Chris Young

Title of Painting: LAST LIGHT

Media Type: Oil on panel

Dimensions of Painting: 16"x36"

Artist Statement: 

The painting “Leaving the Handcarts” was inspired by the poignant moment when the Saints bid a bittersweet farewell to their handcarts and head down through South Pass on their way to the Salt Lake Valley.  Memories of heartache and loss were not as easily discarded as the Saints tried to look forward to a new beginning in a new land, and forget the tribulations that had suddenly stormed their lives.  I added the winter birds as a symbol of their faith and hope that would elevate their spirits above the recent tragedy of Martin’s Cove.

Artist Biography: 

Christopher Young was born in 1963 and raised in Utah where he developed an early love for drawing in the outdoors.  He completed a BFA from Brigham Young University in 1986. He currently works in his Orem, Utah studio and is supported by his wife and four children.  His paintings and prints are highly sought after and he shows in galleries and museums across the nation.

 Young’s fascination with seemingly ordinary objects – their configuration, function, and design – has prompted his sensitive, highly detailed paintings.  A trip to his studio might reveal bird’s nests, exotic insects, dried flowers, or other natural objects, which he arranges for drawings, watercolors, etchings and oil paintings.  By concentrating on the subtle, he invites the viewer to reflect on the simplicity and natural order of the world.