The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Popular artist Sheena says it’s right time to step back from her easel
RETIRING: Studio owner thanks public for support as she readies to call time on long and successful career
A much-loved Angus artist whose work hangs on walls across the county and beyond is stepping back from her easel after more than six decades.
Over the years Sheena Christie, 74, has had the privilege of painting for the late Andy Stewart, as well as having work accepted by the late Queen Mother.
She has completed thousands of pictures since picking up a brush at the age of nine, turning her talents to muchloved pets, harbour scenes and fishing boats, vintage cars and lorries, houses and castles, and images celebrating Arbroath’s heritage.
However, she has decided to take a step back and retire from Christie’s Studio in Lordburn, Arbroath, after 25 years.
“Now is the right time,” she said. “Depending on circumstances, I may be involved in art in my retirement.
“Over the years we have had many pleasant hours spent in the shop with clients and in presenting them with finished portraits, particularly of muchloved pets.
“We have enjoyed fantastic support from the Arbroath public, of which I am very grateful, and I thank them ever so much.”
Born in Luthermuir in 1945, the mum-of-two, who has one grandchild and one great-grandchild, used to work as a shop assistant.
One day she was caught doodling at her desk by her manager and realised she was in the wrong job. That was when she decided to go for broke and open her own shop in the town.
A highlight of Sheena’s career was working on a portrait of the late Queen Mother to replace an earlier painting, which had hung in Arbroath Infirmary since the 1960s.
The framed artwork, which bore the Queen Mother’s signature, was believed to be of considerable value but it was stolen in 1999.
Sheena offered to paint a portrait to replace it and was given special permission from Buckingham Palace.
The finished work still hangs in the hospital to this day.
Her artwork has also made its way around the world. On one holiday to Ibiza, Sheena even stumbled upon some of her own images of Arbroath hanging in a guesthouse.
She has been married to Bill Sim for the past 54 years and the shop has been a family affair.
Bill was the “lowly framer”, while son Steven, who has now taken over the shop, took care of the prints. Sheena will retire at the end of April. “I don’t think she will ever stop painting,” said Steven.
Find a job you love, the saying goes, and you will never work a day in your life. It’s a motto that has stood Sheena Christie in good stead over the decades as she has turned her passion for painting into a successful business, producing hundreds of portraits for generations of customers at her studio in Arbroath.
Now, aged 74, the artist, who counts Andy Stewart and the Queen Mother among her subjects, is laying down her brush and picking up her pension. Happy retirement Sheena, now you can enjoy painting for a pastime.