Meet the Artist

Korin Chapman is a professional fine artist and San Diego native whose mixed-media sculptural paintings offer an organic perspective on the coastal landscape. Specializing in a modern application of Bas’ Relief, Korin is recognized for her ability to translate the fluid energy of the Pacific into a permanent, three-dimensional form.

Born and raised in San Diego, Korin's work is rooted in a lifelong connection to the ocean. With a lifelong love for swimming and surfing she draws inspiration from the sensory details of the water—the weight of a swell, the rush of whitewater, and the play of light on the surface. Her distinct style is a tribute to her artistic lineage; she blends the sculpting techniques taught to her by her grandmother with the painting traditions passed down by her grandfather. This fusion of heritage and skill allows her to move beyond the flat canvas, creating paintings that you can not only see but actually feel the movement of the water.

Korin's process is both physical and technical. Working from her new studio on her and her husbands homestead, she constructs the "bones" of each piece by using wire and fiber before hand-carving the landscape into solid gypsum. By hollowing out deep barrels and using palette knives to guide the flow of the water, she builds a canvas with true physical depth. Her use of layered, watered down acrylics ensures the texture remains raw and organic, allowing the natural light in a room to create a shifting view of shadows that evolves throughout the day just like a sculpture. 

Korin has entered a chapter of her career defined by creative freedom and a type of focus she has never been able to immerse herself in before. Her work continues to push the boundaries of texture and dimension, inviting viewers to look beyond the horizon and experience the depth and movement of the water that defines both her life and her art.