Editing James C. Christensen (section)

==Career==
Christensen began his career as a free-lance illustrator and a junior high school art instructor. Christensen was an instructor at BYU from 1976 until 1997.<ref name=Des /> He has had numerous showings of his work throughout the US and has been commissioned by media companies to create artwork for their publications, such as [[Time-Life Books]] and ''[[Omni Magazine|Omni]]''.

Christensen appeared in an episode of ABC's show ''[[Extreme Makeover: Home Edition]]'' in 2005. He created a picture featuring a member of the family as a fairy. The design team filmed a segment at his studio. The Greenwich Workshop donated a framed Court of the Faeries that Christensen presented to the family for the room as well.

Christensen said his inspirations were [[mythology|myth]]s, [[fable]]s, [[fantasy|fantasies]], and tales of imagination. He employed many-layered medieval and Renaissance clothing, and hunched backs symbolizing the burdens people carry in life.

One his trademarks were flying or floating fish and he explained, "In my paintings a fish usually symbolizes wonder and wisdom. I often paint a fish floating in the air to remind the viewer that this is a new reality, that there is magic in the world."<ref name=Des /> He was approached by [[Pixar]] to consult on ''[[Finding Nemo]]'' but declined in order to work on a mural for [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]].<ref>Olson, Joseph. [https://mormonartist.net/interviews/james-christensen/ "James Christensen"], ''Mormon Artist'', December 2010. Retrieved on 9 April 2021.</ref>

Christensen painted several murals for the [[Provo City Center Temple]] of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church).<ref>Mann, Court. [https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/orem/world-renowned-artist-and-muralist-james-christensen-dies-at-74/article_aac06746-a43b-5dac-83cc-309f04d2ea59.html "World-renowned artist and muralist James Christensen dies at 74"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409231034/https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/orem/world-renowned-artist-and-muralist-james-christensen-dies-at-74/article_aac06746-a43b-5dac-83cc-309f04d2ea59.html |date=2021-04-09 }}, ''[[Daily Herald (Utah)]]'', 11 January 2017. Retrieved on 9 April 2021.</ref>

===Controversy===
[[Image:James C Christensen - Voyage of the Basset.jpg|thumb|right|300px|One of Christensen's [[mermaid]] images that sparked controversy in [[Davis County, Utah]]]]
Christensen's book ''[[Voyage of the Basset]]'' was the source of controversy in 2006 when a resident of [[Bountiful, Utah]], demanded that the book be removed from circulation from the [[Young adult literature|young adult]] section at the [[Davis County, Utah|Davis County]] [[Public library|Library]] in nearby [[Farmington, Utah]] because some of the illustrations were deemed too suggestive.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Mermaids afloat in Davis libraries despite protests |last=McKitrick |first=Cathy |newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=23 August 2006 |url= https://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/utah/ci_4223693}}</ref> The Davis County Library Board voted to keep the book in circulation in the young adult section.