About Chris

Christopher J. Perry is an artist-scientist who was born in West Bromwich, UK. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Warwick at the age of 26. Inspired by nature, Chris has spent over a decade traveling the world, conducting scientific research in countries ranging from the United States to Australia, and more recently, exploring remote locations such as the Amazon Rainforest. Chris is the Co-founder and Co-director of Purple Corn Limited, a creative science consultancy company where he and his wife work on the cusp of the science and the arts.

Artist Statement

I am a self-taught artist with a background in science, a field I dedicated many years to studying and working in. While I pursued science out of curiosity and a desire to understand the world, art has always been my natural passion. Over time, I began to notice the parallels between the two disciplines: both demand observation, experimentation, and an appreciation for detail and structure. I began to observe the interplay of light and shadow in painting. As my career progressed, I found myself drawn more deeply into the creative processes of painting and lead me to choose soft pastels as a medium – as I can apply the medium directly by hand and have a lot of control. The precision and patience of science taught me to see subtleties in the natural world and painting subjects. My method is centred on capturing the energy and life of a subject rather than pursuing ultra-realism, focusing on light and colour to evoke emotion and depth. I paint using soft pastel sticks, beginning with the darkest values and bold mark-making to create the profile. From there, I build depth and sculpt the forms through mid-tones before adding highlights and lightest values to bring the piece to life and direct the viewer’s eye. My focus is on value contrasts rather than strict adherence to colour accuracy, as I aim to convey the interplay between light and shadow. I embrace spontaneity in my work, planning only loosely and allowing the composition to evolve organically. This improvisational approach reflects my enjoyment of the creative process itself, resisting the urge to "overpaint" and letting the subject emerge naturally.

Biography & Recent Exhibitions

Chris exhibited again with the Pastel Society (PS) in the ‘Benchmark’ exhibition of February 2025 where he was awarded the Pastel Society Catalogue Award 2025 second prize. Chris previously exhibited with the Pastel Society (PS) in 2024 as well as with the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA) and the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) at the Mall Galleries in London. Chris has also exhibited with Boomer Gallery at the Tower Bridge in London in an exhibition curated by the great Anthony Fawcett, and he is also a part of the New Bath Arts Club (NBAC) who recently held their inaugural exhibition at the Roper Gallery in Bath. He has exhibited at the prestigious London Art Biennale at the Old Town Hall in Chelsea and was selected to be a Wildcard Artist on Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year. He made the longlist for the Visual Artist Association (VAA) Artist of the Year award was and a highly commended artist in the Explorers Against Extinction Sketch For Survival competition. Chris work has been highlighted in House & Garden magazine by Conde Nast, publications by Bristol 24/7 and The Bristol magazine and also in Somerset Life.

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