As a child, growing up in the rustic ranch country of the Canadian and American Pacific Northwest, Chester Fields knew instinctively that two things would be a part of his destiny: he knew that someday, somehow, he wanted to become a professional artist - and he knew that the beauty and drama of nature that was a constant part of his childhood would remain a center for his life.

To prepare for the first, Fields devoted most of his childhood playtime to watching, drawing and painting his surroundings...butterflies, wildlife, nature. That preparation helped insure the second portion of his destiny. As he watched and observed, Field's eye for detail and his appreciation for the delicate, powerful, subtle, awesome faces of nature were honed to a fine edge.

While he may not have considered himself lucky at the time, a third opportunity appeared shortly after his graduation from a college graphics design program in Spokane, Washington. It came disguised as a draft notice. As a staff artist on an American Army base in Germany, Fields used the off-duty hours of his two-year military tour to study art as only the Masters can teach it. Roaming the halls of the greatest museums and galleries on the continent, he studied the techniques of Da Vince, Rembrant, Caravagio and Van Gogh...every detail and definition of Rodin and Michelangelo.

Upon returning from his military tour, Fields spent a short period as a commercial designer in an international electronic sign manufacturing company in Spokane. The pause provided him the time he needed to refocus on his dream of a fine arts career, and the springboard he needed to launch that career.

That was over twelve years ago. From then on there was no looking back. The subject matter he chose was the natural one...the birds, animals and people who nurtured his talent as he grew up. Working by night in his home studio, he settled into an artists' life of creating and showing his work, and challenging all the barriers to fame in the modern art world. To capture the excitement and reality of the American West, Fields used the knowledge he acquired during his childhood and combined them with an inborn energy, technical skill, attention to detail, and hours of painstaking research. His creations became flawless words of art that captured nature's great beauty and soaring adventure. By first finding the eye of each creation, he used all manner of aides...photography, video, taxidermy and more...to explore the soul of his subjects and to bring them to life on canvas or in bronze.

His initial offerings - sometimes delicate, sometimes powerful - moved tempura and acrylic from a medium to a mirror, reflecting reality and impressionism in a single image. He received early recognition for shi paintings from the Western Artists of America, and sold regularly in shows and galleries all over the West. His subject matter continued to include nature and wildlife, but also expanded to explore some new and related fields in interest.

A passion for the strength and ruggedness of the original mountain men who conquered the wilderness of the West found reflection in some paintings. A fascination with the depth of the spiritual relationship that the Native American shared with their nature surroundings led to the creation of a series of critically acclaimed paintings of Shaman rites of the Algonquin Indians...and always he returned to his love, wildlife. As experience and success built his confidence, Chester began to take on new challenges. He moved from canvas to sculpture and followed in the tradition of the fine bronze creations that are almost as old as history itself. Because of their permanence, their ability to hold fine detail and to accept patinas that closely mimic the colors of nature, bronzes by Fields quickly became the newest treasures of astute art collectors.

His first sculpting effort, "Splashdown" swept the Wildlife Art world with such explosive force that it required only six months to reach it's final selling phase for the edition of 75 plus 10 artists' proofs. Small wonder. For the privileged few who have had the opportunity to view it in person, Splashdown is an amazing combination of precision, balance and movement, dramatizing the strength of a magnificent Bald Eagle as it snatches a German Grown trout from its watery home. As the viewer closely examines the piece, he can appreciate the extravagant devotion to detail that characterizes all of Field's work. Each feather is carefully researched for its purpose in the bird's overall physical makeup, then individually created with a precision seldom found in any medium. Working in wax, clay and fiberglass on the original piece, every aspect of the bird and its prey are balanced, formed and finished into exactly the right position.

Standing back, a broader perspective expands the view's appreciation of a Fields' sculpture. The meticulous details suddenly flow together into a major expression, seeming to freeze motion into a breathtaking illusion of endless movement. He has captured the very essence of the life force. The animal appears to pose only long enough to be admired, and then continues on in his quest for life.