Chris Viau: April Artist of the Month

This April we celebrate Chris Viau as our agency artist of the month! His peer on the curating committee, Ted Gram-Boarini, had this to say when asked why Viau was selected, “He’s not just a good candidate, he’s a great candidate because he does great art. I’ve seen his art and there’s no one that deserves it better than him. He’s also talented because not only does he do art but he also does his own poetry books too.”

Chicago studio artist and curator track member, Tim Stone, interviewed Viau for this feature. Read on to learn more!

Stone: Okay, where do you live?

Viau: I live in Evanston.

Stone: Mhmm. How long have you been making art?

Viau: I love making art since school but I am artist for 10 years.

Stone: When did you start at Arts of Life?

Viau: 2011

Stone: What mediums do you use?

Viau: I am a chalk pastel artist. I also do watercolors. 

Stone: How long have you been doing watercolor?

Viau: Ten years.

Stone: Where do your ideas about your vision come from? 

Viau: The three most subjects I do are midwest landscapes, sunsets, and mountains.

Stone:  What gets you interested in making art each day? 

Viau: The beauty of nature and how nature always changing.

Stone: How do you go about working on your art? 

Viau: I do background first then I do details

Stone: What is your favorite piece, if you have any? 

Viau: Four Seasons: Spring

Stone: It looks like you like realistic painting and nature. Why do you like that?

Viau: I am inspired with nature when I can go outside. I do my art and write poems about nature. When I was younger I went to camp. That where I fell in love with nature. 

Stone: I like “A River at Sunset”. Where is it?

Viau: The piece based on river at camp.

Stone: Who is your favorite artist? 

Viau: Mmm hmmm [chuckles while typing] Hector Jones [a.k.a. Ardillio Anderson]

Stone: Ahh! What is your favorite food?

Viau: Hot dog

Stone: What is your favorite time of year?

Viau: Spring

Stone: What makes you happy? 

Viau: Friends at camp. 

Stone: Ahh. Thank you!