Charles Criner

Born in 1945 in the small East Texas town of Athens as one of nine children, Charles discovered his passion for art early, honing his skills by copying images from Walter Foster “How-To” drawing books. Encouraged by his family, he pursued formal education at Texas Southern University, graduating in 1968 under the mentorship of Dr. John Biggers, who introduced him to lithography and emphasized the rawness of life, family, and cultural heritage in art. 

Charles’s work beautifully captures his childhood memories and the Black experience — scenes of fishing in East Texas streams, people laboring in fields, and intimate personal narratives that served as windows into our past. A master of lithography, he created multiples using waxed crayon drawings on stone, often pulling prints on a 150-year-old antique press, and sometimes transforming imperfect ones into original acrylic paintings. His work has been exhibited widely, from Texas Southern University to the Tyler Museum of Art, and graces numerous public and private collections.