Primarily self-taught, Chris McLaren has been creating art for as long as she can remember. With the support of her husband and family during the past five years, she has developed to produce as a professional artist. Her work is in galleries and private collections in the Northwest, California and Oregon. .

Thoughts:

The design of my mask is based on a painting by Matisse. The face is of a gypsy dancer. I chose to ignore the actual face structure of the base because I like to do art that is unexpected. I like art from the Post-Impressionism era because of its straightforward simplicity, which gives it an approachable "realness," unlike the somewhat coldness of true realism.