Chris Dyer (born March 3, 1979) is a Peruvian–Canadian artist based in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Some of his broader artistic themes include

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

, truth, oneness,

introspection Introspection is the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one's mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one's s ...

personal development Personal development or self-improvement consists of activities that develops a person's capabilities and potential, enhance quality of life, and facilitate the realization of dreams and aspirations. Personal development may take place over the ...

and kindness. He paints using

acrylic Acrylic may refer to: Chemicals and materials * Acrylic acid, the simplest acrylic compound * Acrylate polymer, a group of polymers (plastics) noted for transparency and elasticity * Acrylic resin, a group of related thermoplastic or thermosettin ...

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of ...

pen PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

spray paint Spray paint (formally aerosol paint) is paint that comes in a sealed, pressurized can and is released in an aerosol spray when a valve button is depressed. The propellant is what the container of pressurized gas is called. When the pressure hol ...

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouach ...

and other media on a variety of different forms, including broken or blank skateboards in his early years, various sculptured and recycled items, and now commonly fabric or wood

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

. He is also known for his

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released album, studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to: * the printed paperboard covers typically used to package: ** sets of a ...

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

s, travel diaries, and

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

adventure

vlog A vlog (), also known as a video blog or video log, is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one ta ...

s. Dyer was the art director and brand manager of Creation Skateboards/Satori Movement for three and a half years, creating designs for skateboard decks. He teaches art workshops and classes on technique,

spray painting Spray painting is a painting technique in which a device sprays coating material (paint, ink, varnish, etc.) through the air onto a surface. The most common types employ compressed gas—usually air compressor, air—to atomize and direct the pa ...

, traditional medicinal healing, and the business of art, as well as offering an online class. His clothing and art brand Positive Creations features his artwork.

Life

Born in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada, Dyer moved to

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

at age 4. Dyer started skateboarding at 8 years old, and later started to surf at 12. By 14 years old he joined a soccer fan based street gang called "SepUlcro", who were fans of the

Universitario de Deportes Club Universitario de Deportes is a Peruvian sports club based in Lima, which has Association football, soccer as its main activity. It also has women's football, volleyball and basketball sections. The football team, popularly known as Universi ...

. Dyer' parents sent him to Canada to study in 1996, at age 17. He lived in Ottawa with his grandmother, where he attended Heritage College and

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and during those years he was a heavy drinker and was very self-destructive. He moved to

in 2000 to study Illustration at

Dawson College Dawson College is an English-language public college in Westmount and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately of green space. It is the largest CEGEP in the p ...

. In the summer of 2001 he went tree planting, which directed Dyer towards a pursuit of a much more spiritual path. Later in life Dyer studied under (and later taught alongside) visionary masters, including

Alex Grey Alex Grey (born November 29, 1953) is an American visual artist, author, teacher, and Vajrayana practitioner known for creating spiritual and psychedelic artwork such as his 21-painting ''Sacred Mirrors'' series. He works in multiple forms includi ...

, Robert Venosa, Martina Hoffman, Laurence Caruana, A. Andrew Gonzales, Maura Holden, and Amanda Sage. Traveling is a big part of Dyer' explorative lifestyle, having visited over 40 countries to paint street murals, live paint at festivals, and produce gallery shows. One of the countries where he had a solo exhibition was Belgium, where he met Valerie Lambert, whom he married in 2010, but then divorced in 2016.

Art career

Dyer started his freelance art career locally, by doing art exhibitions in Montreal. It did not take too long until his work started getting featured in magazines like ''

Thrasher Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera. These do not form a clade but are a phe ...

'' and ''

High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...

''. This exposure got him further commercial commissions, along solo exhibitions in places like

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, Belgium and all across the United States and Canada. To this point, he has exhibited at galleries around the world, including

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, Spain, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, New York City,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

and Los Angeles. He has shown with renowned artists such as

Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989, he designed the " Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker campa ...

, Robert Venosa,

H.R. Giger Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss people, Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as "biomechanical art, biomechanical". He was part of th ...

, and Romio Shrestha. He has also worked with skateboard art legends like Jim Phillips, Wes Humpston, and Andy Howell. Other than exhibiting he also travels to live paint at events and big music festivals like

Burning Man Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the Western United States. The event's name comes from its ceremony on the penultimate night of the event: the ...

