Kristopher Naeger: Constantly reaching with his art

Kristopher Naeger says he likes living and working as an artist in the south of France.

"I'm exotic here," Naeger said in a telephone interview. "I'm the American. This is my first time to live in a different country, and I like it."

Originally from Cape Girardeau, Naeger, 36, is an artist in the abstract-expressionist tradition who settled near the town of Albi in 2012. But traveling around to pursue his craft is nothing new to Naeger: While an art major at Southeast Missouri State University, he visited several Caribbean islands to broaden his stature as an artist; when Naeger lived in New Orleans for eight years, he was able to present his paintings in exhibits not just in the Big Easy but also in Costa Rica.

"I haven't gathered any moss, that's for sure," he said.

Not gathering any moss has been a hallmark of Naeger's artistic career. As a student at Central High School, he said he routinely skipped his art classes and hung out with an older crowd. The trend continued when he enrolled at Southeast in 1995.

"It took me a while to graduate," he said. "Sometimes I didn't attend class because I was too busy painting on my own. I also started traveling to the Caribbean to research and observe artwork in the islands. I visited St. Thomas, the Dominican Republic, Barbados and other places. It was about becoming a better artist."

Naeger finally managed to graduate Southeast with a bachelor of fine arts degree in 2003 and began selling his paintings locally. He also started the artistic group Integrated Counterbalance where his artwork was displayed in galleries along with that of other group members. But the road called to Naeger again, and in 2004 he left Cape Girardeau and moved to New Orleans.

"I liked what New Orleans had to offer," he said. "There's a vibrant art community there."

Once he settled in, Naeger started to create new paintings and ingratiate himself in the New Orleans art community. He also began taking sojourns to Costa Rica to display his artwork and was even featured on the cover of Costa Rica's national arts magazine. But when Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast in 2005, Naeger's artistic career was temporarily put on hold.

"The good thing was that most of my paintings were in Costa Rica and were saved from Katrina," he said. "But that hurricane was just terrible. You couldn't do anything in New Orleans after that."

Naeger said he returned to New Orleans after taking refuge in Cape Girardeau for a short time. In addition to resuming his artwork, he took part in restoring homes that had been damaged by the hurricane. It was also at that time when he met his future wife, Delphine Roussel, a French-born resident of the city.

"We were neighbors," Naeger said. "She had dual citizenship and had a contract to teach in New Orleans."

After he married Delphine in 2006, Naeger said visiting France with his wife afforded him the opportunity to display his artwork there.

"It's a totally different way of life in France," he said. "I was in a different culture that was conducive to creating artwork."

When Naeger's wife was nearing the end of her teaching contract in America, he said the decision was made for them to make the move to France.

"Delphine also missed her family," he said. "I sold most of my paintings and finally moved here with her in 2012. I was able to achieve residency; it was a lengthy process, but it happened."

Gaining his French residency status also allowed Naeger to become officially registered as a painter with the French government.

"I'm recognized by the government as a card-carrying painter," he said. "It's my official job."

But like most English-speakers moving to a foreign country, learning a new language didn't come easy to Naeger.

"My wife helped me, of course. French isn't like Spanish where there are lots of phonetic words. I don't have that many problems now except when it comes to verb tenses."

Since he has lived in France, Naeger said he has created about 80 new paintings in a studio in his home. They are selling well, he said, and he exhibits his artwork in Albi and other nearby locations. Most recently, the mayor of Albi bought one of his paintings and then donated it to the town hall. But Naeger said he has his eye on Paris.

"I plan to go to Paris after the first of the year and get into the galleries there," he said. "You've got to go for the big time."

But, true to form, Naeger said he and his wife may have to leave Albi at some point.

"We're thinking of going somewhere warmer," he said.

While the life of a roaming artist may sound appealing, Naeger warned that his career hasn't been one where everything just fell into place.

"You have to have lots of passion and really tough skin," he said. "But when you have that passion, you have to go for it. You can't hold anything back. Be constantly reaching for a goal, and if you have the passion you'll reach it. If you persevere, who knows where you'll go."

Rick Naeger, Kristopher's father, vouched that his son had a passion for becoming an artist since he was 5.

"Our house was always loaded with his paintings," Rick Naeger said. "Sometimes he was a temperamental artist, but his mother [Vickie] and I are thrilled to death for him. He's a good son with a great imagination and ability. I'm happy that he's doing what he wants."

For more information on Kristopher Naeger's artistry in France, visit kristophersonlinegallery.com.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635