From a young age Huntington Beach mural artist, Chris Lipold, knew his path in life would look different than most.
Words by Meredith Wash
While he grew up with a father and older brother who were passionate about sports, Chris felt unattached to the athletic future he thought he was supposed to pursue. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be,” Chris says while describing his childhood.
Outside of his home, Chris felt misunderstood in the classroom. He was never a type-A personality and would often drift off in class to doodle in his notebook. And while his teachers encouraged him to buckle down and focus, Chris now sees that what he thought was a behavioral flaw, was actually a sign pointing to his incredible creative ability. After all, Pablo Picasso said it himself, “The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.”
Chris describes seeing street art for the first time when he was just 10 years old, “It just captured me,” he says. That moment was the beginning of what would blossom into a love for the arts and, one day, a career in mural painting.
In middle school, Chris began taking art classes—and exceling in them. His mom, an art teacher at Millikan High School, encouraged him to pursue his passion and taught him foundational principles like how to use various brush strokes and the importance of perspective.
The creative guidance from his mother and the ambition his father instilled in him at an early age would later serve as key components to Chris’ success as an artist.
By 8th grade Chris had landed his first paid gig painting a beach scene inside a local yogurt shop. It was that first project that made Chris realize his true potential as an artist.
Today, Chris attends Golden West College all while maintaining full-time work as a freelance artist. He stays busy painting for both local and out-of-town clients and usually has several projects going at once.
While every artist has their own personal style, Chris prides himself in his ability to make his clients’ vision a reality—even if the project is outside of his comfort zone.
Along with meeting and exceeding client’s expectations, Chris feels a deep conviction to use his art to empower children who feel the way he did when he was younger—like they don’t fit the mold. “Art saved my life. And I think it can do the same for other kids like me.”
If you’re a SoCal native, be sure to look out for Chris’s work at local hotspots like LAFC Stadium and Free Play DTLA.
To inquire about working with Chris, give him a call at (714) 421-0616 or send him an email at cllipold@yahoo.com. You can also check out his art on Instagram at @c_art_off_the_walls.
