Chris Clark was born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 25, 1958. His art takes on many forms including painted hand-sewn quilts, painted chairs and decorative "Spirit Sticks". He often depicts biblical scenes on his quilts such as Noah's Ark, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus feeding the Multitude, and other scenes from the Bible.

Chris graduated from Ensley High School in 1977 and attended Livingston University for about 3 years. He dropped out of college and joined the Army in 1980. When he was discharged from the service in 1988, he returned home and got a job in a brick factory. Chris lost that job when the plant shut down and several similar jobs under the same circumstances. In 1990, after his vision started to blur, he discovered that he was diabetic. People would mistakenly assume he was illiterate while he tried to fill out job applications when in fact he was unable to see. His eyesight took some time to improve once he was diagnosed and began treatment for his diabetes.