ARTISANS

Charles Ragins

Since 2004 when artist Charles Ragins and his architect wife Kristin purchased a ninety year old craftsman cabin in the National Forest, he has
called Big Bear his wilderness home. Born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, Ragins grew up surrounded by nature and a supportive and welcoming community. These were some of the qualities that attracted him to Big Bear two hours from his life in Los Angeles as a two time Emmy winning background designer on The Simpsons and now father of two teenage children.

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Ragins began his career as a children's book illustrator (Anna's Athabaskan Summer), freelance designer and fine artist when a new renaissance in animation drew him to Hollywood (no pun intended) in the mid nineties. After over twenty five years contributing to animated television, feature films, theme parks, video games and creating his own animated content, Ragins recently returned to his roots as a fine artist with scratchboard being a favored medium for its ability to capture the distinctive detail and desired timelessness of his subjects. Scratchboard is a method of etching on a hard pressed white clay surface sprayed with
India ink he learned from renowned illustrator Chris Van Allsburg (Polar Express, Jumanji) while attending RISD.

With pet and cabin portrait commissions among his current endeavors, the artist is also in the process of expanding his repertoire to include the local wildlife, familiar sites and natural beauty of Big Bear and other wilderness areas. Stay tuned for more to come and thank you for your interest in the art of Charles Ragins.