James C. Christensen (September 26, 1942 – January 8, 2017) was an American

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

of religious and fantasy art. Christensen was born and raised in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

.Taylor, Scott and Walch, Tad
"Of fantasy and faith: LDS artist James C. Christensen dies at 74"
''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'', 9 January 2017. Retrieved on 9 April 2021. Christensen began his studies at

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high s ...

. He attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

and obtained a MFA from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU). Christensen only started oil painting after he began studying at BYU.

Career

Christensen began his career as a free-lance illustrator and a junior high school art instructor. Christensen was an instructor at BYU from 1976 until 1997. He has had numerous showings of his work throughout the US and has been commissioned by media companies to create artwork for their publications, such as

Time-Life Books Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and direct marketer conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, a ...

and '' Omni''. Christensen appeared in an episode of ABC's show '' Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'' in 2005. He created a picture featuring a member of the family as a fairy. The design team filmed a segment at his studio. The Greenwich Workshop donated a framed Court of the Faeries that Christensen presented to the family for the room as well. Christensen said his inspirations were

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mor ...

fantasies Fantasy is a genre of fiction. Fantasy, Fantasie, or Fantasies may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Fantasia (music), a free-form musical composition * ''Fantasie'' (Widmann), a 1993 composition for solo clarinet by Jörg Widmann * ...

, and tales of imagination. He employed many-layered medieval and Renaissance clothing, and hunched backs symbolizing the burdens people carry in life. One his trademarks were flying or floating fish and he explained, "In my paintings a fish usually symbolizes wonder and wisdom. I often paint a fish floating in the air to remind the viewer that this is a new reality, that there is magic in the world." He was approached by

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

to consult on ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was w ...

'' but declined in order to work on a mural for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

. Christensen painted several murals for the

Provo City Center Temple The Provo City Center Temple. is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) on the same site as the former Provo Tabernacle in Provo, Utah. Completed in 2016, the temple utilizes much of the external shell of ...

(LDS Church).

Controversy

Christensen's book '' Voyage of the Basset'' was the source of controversy in 2006 when a resident of

Bountiful, Utah Bountiful is Davis city. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 42,552, a three percent increase over the 2000 figure of 41,301. The city grew rapidly during the suburb growth of the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and was Davis County's ...

, demanded that the book be removed from circulation from the

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

section at the Davis County

Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

in nearby

Farmington, Utah Farmington is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. The population was 24,531 at the 2020 census. The Lagoon Amusement Park and Station Park transit-oriented retail center (which includes a FrontRunner train station) are located in Fa ...

because some of the illustrations were deemed too suggestive. The Davis County Library Board voted to keep the book in circulation in the young adult section.

Personal life

Christensen was married to Carole Christensen and they had five children including two artist daughters, Cassandra Barney and Emily McPhie.Wadley, Carma
"All in the family: James C. Christensen joins forces with 2 daughters for art show"
''

'', 13 September 2009. Retrieved on 9 April 2021. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Christensen co-chaired the Mormon Arts Foundation. In the Church, he served as a ward bishop among other callings. He resided in

Orem, Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Me ...

in a house he designed filled with secret passages and sculptures inspired by his paintings. Christensen died of cancer on January 8, 2017.

Bibliography

*''A Journey of the Imagination: The Art of James Christensen'' by James C. Christensen (The Greenwich Workshop Press, January 1, 1994, ) *''Voyage of the Basset'' by James C. Christensen (Artisan, January 10, 1996, ) *''Rhymes & Reasons: An Annotated Collection of Mother Goose Rhymes'' by James C. Christensen (The Greenwich Workshop Press, January 6, 1997, ) *''James Christensen: The Greenwich Workshop's New Century Artists Series'' by James C. Christensen (The Greenwich Workshop Press, January 9, 2001, ) *''Passage By Faith: Exploring the Inspirational Art'' by James C. Christensen (Deseret Book, October 29, 2012)

Awards

Christensen was named a Utah Art Treasure, one of Utah’s Top 100 Artists by the Springville Museum of Art, and received the Governor’s Award for Art from the

Utah Arts Council The Utah Division of Arts & Museums is a state government agency responsible for the promotion of arts and museums in Utah. It is a division of the Utah Department of Heritage and Arts. It includes the Utah Office of Museum Services and the Utah A ...

. He served as president of the National Academy of Fantastic Art."Windows on Wonder"
''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the '' MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is ...

'', 1989. Retrieved on 9 April 2021. His artwork has been featured on the cover of ''

Leading Edge The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...

'' issue #41, winning him the

Chesley Award The Chesley Awards were established in 1985 by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists to recognize individual artistic works and achievements during a given year. The Chesleys were initially called the ASFA Awards, but were later re ...

for cover artwork in 2002. Christensen's work has appeared in the American Illustration Annual and Japan's Outstanding American Illustrators. He also won all the professional art honors the

World Science Fiction Convention Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

offers, and multiple

s from the

Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, ASFA, is a non-profit, educational association, whose membership is made up of amateur and professional artists, art directors, art show managers, publishers and collectors involved in the vis ...

References

External links

James C. Christensen
Greenwich Workshop Biography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, James C. 1942 births 2017 deaths American Latter Day Saint artists American speculative fiction artists 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters Artists from Utah Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Fantasy artists Latter Day Saints from California Latter Day Saints from Utah