About Fine Art, Photography, Roadside Art & ToonZ.me
An award winning artist meets a character designer.... All fine art and photography on this site is produced by Oregon master artist Chriss Haight Pagani. Toonz.me is a collaborative effort of Robert & Chriss Pagani..
Meet The Artist
Artist Chriss Haight Pagani (born Portland Oregon) is an award-winning fine art painter, photographer and photo-documentarian based on the Oregon Coast.
The artist's work has been described as raw, gritty and naturalistic. In photographs and paintings, the artist explores the disappearing natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest as well as the hidden cultural underbelly of isolation and loss. The latter category includes the artist's critically acclaimed photo-documentary REAL FERAL CATS.
The artist has been exhibited in Oregon and Washington and is featured in many private and public collections such as the Ernst & Young of Los Angeles, Mount Gay Distilleries, and the Westport Gallery. The artist's work has also appeared in several university academic and general publications.
In 2009, Chriss was a winner of the Tillamook County "Best In Class" for works on paper, as well as a blue ribbon for portraits - plus an additional First Place ribbon for landscapes. In 2008, the artist won First Place at that same event for landscapes. In 2007, the artist won the Exhibitor's Choice award.
Chriss was raised in Oregon and California, having grown up in a family in turmoil; often homeless or in transient housing.
Homeless no longer, today the artist prefers to keep things loose and in motion. As the artist says, "Home is where my art is."
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Beginning as a hobby painter many years ago, the artist also created editorial cartoons for west coast newspapers, plus graphic designs for many commercial and personal web sites. Later, the artist studied photography at the New York Institute for Photography and worked as a wedding photographer's assistant as well as a freelance photojournalist. A few years ago, Chriss' art started winning awards in various competitions. Some cartoons won awards, too. Today there are over 5,000 Chriss Haight Pagani original works of art in private and corporate fine art collections all over the world. Corporate collections include Ernst & Young, and Mt Gay distilleries.
The artist grew up in difficult times, in a family that often found itself homeless. In those days, the young artist developed an interest in street art including graffiti. Later, the artist's work naturally developed in two directions; editorial-style cartoons, which achieved some critical note, and fine art landscapes depicting natural Oregon scenery. The latter works began to gain critical notice in 2002.
Traveling in a small RV to do photographs, paintings and sketches, the artist's style of open, free-form abstract impressionism was dubbed roadside art by one article-writer, and the name has stuck to this very day.. The artist's work has been described as raw, gritty, naturalistic and real.
The artist
does CUSTOM WORK too! Check out the Contact page for
more.
History
The Roadside Art Cafepress store was opened in 2002 as an effort to offer Chriss' fine art paintings and photographs to a wider audience. Original artworks may sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars, but anyone can pick up a poster print here for $9.95. It was a great way for the artist to gain further exposure..
In 2004, the artist began adding some cartoon characters to the store, just to offer a little more variety. Pagani loves to draw these characters - and cartoon-caricatures have always been part of the artist's work.
2005 - The mentally-deranged character Johnny Jihad arrived on the scene. The series REAL FERAL CATS began taking form.
2006 - The artist, already a rescuer of feral cats and kittens, opens a blog to write about these efforts. The artist decides to dedicate funds earned from this store to the cause of animal rescue.
2007 - Cartoon "Cat Man" wins a best design award.
2008 - Painting Kiwanda Star wins a Best-in-Show award. REAL FERAL CATS gained critical notice.
2009 - The store kept the roadsideart url but now the store has a wider selection of items from fine art painting prints to raw gritty photography and even cartoon designs..
2009 - The fun, crazy Skeptical Cat was born. REAL FERAL CATS came to fruition.
The
Future - Who knows what crazy, weird thing will happen next?
Who knows! The artist continues to work on projects (some secret, some public)
so we'll all wait and see to find out what is the next big thing. And really, isn't
that all up to you?
Join
In, Help Out, Make Some Money!
Roadside
Art
continues
to evolve and develop. With a new sense of purpose, mission and direction, we
hope you can join us and become a part of our crazy art family..
The Artist Everywhere Else:
- The Roadside Artist Studio - Central landing page for the artist's fine art and photography displays.
- Roadside Artist, Flickr - The Flickr photostream of the artist.
- The World Registry of Artists - Listed artist; paintings of many kinds.
- Roadside
Art at Zazzle - Cartoons and word art. A smaller collection than what
you'll find here but nevertheless an alternative source.
Painter Of Oregon - the online gallery of the artist's paintings. - OregonPainter.TV - The impressionist fine art blog.
- Abstract Expressionist Futurism - The artist's blog about abstract painting, personal philosophy, history, and the future...
- Crazy Cat Face - a blog about cartooning cats. You can get your own cat cartoon for practically nothing.
- Funny Face - the artist's blog about cartooning people. The artist has done work for and about some celebrities. You can find out more here.
- Feral Cat & Kitten Rescue - Last but by no means least, the latest iteration of the artist's blog documenting the rescue of feral cats and kittens. How-to information on caring for feral kittens and a do-it-yourself rescue section.
- Toonz.Me - The landing page for graphic design, character design, cartoons and caricatures plus interesting t-shirts and other retail art.
The
Affiliate Program
is
for YOU!
Check
this out:
Cafepress has partnered with Commission Junction so that anyone can
become a referrer to our site and earn up to 15% on sales. That's more
than the artist gets in most cases but we're not allowed to be a referrer to
ourselves - so this is where you can do good stuff for the artist and help
yourself too!
