June 1, 2006

ARTIST IN ASHLAND: Kevin Christman is an Ashland-based sculptor and painter. He will show his work during the month of June at the new Gallery Élan in Jacksonville. You can also view his work online at www.KevinChristman.com. Submitted photo

A dream fulfilled

By Cindy Blankenship
for the Tidings

Kevin Christman, sculptor and painter, began his first art lessons at age 6 when he found his father’s stacks of mail order art lessons tucked away in the cedar chest.

While his father sketched and painted a bit at home, he worked at a manufacturing job like many other World War ll vets. Christman sensed that his father felt “cheated by life,” but upon following the advice of his high school counselor, he also pursued a practical career choice: working as an engineer for McDonald Douglas Aerospace in Pasadena, Calif.

But drafting blueprints didn’t fulfill his desire to create art. He painted as a hobby, and his art reflected what he noticed in the world around him, the darker sides of human achievement impacting the planet in negative ways.

He noticed that most of his colleagues were just working to retire so they could play golf. And when they did retire, they didn’t feel up to playing golf. Seeing a colleague die within two years of retirement was one of the many influences in Christman’s decision to take the plunge from a high-income career to zero income.

“You can’t live for the future. My motto is ‘Play golf now.’ I felt if I focus on art, and I’m good enough at it, I’ll never have to work a day in my life again — because art isn’t work for me.”

Christman studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and apprenticed with master artists in the Los Angeles area. He supplemented his apprenticeship income by working as a mold maker and enlarger for other artists bronze sculptures. His meticulous work earned him more than 600 commissions. He now only does molds for his own bronze.

While he received much of his artistic training during his six years in Los Angeles, (where he moved to from his Minnesota home at age 19), he found his artistic voice in Santa Fe.

In this Southwestern mecca of contemporary art, Christman’s sculptures attracted many collectors and commissions. Six years later he relocated to the more peaceful atmosphere of Ashland.

“Santa Fe was harsh, I was getting married, and our home was broken into by neighbors. While traveling through Ashland we saw a mother walking down Siskiyou Boulevard with her baby in a stroller — at 10:30 p.m. That pretty much did it for me.”

He also was drawn to Ashland’s appreciation of the arts, its “global community,” and the fact that he could live in such a cultural place with people from many diverse backgrounds and yet be in a “beautiful, rural setting.”

At the studio he shares with two other artists, Christman spends much time outdoors painting landscapes. His impressionistic depictions take note of the geometric patterns found everywhere, creating a poetic — science connection.

“I do a lot of outdoor painting. It’s really a dialogue with the landscape, almost like analyzing and listening. I used to use a lot mathematics, breaking up the space into the geometric patterns, and then painting over that so it wouldn’t show. Now I start with the organic. When painting a landscape I look for the synchronicity, find the geometric patterns and highlight them.”

His sculpture work includes an angel that will be featured at his June show at the new Gallery Élan in Jacksonville. The angel is different than most sculptures, Christman notes, in that instead of trying to tell the viewer something, “she’s listening, she’s very introspective.”

“I love the more quiet sculptures. I think we are bombarded by others’ opinions in Ashland where every car has five bumper stickers, and by the media, advertising. We need to listen more.”

Kevin Christman’s sculptures can be viewed at Gallery Élan, West Main Street, Jacksonville. Opening reception is from 5 to 8 p.m. June 1.

To visit Christman’s studio, call 840-1034 for an appointment. His work can also be viewed online at www.KevinChristman.com.