Profile of Christopher Vitale

Christopher Vitale, an English and studio art double major at Catholic University, is the cover artist for Vermilion’s Winter 2021 issue. He learned how to paint from his grandmother, and, ever since, he has been “captivated by the act of art-making.” For Christopher, “painting is about engaging and connecting with viewers”; it is about offering people “a chance to escape from the stress and chaos of daily life, if only for a moment.” The cover piece, Painting of a Woman Sitting in a Chair, was painted at the beginning of the pandemic when Christopher was studying remotely at his home in Florida. Struck by the dissimilarities between the South Florida landscape and the landscape of Washington, D.C., he was inspired to think about  “what it would’ve been like to inhabit the undisturbed Florida terrain of the past.” Christopher describes the piece simply: “The woman is a depiction of an early settler of my hometown reclining in a rocking chair on the porch of an old cracker house while smoking a cigarette. She gazes upon the vast, turn-of-the-century Florida wild as a summer thunderstorm rolls across the horizon.” He used his older sister, Emily, as the model for the woman. Recently, he has grown to love public art through his experiences painting large outdoor murals. He hopes to develop his style and technique to the point where he can “spark an emotional reaction within a viewer” through his visual art.

 Enjoy these wonderful process photos of Christopher's delightful painting.