Meet Chris Kling | Professional Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Kling and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
How hard artists work. It is truly a small business and usually you don’t have a team of people to get things done. You wear all the hats! Marketing, accounting, insurance, web management, shipping, gathering supplies, framing, writing newsletters, preparing and delivering to exhibitions, submitting to shows, teaching, keeping track of your sales and declaring to Uncle Sam your Sales Tax, and, of course, none of this is possible if you are not managing your time for creating art! Time at the easel has to be at the top of the list! Do not think painting is a mindless activity! While we are working we are making constant decisions to make something that didn’t exist before and do it well! With all this, painting can give such pleasure and be so fulfilling it is all worth it for me!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I earned a BFA (bachelor of fine art) degree in 1978 and have worked as a professional artist in various ways ever since. If you want to be successful in whatever you want to do, you need to do your best and work hard. Doing artwork that challenges my abilities, reaching further, even when I am unsure if I can, but having the persistence to stay with it until I “hear the painting sing”, has helped me to reach a level where I am respected in my field. I have not wanted to do repetition and formulaic work. My work is recognized for a fine art quality with my brushstrokes, color, and energy in my landscapes and in my portraits and paintings and have won national awards and numerous commissions. I was honored with the recent award of MartinArts Visual Artist 2021 and First Place in Painting at Stuart ArtsFest 2022. In January 2022 my portrait of the former CEO of Seacoast Bank was unveiled. I continue to be juried into national exhibitions and invited into Plein Air events. I am Cover Artist for New Smyrna Beach Paint Out 2022 and will be in the Lighthouse Plein Air Festival at the end of March 2022. Another risk and challenge was opening Kling Gallery, Wine & Decor in Stuart, FL! It is a family business. I have my art there, my husband, Bill, who is an expert in the field, brings in boutique wines and gives tastings, and Amanda Kling, my daughter-in-law, brings in the decor! We are in our fourth successful year!!!

I have been juried in again to the 2022 Oil Painters of America National Exhibition to be held in Steamboat Springs, CO in June with my painting, “Preparing the Catch”!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Lol, I would take them to Kling Gallery for a private wine tasting, of course! Since Bill consults throughout the country to the wine industry and is a sommelier, he knows the processes from the beginning to the delicious end! We’ve been told his tastings are better and more informative than Napa! For an unforgettable meal we would go to Kyle G’s and gaze at our beautiful beach while we ate, and then a “must do” is a visit to the House of Refuge to get a feel of the dramatic history of our unique area and the unique Elliott Museum! Downtown Stuart is so charming a walk around the shops is irresistible and the highly rated restaurants will impress!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Ann Manry Kenyon, a well known portrait painter in Jacksonville, FL was a great help with advice and guidance in my early years. Art Organizations can be a wonderful resource – Oil Painters of America, Portrait Society of America, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, American Impressionist Society, Plein Air Conventions and events, and my local professional art group and friends, Martin Artisans Guild! Also, Mallo Bisset, here in Stuart, Fl. An artist, leader, and business owner! She has inspired several with her leadership and compassion!

Website: www.chrisklingartist.com

Instagram: chrisklingart

Facebook: Chris Kling Studio