We are Chris and Kristine Turnier and we love nature and the outdoors! We've lived all over, from beautiful California to majestic Colorado, historical Tennessee, and now sunny Florida. We even lived overseas in the gorgeous, tropical Fiji Islands. Everywhere we've lived, a fly rod, snorkel, paint brush or camera has not been far from hand.
Chris grew up with art in his blood and a love for fish in his heart. His mother, Patricia Turnier, is also an artist, and our site is featuring some of her beautiful bird paintings (see Patricia's biography below). Chris spent his childhood fishing with his grandfather and free diving and spearfishing off the Southern California coast. Chris earned multiple art scholarships and exhibited his watercolors and ceramic sculpture at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach. After high school he enrolled in a community college in the Northern Sierra mountains where he spent every possible moment fly fishing for trout. This is where he met me (Kristine) and of course, taught me to fly fish, too. Together we continued on to Humboldt State University on the rugged redwood coast of Northern California. Chris earned a degree in fisheries and after graduating, a job opportunity took him back to Southern California. Here we both worked for the first online tropical fish store, Flying Fish Express. We started our own company selling fish and corals online, but several years later, an opportunity we could not pass up presented itself. We found ourselves and our two young children living overseas in the Fiji Islands, running a tropical fish and coral supply station for Walt Smith, International. After four amazing years we felt the need to return home to be closer to our families and to provide more opportunities for our children's futures.
Today, Chris has taken his love for art and his background in fisheries and applied them to his realistic watercolors and barn wood fish carvings. Be sure to read the story of the 125-year-old barn that has become the centerpiece of our artwork. We hope you will enjoy your visit to our site as we share our passion for nature with you.
Chris grew up with art in his blood and a love for fish in his heart. His mother, Patricia Turnier, is also an artist, and our site is featuring some of her beautiful bird paintings (see Patricia's biography below). Chris spent his childhood fishing with his grandfather and free diving and spearfishing off the Southern California coast. Chris earned multiple art scholarships and exhibited his watercolors and ceramic sculpture at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach. After high school he enrolled in a community college in the Northern Sierra mountains where he spent every possible moment fly fishing for trout. This is where he met me (Kristine) and of course, taught me to fly fish, too. Together we continued on to Humboldt State University on the rugged redwood coast of Northern California. Chris earned a degree in fisheries and after graduating, a job opportunity took him back to Southern California. Here we both worked for the first online tropical fish store, Flying Fish Express. We started our own company selling fish and corals online, but several years later, an opportunity we could not pass up presented itself. We found ourselves and our two young children living overseas in the Fiji Islands, running a tropical fish and coral supply station for Walt Smith, International. After four amazing years we felt the need to return home to be closer to our families and to provide more opportunities for our children's futures.
Today, Chris has taken his love for art and his background in fisheries and applied them to his realistic watercolors and barn wood fish carvings. Be sure to read the story of the 125-year-old barn that has become the centerpiece of our artwork. We hope you will enjoy your visit to our site as we share our passion for nature with you.
As a second-generation Californian, Patricia Turnier has lived in Laguna Beach for most of her life. When Patricia was a little girl her parents and uncle started the iconic Pottery Shack in Laguna Beach. Patrica remembers spending her summers in the shop dusting pottery. A graduate of U.C. Irvine with a degree in Studio Arts, Patrica has exhibited in numerous galleries and exhibitions in the area, including the prestigious Festival of Arts. Currently she is on the Bower's Museum Collector's Council in Santa Ana. Patricia works in mediums ranging from pen and ink to watercolor, ceramics, acrylic and graphite, and oil on canvas. Her subjects are minimal art, sculpture, abstract, and landscapes. Currently she is working in oils to bring slightly unreal color to bird species from around the world.