By: Matthew Kayser

For most of his life, Christopher Brown has balanced two loves that might seem worlds apart: sports and art. First as an athlete and later as an artist, he has spent decades channeling discipline, creativity, and passion into both fields, excelling in both.

Since 2009, Brown has been the official portrait artist for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, capturing the faces of the state’s outstanding athletes in a style that has become iconic to the institution. His work has ensured that the legacy of each inductee lives not only in record books but also in paint.

Brown’s journey began in childhood. Growing up in Nebraska, he found solace in drawing during life’s most difficult moments. While his home felt unsettled, school offered encouragement. Teachers quickly recognized his natural talent, and their praise gave him something solid to hold on to. “When your life feels like it’s in disarray, and you’re getting praised at school for something like that, it drives you,” Brown recalls. By the age of five, he was already consumed by creating, an interest that never left him.

The college offered him a chance to pursue both passions simultaneously. He accepted a baseball scholarship to junior college, excelling as a pitcher and earning honors his sophomore year. That success led him to a prominent university in Louisiana, where he majored in art education.

But before he ventured into art, his performance on the baseball field drew professional attention, and he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs. Brown spent six years in the minor leagues, playing both affiliated and independent ball before retiring at 29. Baseball had paid his way through school and given him structure, but art was waiting for him on the other side.

That artistic career has unfolded with remarkable consistency and growth. Not only has Brown made a name through creating art, but also through teaching it for 25 years, where his philosophy is rooted in the efforts and enjoyment of the process over perfection.

“If we’re doing art just because we want an excellent painting out of it, that’s the wrong approach,” he tells his students. “Enjoy creating it, and eventually the results will follow.” His classroom is both a studio and a sanctuary, a place where young artists are encouraged to try, fail, and keep going.

In 2024, Brown published “Life Lessons from the Diamond,” a book that combines his illustrations with wisdom from Major League Baseball players, coaches, and umpires. Designed as a self-help collection accessible to young athletes, the book pairs memorable quotes with vibrant, engaging artwork. “It keeps you engaged, like you’re reading it,” he explains. “It’s a different form of getting people lessons they can carry with them.”

He has also collaborated on other illustrated books, including children’s titles and coloring books, showing a flexibility that allows him to move seamlessly between styles.

Brown is modest about his career but unapologetically ambitious. He dreams of bringing his sports art to a broader stage, expanding beyond Louisiana and beyond baseball to capture athletes from every discipline.

For Brown, the blending of sports and art is not a coincidence but a continuation of the journey he’s always aligned with. The discipline he learned on the baseball diamond now guides his hand as he works to outdo himself on the canvas. He doesn’t claim to be the best, but as he works on every piece, he remains in the pursuit of perfection, and his art continues to be a testament to that goal.