C&T Publications 50 States of Art - 2015 | Page 76

Chris Flees – North Carolina
Here's to the land of the long leaf pine,
The summer land where the sun doth shine.
Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great,
Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State.

Chris Flees entered the art of photography and photo processing at the age of 13 in
a studio owned by a family friend and professional photographer.

He started out working in the darkroom developing and processing portfolio images for models. A quick study he transitioned out
of the darkroom and onto the studio floor working with the models and composing image for their portfolios. After several years of
studio work Chris left the studio, desiring a change in his career direction. He transitioned his career toward fine art landscape
photography. Over the next 27 years he adopted a path to capture the “perfect image”, an image that defines who his is. Chris
admits, he is still searching for that one image that defines him. Today, he has an eclectic portfolio that he divides into two
categories: God’s gifts and that which was made from those gifts. His works have been featured in print and on photography
magazine websites. He is a regular contributor to “The War Cry” magazine.

Website:
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/chris-flees.html

Here is my piece. It is called Glade Creek Grist Mill.
This featured digital artwork scene of Glade Creek grist mil and waterfall outside of Beckley, West Virginia. This location is a favorite
for artists and photographers in the eastern United States. This area, in the fall has a high color concentration along with several
elements that scream out awesome art opportunity.
Glade creek, as you can tell, is an area of extreme contrasts and colors. It has a richness of reds and oranges in the fall. As for the
area itself, Glade Creek is extremely peaceful even though it is an area that has a lot of visitors. Artists and photographers alike visit
this place for inspiration in their works. Glade creek has been the subject of many calendars and paintings interestingly enough
there is so much area and variety that no two images or paintings are exactly alike.
The waters that form glade creek are extremely cold, year round. I believe this helps enhance the natural and clean looking beauty
that is now call glade creek. The grist mill on the property further enhances this naturally wonderful place.
Every artist and photographer has a �bucket list� of places that they would like to capture in their artistic medium, for me, glade
creek was one of those places. I must admit that living close to this area in West Virginia helped narrow the gap between bucket list
and fruition. I would further have to say being allowed to enjoy this natural wonder with friends and family made this glade creek
experiences memorable ones.
Glade Creek is a great expression of the natural beauty that can be found in the Smoky Mountains. The individuals who live close to
glade creek regard it as a natural treasure. I honestly believe that even if you do not live close to it, the oil painting can give the
viewer the sense of how big a treasure this place really is.
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