Your future, our focus
Nationally-renowned portrait artist Casey Childs, a 1997 graduate of Northwest College, will speak at the NWC Commencement Exercises Saturday, May 5, as the college’s 2018 Distinguished Alumnus. The ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Cabre Gym in Powell.
Born in Powell and raised in Lovell, Childs attended Northwest College, where his passion for art was ignited 20 years ago. After earning his associate degree in art from NWC, he went on to complete his bachelor’s at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
“My work as a whole encompasses an exploration of the human experience,” Childs said. “My interest in the people around me comes from the idea that we look at people every day, but we never really stop to see them.”
His artwork has been featured in numerous exhibitions and exhibits throughout the country in Texas, Washington, D.C., Georgia, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming and many more.
Among Childs’ many honors, he’s most recently earned the Oil Painters of America Board of Directors’ Award of Excellence, the Art Renewal Center Realist Award of Excellence, first place drawing and second place painting for the Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition, third place in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition and several others throughout his robust career.
Additionally, he was recently commissioned by the University of Wyoming to create a portrait of former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson of Cody.
Consistently striving to capture beauty of the human form in each painting, Childs draws much of his inspiration from a variety of artists including John Giarrizzo, NWC associate professor of drawing and painting.
“John, my art professor at Northwest College, instilled in me a great love of art and an immense desire to create it,” he noted.
Childs teaches portrait drawing and painting workshops throughout the country. Last year, he traveled to Paris with a group of American artists to study in museums and paint at the famous La Grande Chaumière, an art school in the city’s Montparnasse district.
“My experiences at Northwest were some of the best memories in my life, and I will always be grateful for the friends I met and wonderful professors who invested so much time and care in helping me succeed,” he said.
Childs currently lives in Utah with his wife, Amanda, and their three sons, Evan, Owen and Cameron. Each week, he hosts a session at his studio where artists can paint or draw from a live model. When he manages to find a little free time, he enjoys golf, history and spending time with his family.
