ABOUT
Feeling a kinship to de Kooning, much like the artist himself in his formative years, I resonate with his words: “I’m a very talented house painter and I get excited once in a while.”
A JOURNEY OF ARTISTRY AND INSPIRATION
Christopher Baird Acheson, affectionately referred to as “Ach,” entered the world in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1964. As of October 2023, he resides in Toronto, having spent the last 16 years living abroad in Shanghai, China, before returning home. Nurtured within an environment steeped in creativity, he grew up in an artistic haven. His father, John David Acheson, a draftsman of note, and his mother, Barbara Jean Acheson, an adept painter specializing in acrylic abstracts and batiks, collectively shaped his artistic trajectory. Christopher’s early years were a tapestry woven with the threads of Uganda and Tanzania, East Africa, where he resided from 1966 to 1972, enriching his formative journey.
MULTIFACETED
Chris Acheson’s expertise spans graphic design and pre-production commercial graphic house services, encompassing traditional photomechanical transfer (PMT) darkroom camerawork. During the mid-1980s, he honed his photography skills through advanced training at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, a foundation that propelled him into a realm of freelance photography ventures. His career trajectory saw him thriving in Vancouver throughout the 1990s, followed by a tenure as a proficient sign fabricator and installer in Toronto during the 2000s. Throughout the 2010s, his creative pursuits included immersive photography projects, notably encompassing coverage of the prestigious Shanghai International Film Festival. In 2021, Chris returned to his artistic roots, dedicating himself anew to his original passion for painting.
(Britney Spears at Grand Wailea, Maui, November 2010)
A FEW WORDS ABOUT HIS
RESURGENCE
During the 1990s, Acheson was an active commercial painter in Vancouver, Canada. In the summer of 1998, a pivotal moment arose when his mother, recognizing his dormant love for drawing, encouraged him to reignite his artistic passion. With her urging, he embarked on creating a painting within her art studio on Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada. This marked the genesis of his artistic journey, as this painting (below) paved the way for a succession of future works. Chris’s unwavering dedication to crafting and sharing his unique paintings continues to shine through.
