiar.