(Nevada),

Shambhala Shambhala (, ),Śambhala m. (also written Sambhala): Name of a town (situated between the Rathaprā and Ganges, and identified by some with Sambhal in Moradabad; the town or district of Śambhala is fabled to be the place where Kalki, the last ...

(British Columbia), and Boom (Portugal). Dyer launched his own brand, Positive Creations, in 2003, and offers a wide variety of products such as clothing, tapestries, books, backpacks, watches, DVDs, etc. In 2008, he filmed and co-directed a full feature documentary of his life with Dreamtime Cinema. ''Positive Creations'' was released as DVD in 2010 and for free on his YouTube channel. In 2011, Schiffer Publications released a 256-page, hardcover book, of his art. Following that was a

coloring book A coloring book (British English: colouring-in book, colouring book, or colouring page) is a type of book containing line art to which people are intended to add color using crayons, colored pencils, marker pens, paint or other artistic media. ...

for adults that was published by

Last Gasp (The) Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) Last Gasp is a San Francisco–based book publisher with a lowbrow art and counterculture focus. Owned and operated by Ron Turner, for most of its existence Last Gasp was a publisher, dis ...

in 2016. In the late 2010s, he started offering painting workshops at local high schools in Montreal. This led to offering workshops for artists in places like Italy, Bali, India, Thailand, and Australia. He now offers them at institutions such as the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square Mile stretch of Sherbrooke Street west. The MMFA ...

, the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

, The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors and The Vienna Academy of Visionary Art. Starting in 2017, he created an art workshop combined with healing shamanic ceremonies, at Katari Center, in the jungle near Tarapoto, Peru. Dyer has painted murals in notable places such as the

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

Mausoleum and Museum in

Nine Mile, Jamaica Nine Mile ( or ) is a district in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, a few miles south of Brown's Town. The population was about 300 in 2009. On February 6, 1945, reggae musician Bob Marley was born in Nine Mile, and he was later buried there. The house ...

as well as the Beatles Ashram in

Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...

, India. He has created artwork for CD album covers or concert posters for musicians such as Ott,

String Cheese Incident The String Cheese Incident (SCI) is an American jam band from Crested Butte and Telluride, Colorado, formed in 1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang (acoustic/electric mandolin, electric guitar, and violin), Michael Travis (drums and percu ...

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

, 12th Planet,

The Gaslamp Killer William Benjamin Bensussen (born November 7, 1982), better known by his stage name The Gaslamp Killer, is an American alternative hip hop producer and DJ based in Los Angeles, California. Career He grew up in San Diego, California, where he beca ...

, and more. Additionally, he has live-painted for musical artists such as

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

, Tipper,

Immortal Technique Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), known artistically as Immortal Technique, is an American rapper, activist and songwriter. His lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as politics, religion, institutional racism, and govern ...

Nahko Bear Nahko and Medicine for the People is an American world music group headed by Nahko Bear. As of , they have released five studio albums. Background Nahko Bear was born in Portland, Oregon. Nahko is short for ''Nahkohe-ese'', "little bear" in th ...

Cut Chemist Lucas MacFadden (born October 4, 1972), better known as Cut Chemist, is an American DJ and record producer. He is a former member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He has collaborated with DJ Shadow on a number of projects. Early life Cut Chemist gr ...

and many others.

Skate art

Dyer started skateboarding on Christmas of 1986 and still does today. It was in the year 2000 when he started doing his paintings on broken skateboards he had ridden and collected over the years. His recycled skate paintings introduced his work to skateboarders around the world, mostly via skate magazines articles. In 2004, he started creating skate graphics for Creation Skateboards, from San Francisco, who had him over in California for many years. By 2011 Dyer he had become the company's Art Director and Brand Manager, as which he created catalogs and directed the skate video "Soul Harmonics". Dyer continues to freelance for a number of different skate brands, such as Santa Cruz, Deathwish, Think, Skull, and more and by now has done over 100 commercial skateboard graphics. By the end of the 2010s, Dyer was doing less fine-art skateboard deck paintings, and had moved into whole installations (like his "Skatebot Army") structured from reclaimed skateboards.

