SPIRES of HALIFAX: 2001-2003

What started as a decision of necessity turned into an informative period. The categorization of this as a Project acknowledges the importance of this time in the development of the artist.

After a prolonged time in Italy (Calabria & Tuscany) Christopher returned to Canada to begin his career as a painter. After taking a number of commissions that helped with his name recognition, he was still left to find create ways of making a living. Recalling his time in Florence, he decided to attempt the vocation of a ‘street artist’ on the waterfront of downtown Halifax. He found a very quiet place at the far end of the boardwalk where the historic Bluenose II once used as a dock. He gave himself a time limit of 4 weeks and within that time he had a budget outlining what had to happen in order to help maintain his art practice.

As Christopher quietly worked on new, smaller paintings, he had hundreds of conversations every day. People collected his work and it afforded him the ability to work on new and original works. His 4 weeks turned into 3 Summers.

After the third Summer, Christopher stopped. He committed himself to creating only original works. He committed himself to helping others commit to what they were passionate about. He committed to the evolution of his art practice.