Chad Hunter

When Chad and his wife were just married, they visited a used office furniture store. They purchased a gigantic 1960s drafting desk so he could draw at home. Now, Chad makes his children’s book illustrations from his Northern California home-studio on that colossal retro desk. Along the way, he also discovered that he loves painting outdoors, on site!

He loves being a husband and father of four. He has a deep liking for engaging stories, racquetball, lovely type, a good plein air set up and 72% to 84% dark chocolate. Chad has a BFA in Illustration from BYU (Brigham Young University) and an MFA in Visual Arts from MU (Marywood University).

Chad currently teaches Illustration, Graphic Design, Drawing and other similar classes at California State University Stanislaus and Delta College.

As a kid, I rode bikes and played in parks connected to the SF Bay. I was outdoors a lot growing up and I always enjoyed being outdoors regardless of weather. As art became a larger part of my life, I learned to begin to look for forms, values, and colors in nature. My goal is to share what I see, to state what I found.

As observing nature brings endless detail, my constant challenge is editing out and focusing on the most important. Watercolor comes natural to me and when painting on site, it packs well. The supplies are easily portable and cleans up with less issues to the environment than other media. Currently I am looking more and more at light and its interactions. Lately, this is my focus.

Painting outdoors is unpredictable and changing. I am never up to the challenge, but I’ll keep trying.