C.A. Morris began his career as a portrait artist in high school in the late 1970s. As an independent artist whose reputation spread by word of mouth, he has taken commissions from patrons across the country, working in oil, acrylic, watercolor, egg tempera, and pencil. His creative interests have led him to numerous projects in diverse media, including art installations in Iowa City and New York City; an art inspiration project called Shake the Muse; and 3D design, including the layout for the dimensional-view landscape for Rose Frantzen's “Portrait of Maquoketa”.
1979 to present: Commissioned portraiture now in collections including those of Senator Richard Durbin, Ford CEO Alex Trotman, Analytics CEO Mitchell Burman, SFX CEO Robert F. X. Sillerman, Trappist Caskets, and the University of Iowa College of Law.
1984: BFA, St. Louis University.
1993 to present: On-going series of portraits of children in which the children are painted into their own artwork, which they create with the portrait in mind.
1996 - 2001: Directed and produced multimedia art events in Iowa City at Anonyme Gallery and NYC at Soho Think Tank Gallery, bringing together artists, musicians, writers, and actors to create live, interactive installations. Each event was centered on a theme suggested by the time of year in which they were presented (Halloween, Valentine's, New Year's).
2002 to present: Showing drawings, paintings, and sculptures at Old City Hall Gallery, in Maquoketa, IA.
2005: “…to a head…” a large-scale multimedia installation with paintings, illuminated transparencies, text, and music for the Dubuque Museum of Art, with contributions by artist Rose Frantzen, composer John Frantzen, and writer Joseph Lennon.
2008 to present: Co-founder and Vice-president of the Board for Maquoketa Art Experience
2009 and 2014: Designed with Rose Frantzen the first and second edition of the “Portrait of Maquoketa” book
2010: “What Figures to be Art” exhibition at Maquoketa Art Experience
2012: “Drawing in Cafés” exhibition at Maquoketa Art Experience
2016: “Saint Placebo” exhibition at Maquoketa Art Experience
2019: Creation and development of Shake the Muse, an art inspiration project. When users shake their phone, an all new set of art elements appears, offering one of more than 40 billion possible art prompts.
2019: The Storytelling Tree exhibition at Figge Art Museum.
1979 to present: Commissioned portraiture now in collections including those of Senator Richard Durbin, Ford CEO Alex Trotman, Analytics CEO Mitchell Burman, SFX CEO Robert F. X. Sillerman, Trappist Caskets, and the University of Iowa College of Law.
1984: BFA, St. Louis University.
1993 to present: On-going series of portraits of children in which the children are painted into their own artwork, which they create with the portrait in mind.
1996 - 2001: Directed and produced multimedia art events in Iowa City at Anonyme Gallery and NYC at Soho Think Tank Gallery, bringing together artists, musicians, writers, and actors to create live, interactive installations. Each event was centered on a theme suggested by the time of year in which they were presented (Halloween, Valentine's, New Year's).
2002 to present: Showing drawings, paintings, and sculptures at Old City Hall Gallery, in Maquoketa, IA.
2005: “…to a head…” a large-scale multimedia installation with paintings, illuminated transparencies, text, and music for the Dubuque Museum of Art, with contributions by artist Rose Frantzen, composer John Frantzen, and writer Joseph Lennon.
2008 to present: Co-founder and Vice-president of the Board for Maquoketa Art Experience
2009 and 2014: Designed with Rose Frantzen the first and second edition of the “Portrait of Maquoketa” book
2010: “What Figures to be Art” exhibition at Maquoketa Art Experience
2012: “Drawing in Cafés” exhibition at Maquoketa Art Experience
2016: “Saint Placebo” exhibition at Maquoketa Art Experience
2019: Creation and development of Shake the Muse, an art inspiration project. When users shake their phone, an all new set of art elements appears, offering one of more than 40 billion possible art prompts.
2019: The Storytelling Tree exhibition at Figge Art Museum.