About Cristian

Thank you for visiting my page!

I was born and raised in beautiful South America, studying fine art and advertising, and played fútbol, representing Universidad Católica and my beloved Chile as part of the 1976 Olympic team. Sadly, due to budgetary reasons, the Chilean Olympic Committee decided at the last moment to replace fútbol with equestrian, and shortly thereafter, I accepted a fútbol scholarship to North Texas State (Go Green Wave!). This led to raising my family and built a career, first at Coca Cola Chile in their outdoor marketing department, followed by salmon farming, where I got to travel all over the world.

During these years, art continued to be an integral part of my life and upon retiring, I was able to return to my first love, painting and drawing. As a child, I remember fondly my mother’s german shepherd, Beba, who represented all the good in the world: love, loyalty, and friendship. The relationships we have with the animals in our lives are true gifts, and when raising our two daughters, our cats and dogs (and even a bunny) gave them the same life tenets in their lives that Beba represented in mine.

Throughout these years, making portraits of our fur family gave me an opportunity to engage with them in a completely new way. I hope to capture the love and importance they have in our lives.

Thank you for reading this far and visiting my website. If you have any questions or would like to discuss a portrait of your pet, please  contact me!


All work © Cristian Sotomayor unless otherwise noted.