Chris’ Biography
I was born and raised in West Texas, and although I grew up in a broken home, I was blessed with a family who supported my talent and interest in art and explained that it was a gift from God. While small and attending church I would squirm as all children do, and my mother would take an invitation from the back of a pew and dig out a pencil and tell me to draw. I joke that had she not done that I might have become a better Christian, but I believe I am doing what God wanted me to do with this gift. As I became older, I became more and more appreciative to God for the chance to use his gift in a way that he would want me to utilize it. I felt that in all aspects of life, the gift was more than producing art, but also in how I should interact with others regardless of other measures of success. Recently I became painting spirit based themes, but always with the fear and dilemma of trying to produce a work that would in my small way thank God for the opportunity.
I attended public schools in Lubbock, Texas, and attended Texas Tech University before and after I served in the Air Force. While attending Texas Tech University I was introduced to many fine and outstanding artist of different regions and experiences. I studied in El Paso with Roseanne Orndorff, and Ann Stewart and Jack Hill of Amarillo, and workshops with Ramón Kelly, Jack Sorenson, and Ron Chapman.
Art can be like the bio, in that, each of us interprets what we see based on our past experiences, you can definitely feel what the artist is trying to say with some work, but it just comes down to our own feeling about a piece. After all, as an artist’s, through our work, we are trying to make a connection with another people. Hopefully, we never stop trying to make that connection.