PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — You might not know Chris Parks by name, but you know him by his work — thanks to murals in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg.
“Over the years of making art, it’s really become a quest for so much more than what it started as,” said Parks. “I see life as a quest for joy, life as a quest for becoming the best versions of ourselves.”
The artist, known as Palehorse, is celebrating 20 years of work in an upcoming retrospective and he’s bringing his outdoor skills to the indoor walls of the Morean Art Center in “Shapeshifter: New and Select Works by Palehorse.”
This inside mural depicts the Chinese beast Pixiu, representing wisdom and prosperity.
“My style of painting really it’s a combination of a lot of things that I love—the stories of ancient cultures,” said Parks.
He said he gained inspiration after traveling in Thailand.
“And in the spiritual teachings that I follow, they say that love is bliss in motion. So you learn how to experience joy in your own life and then share that joy with others,” said Parks.
The Florida native practices Kriya Yoga meditation from ancient India, drawing on Hindu roots.
“And so I practice meditation for concentration and for focus, and to learn how to quiet the mind, to open the heart,”
And it has changed his art and his life.