Artist Bio
Christina “Chris” Ostenstad is a local artist from Port Moody, BC with family connections to Asker and Fredrikstad, Norway.
Chris grew up in an artistic home in Coquitlam. She was encouraged by her woodcarving father, John Ostenstad. She has shown a keen interest in photography, oil painting and Norwegian folk arts. Chris graduated from the Fine Arts Program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in 1987.
Chris has spent many years travelling throughout British Columbia and Norway. She enjoys photographing parts of her heritage and revisiting places where she had traveled before with her parents. Often returning to places more then once to recapture images of farms, houses and scenes in different lighting and seasons.
The focus has always been trying to keep the photography as natural as possible. This is not always easy in the digital age with all the tools available. Chris has created more drama in some of her photographs with high contrast and manual HDR processing.
In 2017, Chris’ photographic journey has brought her back to film photography. Working with Nikon F80 and Holga 120 cameras, she processes and prints 35mm and medium format film at home.
In 2018, Chris was bitten by the Triathlon bug, and took time away from her art to pursue a Half Iron man and start training for endurance swimming.
2019, she completed several Okanagan endurance swims and placed 3rd in the Penticton Peach Classic - Aqua bike division. Probably her most accomplished moment.
Chris is a current member of the Vancouver Spelmanslag. Also is a Shop ambassador for Caps's Bicycle Shop in Sapperton of
New Westminster & Port Moody.
Chris grew up in an artistic home in Coquitlam. She was encouraged by her woodcarving father, John Ostenstad. She has shown a keen interest in photography, oil painting and Norwegian folk arts. Chris graduated from the Fine Arts Program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in 1987.
Chris has spent many years travelling throughout British Columbia and Norway. She enjoys photographing parts of her heritage and revisiting places where she had traveled before with her parents. Often returning to places more then once to recapture images of farms, houses and scenes in different lighting and seasons.
The focus has always been trying to keep the photography as natural as possible. This is not always easy in the digital age with all the tools available. Chris has created more drama in some of her photographs with high contrast and manual HDR processing.
In 2017, Chris’ photographic journey has brought her back to film photography. Working with Nikon F80 and Holga 120 cameras, she processes and prints 35mm and medium format film at home.
In 2018, Chris was bitten by the Triathlon bug, and took time away from her art to pursue a Half Iron man and start training for endurance swimming.
2019, she completed several Okanagan endurance swims and placed 3rd in the Penticton Peach Classic - Aqua bike division. Probably her most accomplished moment.
Chris is a current member of the Vancouver Spelmanslag. Also is a Shop ambassador for Caps's Bicycle Shop in Sapperton of
New Westminster & Port Moody.