Chris Young

Chris Young is a renowned realist painter and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes casually called the Mormon or LDS Church. He served a two-year mission for the Church in Japan. He was part of the group of artists known as Frank's Boys, who painted the murals in the Nauvoo Temple under the direction of Frank Magleby.

Young was born on January 30, 1963. He developed a love for drawing at an early age with the motivation of his father. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1986 with a BFA degree and graduated summa cum laude. He resides in Orem, Utah, with his wife and four children.

Young's detailed and realistic depictions take "still life" to the farthest reaches of the imagination, due to the unique subject matter he chooses to paint. His "highly detailed, impeccably crafted paintings create a calm, meditative feeling based on order and subtlety."[1] He lists as his influences, the Spanish technique "Bodegon," or still-life painting. Artists Cotan and Zurbaran impressed him with their "elegantly ordered compositions and the way they painted ordinary objects in a mystical, transcendental manner." Young has also been influenced by the simplicity of Japanese art.

Says fantasy artist James C. Christensen: "His art allows me to see the ordinary in an extraordinary way."[2] Young's ultra-realistic paintings are actually abstractions created with an exquisite combination of light, detail and color which compel the viewer to look at the artist’s paintings again and again to consider the beauty of simple objects.[3] Young's paintings are sold through leading galleries in the West.