Scenes of people and places, everyday scenes that often get lost in our hectic fast paced world, these are the artworks created by Christopher Roche. "I have always been naive enough to believe that if I create images of great interest to me, that they will be of interest to others as well", says Roche. His striking paintings of people and places have a familiarity about them. Whether they are of scenes sporting events, people living their daily lives, or historic neon signs, Roche brings all of them to life through his paintings.
A native of San Mateo, California in the San Francisco Bay Area, Roche grew up in a family of seven children and had art in his blood from an early age. A huge fan of the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, playing sports and competing with his five brothers was a daily occurrence growing up. After breaking his leg at the age of eleven, unable to play sports for an extended period of time, drawing became an even more important part of his life. After graduating high school he attended the College of San Mateo, where he was fortunate to study art under Joe Price, a master serigraph artist in his own right, and the most passionate and intense instructor he had ever encountered.
The fire lit by Price led Roche to Southern California to study art at California State University Long Beach. It was here when studying art history that Roche's art became influenced by the paintings and pastels of Edgar Degas, as well as the work of American artist Edward Hopper. It was not only the techniques and bold uses of light and color that fascinated Roche, but the everyday subjects they chose to paint. "People viewing my paintings may not know the people, or places I paint, but in reality they do, because they are scenes we see every day", says Roche. With a clear vision of the subject matter he would pursue, he continued to develop his drawing skills, and use of color under the keen eye, and tutelage of the highly respected instructor and artist Dick Oden.
Staying in Long Beach after graduation Roche began to paint feverishly and started to find his way as an artist. He became a three time Public Corporation of the Arts grant recipient in the City of Long Beach, where he conducted art workshops with at risk youth, and set up local exhibitions of his own work. Roche soon began to exhibit and sell his work in galleries, including solo shows, and numerous juried exhibitions in the surrounding cities of Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Laguna Beach. In 1992 his work was selected for a solo show titled "Scenes of LA" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Rental Gallery, whose mission it was to promote the work of emerging LA artists. Over the next decade Roche's work found its way into hundreds of private and corporate collections throughout California and Arizona.
In the year 2000 Roche moved too Arizona with his wife and son. No longer was his focus on his art, but on his family. His passion and energy turned to education, where he earned his teaching certificate and began working in education. He received his Master's Degree in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University in 2007. "I have always enjoyed working with kids and making an impact on their lives, my background and passion for art has helped me tremendously in my teaching career", says Roche. Although his art became much more sporadic during this time, Roche never lost the need to create. A highly respected and sought after educator, he taught 6th grade for 18 years, and currently teaches elementary art in Mesa Public Schools.
In 2014 with his son off to college Roche rededicated himself to his art. Sketching scenes around town on location, he soon found himself back in the studio creating a new body of work. Making up for lost time, and working with a sense of purpose and urgency, Roche began exhibiting his work in numerous regional and national exhibitions. Roche's paintings of Arizona State University football have found a very receptive audience with Sun Devil fans. His work was recently permanently installed in the Arizona State Sun Devil Football Facility Complex. He was recently recognized by Artspan, the artist website platform as one of their top-selling artists. His recent series of large, brilliantly colored canvases, featuring historic neon signs throughout Arizona & the West have found a very receptive and passionate audience of collectors. Roche's original paintings and limited edition prints are in corporate and private collections across the United States, including the collections of several NFL players. He is currently exhibiting at juried shows with Thunderbird Artists, {9}The Gallery, and FoundRE Contemporary in downtown Phoenix.