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Christopher Blossom
When a child has a father and
grandfather who are both wel known illustrators, it is likely
the offspring will also become an artist. And when a boy starts
to sail at the age of six, it is also likely that the artist
might choose the sea and sailing ships as his subject. Such
was the case for Christopher Blossom, who, by the time he left
the Parsons School of Design and Robert Bourke’s Design
Studio, could visualize a finished boat from only its plans—and
draw the craft from any angle.
Before Blossom was twenty, he had sailed
under square rig aboard the brigantine Young America. At the
age of twenty, he won a Gold Medal at the Society of Illustrators
Scholarship Exhibition. His dual vocation of experiencing
the sea and then painting both nautical history and some of
the greatest modern places to sail, was truly launched.
Blossom became both a charter member and
an artist of the American Society of Marine Artists, serving
as its president from 1983 to 1986. His awards include a Gold
Medal from the National Academy of Western Art for his painting
of ships in Monterey. Almost the only time he isn’t painting
is when he is sailing, visiting ports of call in Maine, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Maryland, the Bahamas, California and Washington
state.
Blossom, who recently spent a year
sailing around the Caribbean with his wife and two sons says
of his love, "It’s not a hobby, it’s a way
of life. When I look at the ocean, I get the same feeling
pilots must get when they look to the sky."
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