christine “tiny” irizarry Tinyirizarryart@gmail.com / IG @Tiny.irizarry.art / facebook.com/vinovingogh

IMAGINE growing up in a world where you felt like you were silenced, had no voice, and where your inner thoughts would not be valued. As a young child and into her school years, Tiny spent a lot of time worrying about things she could not control. “I was always in my head, thinking and overthinking. I suppose I was an introvert. I felt very uncomfortable communicating with people and talking aloud for a long time.”

Her early life was complicated. She was a premature baby, then adopted into a bi-racial family at a young age. The nickname of “Tiny” came about because people could hold her in one hand! In second grade, her class was given an assignment in the form of an art contest. “If you could give the world one gift, what would it be?” was the topic. From that point forward, she says, she wanted to show the world her art for the rest of her life. She won first place in that contest, illustrating grown-up concepts like equality, the end of oppression, peace and non-violence.

A devoted scribbler, Tiny’s first art as an adult came from “scribble drawing” experiments. She received encouragement from people who saw these drawings, and began to gain confidence in her innate abilities as an artist. She was able to enroll in art classes at Navarro College in Corsicana. Her confidence grew and she began painting as well as drawing. Still in her head, she painted anything that struck her as important. “I have internalized so many life events, memories, news stories and inspiration that
I constantly find myself being in a state of sorting ideas and deciding what to paint,” she says. The art viewer is important to her— she believes her drive to create meaningful art—the kind that gives the viewer pause—is how she fulfills herself creatively.

The variety of subjects and topics, techniques and styles of Tiny’s
art is impressive. She says what matters to her is decluttering her mind—she chooses one thought at a time and lays the images out, one at a time. She says abstracts, then, are not easy for her because she often feels rigid. “As of late,” she says, “I am consciously working on looser works, but without giving up complete control.” She recognizes artwork as a coping mechanism for all the stressors in her life. “But it’s also an absolute joy for me,” she says. Her goal is to be able to make art full-time. “I am whole while I get to create works of art,“ she says.

No stranger to success at this point in her career, Tiny is a frequent exhibitor in group and solo shows around Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton. Art collectors in the US, Canada, Singapore and Australia own her paintings. Her tour de force so far has been exhibiting in New York City’s Times Square for an event called The Diversity of NFTS.