About Chris

I grew up at the edge of the empire, Goleta, California. I spent most of my days out wandering the fields and surfing at the beaches. I was never more happy than when I was outside enjoying nature. Never wanting to be a “starving artist”, I kept art in the background as a career choice. As a junior at UCSB I had epiphany that I didn’t care if I was starving, I wanted to become an artist. I decided then I would do some sort of art every day.

I got my degree in 1998, while focusing on oil painting. I left the University full of ideas and hope at becoming a great artist. Unfortunately I had to pay rent and all the abstract painter jobs were taken. I went into the brokerage industry, becoming a stockbroker, spending my days at a desk for 13 years. In that time I still kept up the promise to myself to do art everyday.

I’d set up my easel for my lunch hour on the streets of Santa Barbara. Then at the beaches on the weekends. As my craft refined more and more people started to buy my little plein air studies. I finally was able to quit my job in 2009, embarking on a project to do a painting a day and post it to my blog. Since then I’ve created over 3000 plein air paintings and lived a 1000 lives compared to those days in an office. I continue to paint and live in Santa Barbara with my wife and 2 kids. Learning from nature and capturing the beautiful moments of life before they’re gone for ever.