Christopher Holt was born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1977 and still calls Asheville his home. From a young age, Holt spent much of his free time drawing and painting before finding his way to the art department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. There, his attention was captured by the Native American Artist, Kimowan Metchewais whose work taught him much about the creative process and telling stories through art. After Chapel Hill, Holt traveled throughout Central America and Mexico where he visited ancient sites including Copan in Honduras and Chichén Itzá in Mexico. His travels also led him to the frescos of Diego Rivera. Upon arriving back in Asheville in 2003, he met the renowned fresco artist Benjamin Franklin Long IV. Long was founding a school in the North Carolina mountains dedicated to the study of classical drawing based on his studies in Florence, Italy. Holt became a devoted student and over the next decade played an integral role in the school, working on Maestro Long’s frescoes and eventually serving as the executive director. When the school eventually closed, Holt moved to his own studio where he creates works for private collections and public commissions, including a fresco in Ashville’s Haywood Street Church and a mural for the Greg Poole, Jr. All Faiths Chapel at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. Throughout the years, Holt has taken inspiration from the landscape of the Carolinas, painting in the mountains of Western North Carolina as well as in Charleston and the Lowcountry. His frequent travels abroad also contribute to his subject matter. He continually searches for new influences and imagery to energize his contemporary style while drawing from his training in classical realism.