Street art

Chris Dyer in front of Art Basel Miami Mural 2018

Dyer's first interaction with aerosols was in 1993, when he would tag many walls of Lima, Peru, publicizing the name of the Sepulcro Crema

street gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

he belonged to. Dyer's younger brother Patrick (a.k.a. Peru 143) later started doing graffiti, so Chris stayed away from that medium for many years, as to avoid brotherly competition. It was later in 2007, when the brothers became roommates in Montreal, that they started to jam in their backyard and Chris got addicted to that medium. These days, spray paint is one of Chris' main mediums, especially in the outdoor seasons and while on the road. His intentions are to beautify the world and leave his trace as he explores the globe. Though Chris' favorite jams are organically organized

block parties A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...

, he has also been invited to paint murals for well respected festivals like

MURAL Festival The MURAL Festival is an annual international street art festival held every June since 2013 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It aims to celebrate the democratization of urban art in the city of Montréal. Artists from around the world are invited to ...

Art Basel Miami Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel (Switzerland), Miami Beach (US), Hong Kong and Paris. Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, and ...

Rainbow Serpent Festival Rainbow Spirit Festival, previously known as Rainbow Serpent Festival, is a four-day annual open-air music and arts festival that takes place during the Australia Day (26 January) long weekend, in Lexton, Victoria, west of Melbourne, Austral ...

in Australia,

Ozora Festival The Ozora Festival, stylised as O.Z.O.R.A., is an annual transformational festival and arts festival near the Hungarian village of Ozora. History and growth The festival has been held on an estate in Ozora near the small village of Dádpuszt ...

in Hungary and Puro Muro in Lima, Peru.

Publications

* 2006 – Pipe Fiends (Media Mudscout) * 2007 – Concrete 2 Canvas More Skateboarders' Art (Laurence King Publishing Ltd) * 2008 – Drawgasmic (Cranky Yellow Publishing) * 2008 – The Sunlight Chronicles (Divine Life Publishing LLC) * 2010 – Featured in Maple Vedas by K. Gandhar Chakravarty (8th House Publishing) * 2010 – Visionary Art Yearbook (Blurb Creative Publishing) * 2011 – Positive Creations (Schiffer Publishing Ltd.) * 2012 – Divining the Dream . * 2015 – Arte Visionaria (Prismas Editoria) * 2016 – Chris Dyer's Kick-Ass Coloring Book by Chris Dyer (Last Gasp of San Francisco) *2018 – Street Art Themes et Motifs by Pierre Toromanoff (Fancy Books) *2018 – The New Psychedelic Revolution" by James Oroc (Park Street Press) *2018 – Feminine Mysticism in Arts: Artists Envisioning the Divine by Victoria Christian and Susan Steadman (Awakening Soul Wisdom) *2018 – Painted Walls La Habana by Amir Saarony (Old Cuban Cigar Stuff) *2019 – Thrasher Magazine's Mail Drop Book – 38 Years of Envelope Art (Generic Publishing)

References

*Devaney, Jacob, "Taking it To the Streets". ''Huffington Post.'' 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013. *Brooke, Michael, "Positive Creations". ''Concrete Wave Magazine.'' 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013. *Dyer, Chris, "Positive Creations". ''Dreamtime Cinema.'' Documentary. 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2013. *Fuenzalida, Danny, "Canvas". ''Thrasher Magazine.'' 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2013. *Greenway, Kathryn, "Moving Beyond Skateboard Art". ''The Montreal Gazette Newspaper.'' 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2013. *Greenway. Kathryn, "His Art Goes Across The Board". ''The Montreal Gazette Newspaper.'' 2004. Retrieved 4 January 2013. *McDonough, Elise, "Positive Vibrations". ''High Times Magazine.'' 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013. *Roberdo, "The Cover Artist". ''Mushroom Magazine.'' 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2013. *Vriend, Rosanne, "Soul Skater". ''Salt Magazine.'' 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2013. *Gray, Karyn, "The Art of Skate" "Ion Magazine" 2014 *Grey, Alex, "Psychic Connection". "Juxtapoz Magazine" 2015 *Julien, Anne "Chris Dyer" . "Hey Magazine" 2016

External links

Official Website

Official Chris Dyer Fanpage

Online Store
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Chris 1979 births Canadian contemporary artists Living people