ABOUT
Chance Yarbrough is an outdoorsman, Texan, and sporting artist who has made a career out of combining his love for art and nature. Yarbrough’s work depicts an experience meant to evoke emotion as it memorializes relationships of both man and nature. Yarbrough’s authentic scenes display not only the beauty of a setting but are a record of observations integrating his masterful attention to detail.
Yarbrough has a flawless way of blending the compositional elements of a painting. He doesn’t just paint a landscape and then insert the hunter. The hunting elements are woven as seamlessly into the painting as the foliage and elevation. This is no easy task. Famed Texas artist, Herb Booth, summed it up nicely: “Sporting art is especially challenging because you have to satisfy two different sets of criteria in creating a successful piece. It must be credible as art, which means you have to pay attention to the rules of composition and color theory, and it also has to be believable as a sporting scene. The two often run counter to one another. You can arrange the birds and dogs and hunters into a perfectly pleasing, perfectly graceful pattern, but if that means you have birds and dogs doing things birds and dogs don’t really do, then it’s a washout as a sporting piece.” Chance places significant time and thought into creating the perfect composition of each painting. He strives to maintain artistic integrity of the piece, while inserting a realism only known by a man who has intimate knowledge and a love for outdoors. The nuances of light and movement incorporated into Yarbrough’s work come from his personal experiences which can be seen in iconic facets of his paintings: the subtle movement of grasses, textured terrain, majestic game, or the sun reflecting through the water. The ebb and flow of natural elements in Yarbrough’s work bring a depth of realism that allow one to relive an encounter with nature again and again, remembering the sights, smells and sounds of a moment in time.
Chance Yarbrough is a native of Waco, Texas and has had a love of the outdoors from a young age. His enjoyment of outdoor activities was nurtured through his pleasure of spending time with his father and grandfather, both of whom he admired and respected. “I loved fishing with Dad and PopPop, mostly because of time spent with them on the water. I used to look forward to going to the deer lease on the weekends with Dad. All I ever really wanted to do was fish and hunt, and we did a lot of it. We hunted every season: deer, dove, waterfowl, and spring turkey,” stated Yarbrough. These activities developed into a life-long enjoyment of spending time in nature and a true appreciation of sportsmanship. Yarbrough enjoys the excitement associated with methods for targeting and interacting with different types of game and experiencing the
changing of seasons. Yarbrough continues his exploration of nature through travel. He has fished from Alaska for steelhead to the south east African coast in the Seychelles on spring tides for giant trevally. He has hunted across the United States, from big game bugling elk in Montana down to wild coveys of bobwhites on the native coastal plains of Texas.
Yarbrough’s artistic ability was evident even as a young child when he began drawing. His advanced talent was evident through his early sketches. He drew what he loved: animals, fish, and outdoor scenes. As he grew, so did his talent. After college, Yarbrough and his wife Haley, moved to the Texas coast where he began to pursue a full-time career as a sporting artist. During this time, Yarbrough had the opportunity to work with and learn from several famed artists. He has been closely mentored by both Steve Russell and the late Herb Booth, and considers both to be significant figures in the development of his artistic technique. Their mentorship has allowed Yarbrough to hone his skill and further develop his talent as a professional artist. He continues to carry on the traditions evident in the sporting art of John P. Cowan, Herb Booth, and Al Barnes.
Yarbrough’s art has been published several times and featured on covers of Tide magazine and the Texas Outdoors Journal. His work has been displayed in solo exhibitions with the Rockport Center for the Arts and a signature original was chosen as the 2015 Rockport Art Festival poster for the annual art show. Yarbrough is actively involved with conservation efforts. The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) has published his pieces in several print editions. His work was selected as the 2016 Coastal Conservation Association Stamp Print.
As Yarbrough continues to become highly sought after among sportsmen and collectors of sporting art, his talent continues to evolve into a recognizable, must-have name of this generation of artists. Whether it is capturing the thrill of the hunt or depicting a saltwater scene, Yarbrough’s knowledge and experience with the great outdoors has given him valuable perspective which is integrated into every painting he creates. Yarbrough’s studio is in Victoria, Texas where he lives with his wife, Haley, and son, Brazos. The Yarbroughs love the small community of Victoria, also known as the “Crossroads of Texas”. Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, as well as the Texas Hill Country and Texas Coast are all within short drives. Chance especially appreciates easy access to the coast and great hunting opportunities in South Texas.
Chance’s art can purchased at Gordy and Sons (Houston), Swan Point landing (Rockport), Sportsmans Finest (Austin), and Texas Trophy Art (Wharton).
CONTACT
Chance works on a commision basis, to get in contact click here