"One of the ways that I believe people express their appreciation to the rest of humanity is to make something wonderful and put it out there." - Steve Jobs
Hello, my name is Chris Auman and I am, well, a lot of things…
I’m a son, brother, husband, father, musician, abstract artist, maker, writer, photographer, graphic designer, entrepreneur, marketer, dog lover, music lover, book lover, Star Wars fan, cook and foodie, explorer and an unrelenting busybody.
This website is dedicated to the “art” of all these things. It is an evolving multimedia experiment that will include painting, writing, photography, audio content and video.
If you’d like a window into the mind of someone who’s attempting to be all these things and more, then please come back and visit often.
Why do I do all this?
That’s a good question that I continually ask myself. I’ve thought deeply about this question and I’ve come up with two answers.
First, I do this for me. This is the best advice that I’ve received to this point about being a an artist of any kind. It isn’t just about creating for others. If your focus is on satisfying others your art will suffer. If you’re painting, writing, capturing an image or even cooking, I think you have to try to do it for yourself first. This is how you’ll create your best art. It won’t appeal to everyone, but I think that’s the lesson. Sometimes nobody will even see or experience your art because it’s only been created for you. I’ve learned to be “ok” with this idea. (Read more about this idea here.)
The next best answer that I’ve come up with is that I’d like to positively impact someone’s life. I’d like to leave the world a little better than it was before I was here, and I hope my creations here can do that in some small way.
Maybe my thoughts will give you a new idea to ponder. Maybe you’ll make a small change because you’re able to learn from my stupid mistakes. Maybe one of my paintings will end up hanging on your wall where it will have the potential to brighten your days. I can’t think of any better legacy than that.
But, beyond my ramblings, I’ve found no better way to say it than the quote below.
Quote:
“There’s lots of ways to be, as a person. And some people express their deep appreciation in different ways. But one of the ways that I believe people express their appreciation to the rest of humanity is to make something wonderful and put it out there.
And you never meet the people. You never shake their hands. You never hear their story or tell yours. But somehow, in the act of making something with a great deal of care and love, something’s transmitted there. And it’s a way of expressing to the rest of our species our deep appreciation.” ― Steve Jobs
About my paintings specifically
Art comes in many different forms. It can be written, seen, heard, felt, tasted, utilized or experienced.
Making and experiencing art can help you relax. It can inspire you. It can cause you to change your mind about things, or even change your life, or the world. But this is only scratching the surface of the tangible benefits that art returns in our culture.
For me, I like the idea that art is therapy. It’s therapy for the maker and the consumer. It can literally impact my life or someone else’s life every day and with immediacy.
So with all these ideas in mind, I paint abstract art.
As the artist, I enjoy the process of creating paintings that aren’t centered around the idea of meticulously recreating an image from life. For that, I have photography.
The paintings that I create are about capturing a feeling. It’s about visualizing something that can’t actually be seen.
I once heard an artist say “I paint the wind” and I like that idea. It’s about the challenge of capturing a feeling instead of the technical challenge of recreating an image from life.
My process for doing this is messy, and that’s the part that I like the most. Many times, what makes my paintings interesting to me are the things that happen randomly when layers are applied over and over, or when paint is splattered, dripped or sprayed over interesting textures. I’ve seen magic happen when I smear, scratch, layer and just engage with the canvas in a flow state. It’s about the things that appear by accident, the things that could never actually be painted that make it feel a certain way. Capturing this magic is the challenge, the goal, and the fun of it all.
The Sea
If I had to pick one thing that represents therapy for me in my life, it would be the ocean. At least once a year my family makes an effort to visit the sea and just reset our lives.
The problem is that I live in Ohio. So, my paintings have evolved to focus on creating a window into that feeling of being by the ocean, or on the beach, or with the sun and wind on my face. I am literally trying to paint the wind.
My hope is that with this idea in mind, I can help you feel the wind of the sea through my paintings as well.
— Chris Auman, 2024
