Local artist driven by zeal

He began drawing his dad’s racecar when he was in the first grade. Today the pictures that he drew when he was just a child are in a frame hanging next to the drawings he produces today.

Chris says it is really neat to see those drawings that he did when he was young right along side his other artwork. He has a bunch of artwork that he has created and has given some of them away. With the urging of his mother he entered his pencil drawings of vehicles in the Arts Council Fall Art Show. To the delight of both Chris and his mother, he won first, second and third place in the Fall Art Show. The sketch he entitled The Intimidator won first. It is a souped up custom Chevy truck that only existed in his mind until he put the design on paper. His drawings also took second and third place with “Thumper” and “The Low Down.” Thumper is a Nova car and The Low Down is a low rider Chevrolet truck. He has also entered his artwork in the fair and won several first place ribbons.

The details that he puts in his drawings are extraordinary. People like to look at his sketches and are continually amazed because of the details that they didn’t notice right away. There are certain details and elements that he always puts in every picture. Every car or truck design that Chris draws is a creation from his imagination.

When Chris was in high school his artwork was chosen to hang at the art exhibit at the Capitol in Atlanta. He went with his art teacher Judy Johnson and other art students.

This reporter asked Chris, “How did you discover your talent in art and how do you draw with such great details?” “It was just there. I have always been drawing. The more I did the better they got,” he replied. He has always enjoyed drawing cars and said, “I can do more, but with cars - it’s just there. I don’t really know how to explain how I do it, it just happens. I really don’t know. That was the first one I did with the wheels spinning,” as he explains pointing to his drawing.

He doesn’t use any special tools only a pencil and uses a CD case to get straight lines.

It took him about forty-five minutes to draw “The Intimidator.” He didn’t use a picture only his memory to go by. “I designed the whole grill and all. A guy went and had a truck made like that one. Because they don’t make a grill like that for a truck. We built that truck,” he stated.

Chris drives a low rider truck. Once he was being followed real close by a Chevy Silverado. When he looked in the mirror all he could see was a grill and headlights. He said to himself, “It just looks intimidating, so that is how that one came to be. It’s a real truck.”

“I went to school for it (hotrod design) and they didn’t really teach what I was wanting to learn. They just kind of give you stuff to do and that was it. And I was like, I don’t like this. They wanted to teach you how to draw and I already knew how to draw. I didn’t even finish, that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I’ve learned a lot on my own.”

There was a guy that he met who had worked for General Motors and he saw the drawings Chris had done. “He gave me a few insights. Like how to do the glare and other techniques. He told him this is the cheapest way to build your own truck. Nobody can take that from you. It’s on a piece a paper. You can have any car you want or however you want it. And that is pretty much what I go by.”

“Who says I can’t have that?” He asked as he points to the low rider hot rod truck that he sketched. “That is kind of the rule I go by,” he said.

In addition to pencil drawing he also paints and does air brush. He does freestyle hand painting and pin striping. He worked for Harley Davidson in Brunswick and Savannah. “I did a bunch of helmets for people and put sculls and flames on motorcycles.”

Chris has painted murals and is currently working on a huge mural on his wall in his office that has amazing realistic details. He has been working on it for about six months and is not finished with it yet. He is always coming up with new ideas to put in the mural.

He had a little Boston terrier dog that passed away and he painted his little dog on the mural. “I think he got bit by a spider. He had a mark on his leg.” When Chris woke up Otis just looked like he was asleep in the corner. He never got up. Otis was their garage dog and was Chris’ little buddy for almost four years.

Otis would take Chris’ cheeseburgers when he would stop to get gasoline. “I don’t know how he did it, but he was quick, the wrapper would still be sitting there and the burger would be gone and he wouldn’t have a sign of burger on his mouth anywhere.”

When asked what his favorite drawing is, Chris replied, “A tattoo design that I created using my last name that has intricate details that pertain to my life.” He had the design tattooed across his back. Chris began with just a small tattoo of his signature letters ‘CG’ and now he has many tattoos.

I asked him, “Is art important in school?” “Yes it is, I believe if it wasn’t for art in school I don’t know what I would have done. It’s something that nobody can take from you.”
Chris doesn’t like the fact that art has been taken out of our schools and said, “It was stupid to take it out, because art is something that someone can take and go in their own world.”

When asked what are your future ambitions? Chris asked, “Do you know who Sam Bass is?” Bass is an official NASCAR artist. “He is just a regular dude and he just draws race cars and that’s what he does.”
This is something Chris would find irresistible to do some day. Chris would love to get up everyday and build and design hotrods for NASCAR.

He doesn’t really like the praise; all he likes is to see people happy. Chris recreated his grandmother’s house in a drawing going only by descriptions of what it looked like. There where no pictures of the house his grandmother (Granny Geiger) was raised in. This was way back in 1920’s. It looks like a real black and white picture. He likes the feeling that he get’s from doing drawings for people.

His other talents and interests are hot rods and playing the guitar. Chris made his own custom hot rod truck by using a drawing that was created from his mind.

Chris is 25 years old. He is married to Brandy Spell Geiger and she is from Jesup. They have one daughter, Autumn Chevelle Geiger, age 1, and are expecting a boy in March. His parents are Carrie Geiger and the late Paul Geiger. His grandmother is Iva Geiger and is affectionately called “Granny Geiger.”

Chris Geiger is just one example of the amazing talent that we have here in Baxley. We wish Chris all the best and know that whatever he does he has a bright future ahead.