Artist Christopher Evans & SY Chumash Museum’s 1st Anniversary

Hello Loves! 

On Friday, May 15, I had the pleasure of meeting realism painter and documentary artist Christopher Leith Evans, whose works are on display at the Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center. The event celebrated the 1^st Anniversary of the Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center, and the exhibit, Between the Three Worlds: Ceremony and Community in the Paintings of Christopher Evans.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by Michael Traphagen, communications director for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. We caught up and he graciously gifted me  the glossy art catalogue of Evans’ art on display. As I went to get a hot tea and find a spot up front at the Heritage House event hall for the talk, I found myself seated in front of none other than Evans himself! He was conversing with his fellow UCLA art school friend of 50 years, artist Emmanuel [Manny] Cosentino. I properly introduced myself and of course… New Yorkers! As more guests arrived, Evans moved to the stage area to get ready.

The anniversary event included a reception and formal program with Evans going through each work via slide show, to discuss the background on his paintings and insight on how he rendered them with traditional oil methods and “special effects.” There was a brief time for audience questions, and for photo ops and autographs with Evans.

Opening remarks were by Museum Board Chair Kathleen Marshall. She thanked the board, museum members, staff, and volunteers for their work. She talked about the museum’s past year which saw 35,000 visitors, and this year’s new feature, a multi-lingual audio tour.

Marshall introduced James Bier, the museum director, who talked about Evans’ career and the exhibit. In sum, Evans (b.1954 Bremerton, WA) grew up in Bay Shore, New York, and holds a MFA and BFA from UCLA, with Honorary PhD from the Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA. Evans worked for George Lucas at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) doing special effects matte paintings by hand on glass and boards, and later on computer. Films include E.T., Return of the Jedi, Star Trek II, III, and IV, and Titanic. He also worked for Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and on assignment by National Geographic to create historic works for its magazine. 

Evans was contacted by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to create a series of paintings depicting historic Chumash sites, traditions, and spirituality. 

Throughout his presentation, Evans restated that each of his paintings for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians was approved by them for accuracy and historical reference and were mostly done in stages. The time frame, from the historical research phase to the final paintings was 16 years. The works were done in three stages, starting with landscapes, next dancers, and finally the spirit worlds. He explained that his gift of painting with realism and historical accuracy is based in his work for National Geographic, ILM, and his studies at UCLA. Take note; Evans shared how to paint star fields on a dark blue background from his experience in film work. He said, “You take a toothbrush, dip it in the white toned paint color for the stars, hold the brush and spray the paint by flicking the bristles with your finger while at the same time going across the canvas where you want the stars.” He also demo’d it with a “sound effect” (ha)! He then would select certain stars to enhance by making a four-pointed cross from the center of the paint dot. For the figurative works, he studied anatomy of the human body, took photos and videos of men dancing, and used actual models from the indigenous community. Other tips concerned his technique on paintings that feature a dancer near a fire pit, and his ability to cast the fire’s luminescence on the dancer’s clothes and decorative headpieces. He said it was important to paint the direction of the dancers’ gaze upon the fire as they were communing with nature as a seer’s spirit. 

The lecture was an in-depth discussion of the 13 paintings, large scale oils on board finished with varnish developed by the conservator of the National Gallery of Art. After the talk, I went through the exhibit and circled back to the Heritage Room to chat with Evans, while other visited the museum gift store to purchase licensed works in various sizes replicating Evans’ paintings for him to sign.

It is worth the ride from Montecito, take the day to enjoy the museum, art and history, and visit SYV! 

Till next week! Xx JAC  

411: www.sychumashmuseum.org