by April Sullivan
I chose Christopher Van Loan, Sr as our artist of the month, because he is an extremely talented painter that I think deserves way more recognition than he has received for his paintings. I met with him for an interview so I could learn more about his journey as an artist and share it with you. Immediately, I was surprised to learn that Chris started his creative journey as a musician, singing and playing guitar. So how did he get into visual art?
About ten years ago, Chris and his daughter decided to do a cover of the song “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds. Then, they heard about an art show coming up in Georgetown with the theme of “Little Boxes” based on the song. So he decided to enter some visual art into that show. He didn’t get in, but he was inspired to continue painting.
A few months later, he sold some pieces which encouraged him even more. His style developed into a technique he continues to this day which combines spray paint and acrylic painting in a style that is abstract, geometrical, and what I call Astral. His signature style always includes circles in some form on his work.
Zozo, a 16 x 20 painting by Christopher Van Loan, Sr
He paints in his backyard studio where he can make a mess and stay well ventilated. He rarely plans his work, beyond a specific color palette of choice. He lays his canvas flat on a rolling cart and rotates the cart to make his signature circles. He starts with acrylic, lets it dry, then adds spray paint.
One trick he uses is to take a photo of the art in its current state, then play around with a digital tool to try ideas for a second layer without ruining the original piece. Once he finds something he likes, he will add it to the original artwork. Sometimes, if he goes too far on a piece, he thinks, well it’s ruined. At that point, he says “I have to decide, do I stop wasting paint, or keep going and make it into something new?” He has realized this is an opportunity to go out on the edge, to experiment. It usually works out!
Sometimes he will leave a piece unfinished for several months before finding the right inspiration to finish it. At first, he thought that was a bad thing. Maybe he was losing inspiration if he stepped away from the canvas for too long. But he has learned to go with the flow and trust in the process. Something new always comes up.
As a veteran, Chris has met many veteran artists and has noticed how many use art as therapy, as an outlet to express themselves. As a disabled veteran, he too has found art to be therapeutic. Liking the camaraderie of being around other creative veterans, he started curating a few art shows for veterans, such as an exhibit at Jerry’s Artarama, and a new one coming up in Williamson County for Veterans Day 2025.
Chris stands in front of his painting Zozo at the Distinguished Veteran Art Exhibit at the Dougherty Arts Center
Chris says his biggest artistic accomplishments so far have included having his art on exhibit at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport, which was organized through Art Spark Texas and having his artwork used on the outside of a tiny home in a community for unhoused individuals in Boston, Massachusetts, which was organized through ArtLifting.
Chris stands in front of his art on display at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport
On the left, a view of the mural on the side wall of a white tiny home. On the right, a close up of the painting “Angel Guitar.”
Chris also does speaking engagements about AI and Art, encouraging specifically people of color and young people to not get left behind on technology and to not let AI be a scary unknown. His philosophy is that Photoshop didn’t kill photography, AutoTune didn’t kill music, and AI won’t kill art. These are tools that creative people can use. For example, he uses AI to help format his artist resume or statements for art applications. He has also used AI to blend some of his abstract pieces to give him new ideas. With AI, the possibilities are amazing.
I did not use AI to write this blog. But maybe next time I will give it a try.