About Chris / gallery representation
Born 1950 in Pasadena, California, Chris grew up at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains and later the San Fernando Valley. She loved exploring open places on her horse and began painting and writing early. After studies at University of Oregon, UC Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara Community College, she became a fulltime artist in 1990. Mostly self-taught, her continuing art education is a lifelong pursuit of her plein air landscapes and native botanicals, working in pastels, watercolors, and oils.
Married in 1999, Chris and artist husband John Iwerks combined conservation and art living on the Gaviota Coast for 13 years. Together they made lasting contributions as the first preserve managers of Arroyo Hondo Preserve while teaching art classes at Santa Barbara Community College. Since 2013 they have lived and painted in the Santa Ynez Valley with the Central Coast and Eastern Sierra as enduring favorite subjects. Their artistic journey together is a growing gift.
Chris is a longtime member of the Oak Group, a Santa Barbara based group of preservation minded artists formed in 1986. Her work is featured in permanent installations and collections at Ventura County Art Museum, California Nature Art Museum in Solvang, CA, University of CA Santa Barbara Sedgwick Reserve, Carrizo Plain National Monument, Arroyo Hondo Preserve, Santa Barbara and Goleta Cottage Hospitals, Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, and Descanso Botanic Gardens. She is a Signature Member of several national pastel societies and Honorary Lifetime Member of Santa Barbara Art Association.
REPRESENTED BY: Waterhouse Gallery, La Arcada, 1114 State Street #9, Santa Barbara CA 93101 (805) 962-8885
“I’ve always had a creative nature inspired by the beauty of the earth and closeness with loved ones. Whether looking outward observing little miracles, miraculous wonders, interior reflections, learning and informing messages, I took the path of a painter, grateful for the encouragement of my mother, friends, and my dear husband.”
— Chris Chapman
