About the Artist

Chris Miller was born in Carmel, California and grew up in southern California. The San Fernando Valley was in its late transition from agriculture to suburb, and pockets of abandoned orchards were interspersed with emergent residential subdivisions. Those orchards and the nearby Santa Monica Mountains afforded access to the natural world, an expansive back yard and, as with many children he was frequently absorbed in expressing experiences in crayon and colored pencil drawings, giving physical form to his imagination. He could also find inspiration and encouragement through his grandfather, Walt Disney.

This art pursuit accompanied Chris through high school and college (Fort Lewis College, CU Boulder, UC Santa Cruz), adventures in the film and bicycle industries, and has gained momentum over the past decade. After raising their two daughters in Telluride CO Chris and his wife, Catherine McNamee who is also an artist, moved back to California, this time to Napa Valley’s Soda Canyon where they have lived since 2012. Chris is the son of the late Ron and Diane Miller, founders of Silverado Vineyards.

The colors and textures of the places he has lived and visited are deeply rooted in his work. His paintings tend towards abstraction with moments reminiscent of wild landscapes and micro and macro observations of the natural world.