Meet chris mouser | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with chris mouser and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi chris, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I spent the first 17 years of my life growing up in the Catskill Mountains of New York. I had parents who encouraged me to explore, and my friends and i would hike everywhere… up and down the Sawkill River and spent lots of time outside. Being outdoors so much enjoying nature and the wonder of discovering new things was, and is, an integral part of who i am. oh – and making things… i remember making furniture as a 10-year old – or learning scrimshaw and pysanky from neighbors as a pre-teen and teenager – just trying everything at least once…

even though i had to grow up and get a job – I have been imbued with a life-long love of the natural world and all of its creatures. I still marvel that, even with a taxing job, i can still get out and paint and draw and sketch everything i see that interests me… so, even if im stuck inside or behind a computer monitor in an office – i can still feel that creative spark and bring it into everything i do. (and it helps that every summer i get to refresh and recharge in the RMNP)

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My artwork/creations are heavily influenced by naturalism. Most of my work is focused on, or made from, elements in nature. From carving ostrich eggs and bone, to mounting beetles and butterflies, scrimshaw, and pen and ink or colored pencil drawings of ravens and other wildlife, I tryto make the viewer understand the beauty of not just the subject matter, but also the materials. Examples like a “Kabuto” (a samurai helmet) allowed for the manipulation of something as fragile as an egg shell to become the symbol of strength, honor, and valor. I also enjoy rendering in pen and ink/colored pencil with maybe a little too much attention to detail, and have an overly obvious fondness for ravens and crows.

The road to where i am now started in the mountains in New York, to graduating college in the midwest with a double major in studio arts and fine arts and a minor in computer science. Not having the confidence to go it alone into the world of art and galleries, or art restoration in Europe (that’s a whole other story) i ended up in graphic design, multimedia and game programming, audio and video etiting, and animation. After working for toy companies for 20 years, i finally had time to “return to MY nature”… and begin drawing and painting and sculpting, and building… pretty much an artist with a severe case of ADHD – but i love trying differetn things, experimenting… maybe a little “twisting of the mirror”

I came back to (fine?) art a little bit later in life (but better late than never?) and found that, in working with others, there’s a real camaraderie – pushing each other to greater heights of creativity and thought. Taking what i’d learned in the office work world and using some of the tools or techniques in an artistic way seems to give my work just a little something “more” than just a landscape painting or bird illustration.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
for checking out the natural world: the denver museum of nature and science and denver zoo for being out in nature: the rocky mountain national park and estes park,
For eating: maybe Buckhorn Exchange, and drinking at pints pub, or a visit to full throttle distillery in estes park…
and for the book nerd in me… a visit to the tatttered cover…

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
i’d thank my parents… and family… my wife and kids… the saint louis art community, and everyone who appreciates my sense of humor and all the goofy things i do.

Website: crowaugury.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrowAugury/