Meet Chris Burnett | Artist

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

Hi Chris, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk has played a huge factor in my creative trajectory. I have a tendency to NOT follow what most people are doing, and most of that is just a natural inclination. Even back in middle school, I was the kid wearing custom made outfits and putting pink laces in my shoes…back when guys wearing pink was considered sus…Some of it is also just curiosity of the road less traveled. I would rather take a big risk like, quitting my job and pursuing freelance, than being unhappy and immobile in an undesirable situation. Even creatively, when I’m making something new, I always like to push the boundary of what I can create…I try to not repeat the same decisions over and over. And I always welcome the risk of f*cking something up, because that’s where you find the happy mistakes that lead to new discoveries.

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.
From a very early age, I’ve always known that I was an artist. My parents were extremely supportive and put me and my brother in all kinds of art classes and programs. The thing is, I was never sure of how to turn these talents into a career. Until I discovered graphic design in highschool. From there, I went to CalArts to study it and graduated in 2013 with a BFA. Since then, I’ve been working professionally in a multitude of contexts, from full-time at giant corporations, to freelance for select clients. But always, always, always, on the side, I have maintained a personal practice of just creating. Sometimes it takes the form of mixed-media, and collage (having my first art show at FISK Gallery in October), sometimes it’s writing and producing music, sometimes it’s learning the ins and outs of my sewing machine to modify a pair of pants. Whatever the medium, I’m always creating and trying to expand my skills of what’s capable. It’s a gift, but also a curse…because I don’t feel like I can ever stop.

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?
I mean, LA is such a great city for exploring…there’s so many cuts and low-key spots, and of course there’s all the landmarks too. But to start, I would suggest breakfast at Swingers in WeHo. It’s a pretty classic spot, and they make a solid omelette that’s hard to deny. Afterwards, maybe a hike over at Solstice Canyon in the Santa Monica mountains, it has this panoramic view of the mountains and ocean and is just a great way to jumpstart the day. Then maybe come back into the city for some lunch, maybe hit Uncle Paulies for some delicious sandwiches. Afterwards, we could do some shopping, and hit Wasteland, which is my favorite spot for secondhand luxury items, and maybe even H. Lorenzo (although I can never afford anything in there lol). Then we can skate around my hood for a bit and enjoy the permanent sunshine until dinner, which has to be at Night+Market in WeHo (my favorite thai spot in town). Afterwards we’d go to the east side for drinks. Bar Stella in Silverlake, then to Bar Flores in Echo Park, that’s the move. Once the night wraps, we head to Sticky Rice down the street for some late night snacks (the pork jerky is bar none). Then it’s off to dreamland.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would give a huge shoutout to my older brother Jordan Burnett. There’s no way I would be where I am right now without him. When I was way younger, I always noticed how many things he did creatively. He introduced me to the music I now know and love with his CD collection. He would design t-shirts and shoes for me to wear to school to stunt on all the other kids. And we even started selling his t-shirts to my classmates. He was the first one I saw creating art on a computer, using Adobe Illustrator to vector his pencil drawings and turn them into amazing graphics. He was the one who started skateboarding, and even though back then I said I’d never be a skater and wear skinny jeans, the minute I stepped on his board I was hooked. It’s a beautiful thing now because, after all those years of him showing me things, I returned the favor and sparked his love for music when he saw me exploring the ins and outs of Ableton and music production. We are basically the same person these days, just creative hybrid super heroes.

Website: www.chrisbur.net

Instagram: @colibristudios

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-burnett-74201b32/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSH1CQaQPhTNXOCOkomYQsQ