Christopher Sullivan (#11)

Painting is the avenue to voice my story by reaching others, who, like me, may be searching for an unspoken feeling and beauty of their own. The human experience influences me to express the feelings, thoughts and images I wish to communicate … -Chris Sullivan.

To me, art is so much more than something you hang behind the sofa. It’s something you feel, have attachment to, affection for, something that moves you–and having it in your home helps you to know that you are not alone. When I’m creating, I’m almost always working through something that I don’t entirely understand yet. The act of creation helps me process my own emotions, and hopefully, in the end, helps someone else. My goal is to lift people up by stimulating their own healing, comforting them and bringing growth and acceptance. When I sit down to paint, I’m building a story, and this is reflected in my technique. I underpaint all of my canvases in black and build backward, allowing the intensity of colors (and the emotions behind them) to emerge and illuminate. Each piece begins with several layers of texture, the building blocks of my vocabulary, color and depth