Interview with Chris Lewis of Baritus Catholic Illustration
If you have spent any time in the online Catholic world lately, you’ve likely come across the beautiful art of Chris Lewis, the founder of Baritus Catholic Illustration. Baritus is one of the best-known names in Catholic illustration today, from stickers to T-shirts and book covers. I started working with Chris several years ago when I hired him to do the cover art for “The Lives of Catholic Heroes and Heroines of America” book series, and I have been blessed to collaborate with him on many projects since. Today I interviewed Chris to learn about his work, the craft of graphic design, and to pick his brain about what young Catholics should know who are considering design as a career field.
How did you first get involved in art?
I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. First, with traditional tools and materials: colored pencils on board, pen and ink on paper with watercolor, though I was never a painter. I started to consider myself more of an illustrator, and while in my early years I loved things like graphic novels, as I entered into my late teens and adult years, I began to gravitate towards the single-panel illustration work that was often found in republished classics.
At the same time, I also discovered computer art in my early teens and was immediately hooked. It was challenging, and I also loved doing minimal palette pixel art, which is where I learned to employ a very limited use of colors in my work. I combined all of these influences with some of the illustration techniques I worked on over the years. When I went into professional graphic design for a career, these illustration skills would come in useful on various projects where I shifted to a completely digital workflow.
Your style is very unique. How would you describe it, and were there any notable influences?
How did you discern that you wanted to make a career out of digital illustration?
From the earliest days of trying to determine where I wanted to use my talents, I was always focused on going into illustration, eventually wanting to do illustrated books for children. But in those days, the late 90s, it was difficult to see a clear path into a professional career for an illustrator, and it was quite expensive to self-publish, without a lot of opportunity to self-market. On the other hand, it seemed like everyone was hiring graphic designers. So after looking at things practically, I decided to go back to school to study graphic design, as I had already started a freelance business in my late teens where I was essentially doing branding for various people and wanted to improve those skills and also have a more direct jump into the creative world through an agency or marketing department as a graphic designer.
What does Baritus mean? How did you choose the name?
I have had extensive experience developing brands and private label products, and one of the challenges there is finding a name that is not taken and free to trademark. In the Catholic world, I saw quite a few people using phrases or words ubiquitous within Catholic culture, and there was not a lot of differentiation from brand to brand. On the other hand, I loved history, and particularly Catholic history, and oftentimes I would come across terms that would pop up in my reading that I thought would work well, without being too on the nose.
Once, when reading about the collapse of the Roman Empire, I came across one of those words, “Baritus”. It means “trumpeting” or “war-cry”, it was perfect. It conveyed in my mind the images from Scripture of scenes like Jericho, or the end of the world in John’s Apocalypse, it was able to be used symbolically (the trumpet representing proclaiming the Truth, the sword representing defendant he Truth), and it was Latin so it had a connection to our ancient Church in language.
What is the most enjoyable part of your work? What is the most difficult?
I absolutely love being able to follow inspirational streaks and express the timeless things of our faith in a new way. I always try to find a new perspective on the Catholic themes I illustrate, and it can be a lot of fun researching the history around figures or events, and then trying to pull out of it a symbolic meaning that works visually. I can also get lost in detailing my work, and it never gets old bringing “something out of nothing” in a way, from a white screen to a fully fleshed-out visual concept.
The most difficult thing, other than not having enough time to work on all of the ideas that are constantly swirling around my imagination, is trying to pull one of those creative ideas out of the blank screen when inspiration isn’t there. I think most artists deal with these periods of dryness, and I have learned over the years not to struggle against that too much. Walk away, find something else to do for a while, switch to another project, read something, listen to music, anything to help get creative gears turning again. But of course, this can be hard when a deadline looms over your head.
What advice can you give to young Catholics interested in pursuing digital illustration as a profession?
God has given every creative person those talents, and they are a real gift. Exercise that gift every day, even if it’s just sketching something for 15 or 20 minutes. Try to develop your own unique perspective on the subjects you want to create, whether it’s through the style, themes, etc.
As young artists, there is a period of being inspired by the other artists around us, but as we grow in our skills, the more we can start to hone our own unique creative work, and the more natural it will flow. I believe the easier it will be to step out with something new to offer, that helps you gain traction. Also, don’t be scared to take risks, whether in the things we draw or the endeavors we undertake with our art. So much of becoming a professional is just working at it daily, taking chances, learning from mistakes, and finding a natural flow to our creative process and work.
In Closing
Chris Lewis’s journey is a powerful reminder that art, when rooted in faith, can evangelize, inspire, and uplift. Whether you’re a budding illustrator or simply a lover of Catholic art, his story encourages us all to use our God-given talents boldly and faithfully.
If you’d like to learn more about Chris’s work, visit his website, BARITUS Catholic Illustration, or visit his Etsy shop.
