Biography

Explore the midway of Chris Houtchen's mind. Walk the Sawdust paths and meet the residents in this sideshow of shadows and dreams.

A world of darkness created with light . . .

"Images in dreams and nightmares have always fascinated me. My art captures a 'snapshot' of what I see in these visions and then allow the observer to imagine what the story around the image could be. I have found that painting with light is the best way for me to do this." Chris Houtchen

 Chris Houtchen was born in Owensboro, Kentucky and raised on a steady diet of The Munsters, Monty Python, and the films of David Lynch. He graduated college with a Theology degree and spent the next few years writing and public speaking.

This experience led to a career with The Walt Disney Company writing and facilitating educational programs and working with Imagineering on various projects. Often logos and graphics were required, so Chris would create designs. He also liked to visit the sets of films and television shows in production on the Disney soundstages to study how they were built and lit for the camera. He saw that computers were changing how artists and animators worked and discovered a new way to express his ideas. From this grew a passion for recreating dark places and surreal dreamscapes with pixels and light.

Many artists have inspired Chris. A few names include, Charles Addams, Salvador Dali, Edward Gorey, David Ho, Edward Hopper, David Lynch, Bert Monroy, and Mark Ryden.

Chris's art has been on public display and hangs on the walls of many collectors.

Now let the images speak to you.

Each has a story to tell.

There are wonders to be revealed

as you travel these corridors to destinations we see only at night

in our dreams . . .