Biography

From his early childhood, to a young adult, Chad Knapik has always possessed a curious nature along with an adventurous temperament. The surrounding areas outside of Pittsburgh, PA offered perfect opportunities to encourage and inspire his talent to expand and demonstrate his need to express himself. The proximity to urban life set the stage for tremendous exposure to a wide variety of cultures and lifestyles. All of these components fit perfectly into an intriguing and challenging arena for Chad to become an artist at a relatively young age. “I obviously didn’t comprehend it at any early age, but I was constantly creating and designing my toys. My designs ranged from tree houses with tight-rope walking access (made from found steel cable and duct tape) to handheld computers constructed from cardboard and tape. “I guess I’ve been a dreamer from the beginning, and I haven’t stopped since.”

After graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and attending The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Chad's path led him to Orlando, FL, and eventually onto Asheville, NC. Through these stops, he worked in numerous fields such as graphic design, retail display fabrication, and business management. Throughout all of these professional roles, Chad was still honing his painting skills independently, as well as professionally for commissioned residential and commercial murals.

Chad’s artistic identity and primary creative focus has narrowed to the sensitive relationship between our habitat/natural resources and the efforts (or lack of) by the human race to continually adapt to a more cohesive existence. “I feel we have lost some respect for the other life forms that we share this planet with, along with the planet itself. Most of my work is an attempt to bring awareness to the beauty, wonder, and healing powers that surround us. We need to stop taking our planet, OUR HOME for granted.”

Chad’s most recent venture has involved traveling the U.S. in a customized mobile art studio to attend numerous art festivals and shows, while also meeting more fans and galleries in person. After 5 years residing back home in Pittsburgh, PA, Chad decided he needed to have more frequent and effective interaction with the art world and its followers. Like most artists these days, he was able to reach his audience all over the world through the countless outlets offered by the internet. “I found that it doesn’t matter where you create from. If an artist puts in the effort, they can reach their audience, no matter where they are, or how disbursed their audience seems. It’s a welcomed luxury, and is incredibly liberating. Now, my home is wherever I choose to transport my studio. I may not be that kid building a tree house with limited tight rope access anymore, but I’m definitely not ready to stop creating, dreaming, and exploring.”