About The Artist
Christopher Peterson’s inspiration comes from several sources. The first is from the subjects themselves. Using the traditional skills of drawing and painting, he can observe and express the emotion in any given subject. Technically, any subject can be a beautiful opportunity to use paint, color and value to express the multitude of effects that light, refection, shadow and cast shadow have on a subject.
His artistic inspiration comes from a tradition of American painting beginning with artists like N.C. and Andrew Wyeth, Charles Sheeler, Edward Hopper, John Singer Sargeant and Winslow Homer. His more contemporary influences are from artists such as Wayne Thiebaud, Chuck Close, Robert Cunningham, John Register and Richard Estes. He has always been fundamentally an illustrator though, and accordingly, has been influenced by such artists as Norman Rockwell, Milton Glaser, and James McMullan, but feels that it is important to be very discerning when choosing one’s artistic influences and prefers the traditional American realist painters.
He was born in New York City, and grew up in Westport, Connecticut. His father was a salesman, and his mother was a clothing designer.
He studied at the Art Institute of Boston, and then at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He began his career as an Illustrator in New York City in 1980, and immediately started working for The New York Times and Time magazine. He moved to the Bay area with his young family in 1984, and for 35 years was a steady fixture in the landscape of art and design, working in newspapers, advertising, exhibit design, teaching, and as a painter and illustrator.
Now he makes his home in Asheville, North Carolina, where the quality of life is good and artists can afford a home. He also plays a lot of tennis and will generally take any excuse to play.
Affiliations
• Member, Society of Illustrators, New York
• Member, American Society of Illustrators Partnership
• President Emeritus, San Francisco Society of Illustrators- member since 1995
• Member, US Air Force Art program
Awards
• Bronze medal, San Francisco Society of Illustrators 1994
• Bronze medal, San Francisco Society of Illustrators 1995
• Gold, Silver & Bronze medal, San Francisco Society of Illustrators 1996
• Honorable mention, Los Angeles Society of Illustrators, 1998
• Gold medal, San Francisco Society of Illustrators 1999
• Honorable mention, New York Society of Illustrators, 1999
• Gold, Bronze medal, San Francisco Society of Illustrators 2000
• Gold medal, San Francisco Society of Illustrators 2001
Selected Clients
Pepsi • Heineken • Duracell • Time Magazine • Newsweek • Live Nation • The New York Times • Lucille Packard Stanford Children’s Hospital • The San Francisco Chronicle • Mix Magazine • Readers Digest • Golf Digest • Nickelodeon • Consumer Reports • McGraw-Hill • Macy’s • Courvoisier • Watson-Guptil • Warner Brothers • Joe Boxer • Bozell • Goodby Silverstein & Partners • Info World • Travers Collins Partners • Krichoff/Wohlberg, Inc. • The Bark! Magazine • Foote, Cone Belding • Deutsch Advertising • Bill Graham Presents • Susquehanna Radio • Sutter Home Wines • Phish • The String Cheese Incident • High Sierra Music Festival • Bannaroo Music Festival • The Floating Company • Stufish • Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise • Monterey Bay Aquarium