Biography of Chris Robitaille
Chris Robitaille
Chris Robitaille was born in Toronto, Canada and attended St. Michaels’s College High School and the prestigious Ontario College of Art where upon graduation, he was awarded the Will Davies Award for Excellence in illustration.
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He began his professional career at DDB Needham Worldwide Advertising in Toronto working as a storyboard illustrator where his client list included Coca Cola, Levi’s, Volkswagen, General Motors, Sharp, Labatt’s and Time Magazine. Inspired by the landscapes, wildlife, culture and people of Africa, Chris moved to Kenya in 1992 to pursue his foremost passion, oil painting. He has had more than a dozen private and group exhibitions and his commissioned murals can be found in Nairobi at AMREF Headquarters, Virgin Atlantic Head office, the Fairview Hotel and in Kampala, Uganda at the Speke Hotel and Crane Bank in addition to hundreds of private collections throughout the world.
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In 2007, Chris, his wife Vanessa and their two children moved to Suzhou, China to pursue other professional opportunities. The experience has proven to be truly rewarding, professionally and personally, and has provided entirely new perspectives, insights and exciting new subjects for his oil paintings.
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My son Maxwell and I painting out the top of the car while avoiding lions in the Masai Mara, Kenya
Currently, in addition to his original oil paintings and exhibitions, Chris is co-owner of Xplorer Maps with his brother Greg, who lives in Missoula, Montana. They have recently teamed up to produce exciting and unique map illustrations of Montana, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks and the upcoming new releases include Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon National Park and Flathead Lake, MT. These maps are hand-drawn in an antique, old world style that beautifully depict very specific historical, cultural and geologic elements of the region being featured.
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Most recently, Chris has travelled extensively throughout Montana visiting family and gaining new inspirations to paint the landscapes, wildlife and culture unique to the region. Chris has recently been selected as the official artist for the 2011 International Wildlife Film Festival (IWFF) held in Missoula each May and is excited about his first American exhibition to be hosted by the Dana Gallery held in conjunction with the 2011 IWFF. Featured original works will include collections from Africa, China and Montana.
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Throughout the years, Chris has also created similar styled map illustrations of the City of London, Zanzibar, Mallorca, United Arab Emirates, the Masai Mara Reserve, Sasakwa Lodge and Grumeti Reserve in Tanzania, nine African countries and numerous other commissions.
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For two months each summer, Chris and his tribe spend time at their place on the Mara River just north of the Masai Mara Game Reserve. Over the years it has provided Chris with inspiration and given him the opportunity to study and paint these magnificent animals in this beautiful and diverse ecosystem.
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Chris and Vanessa are delighted to play a small role in the Emarti development fund and conservation projects by donating partial proceeds from the sale of prints to help with reforestation and the purchase of school supplies.
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A new chapter will begin for the Robitaille’s this summer, as they move to Abu Dhabi. Vanessa will begin as Principal of the Prep School at Brighton College and Chris looks forward to expanding his ever growing list of interesting landscapes and cultures to paint.
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