Chet Zar

Chet Zar is a painter whose work straddles the macabre with the classical. Broken, compelling and disturbing, his subjects reach out to the viewer from beyond the canvas and demand attention and compassion.

Zar, a Scorpio, was born on November 12th, 1967, in San Pedro, CA. His childhood was spent drawing, sculpting and painting.

Zar has a natural fascination with all things strange and fostered  a deep connection to horror movies and dark imagery. He could relate to the feelings of fear, anxiety and isolation that they conveyed; Themes that are reflected in his work to this day.

The combined interest in horror films and art eventually culminated into a career as a special effects make up artist, designer and sculptor for the motion picture industry, designing and creating creatures and make up effects effects for such films as, "The Ring", "Hellboy I & II", "Planet of the Apes" and the critically acclaimed music videos for the art metal band Tool.

In 2000 (at the suggestion of horror author Clive Barker), he decided to go back to his roots and focus on his own original works and try his hand at fine art, specifically painting in oils. The result has been a renewed sense of purpose, artistic freedom and a clarity of vision that is evident in his darkly surreal (and often darkly humorous) paintings.

His artistic influences include painter James Zar (stepfather and artistic mentor), Beksinski, H.R. Giger, Frank Frazetta, M.C. Escher, Bosch, John Singer Sargent and Norman Rockwell just to name a few.