Spreading Smiles: How Chris Vines Turns Dialysis into a Canvas

Read time

Chris Vines

Chris Vines has been fighting cancer since 1995, is legally blind, in kidney failure, and probably the most positive person you will ever meet.

His relentless optimism and incredible artistic talent have made him a beloved figure at the dialysis clinic where he spends much of his time.

If you can name it, Chris can probably draw it. With a goal to make people happy, Chris has spent his last few months on dialysis making sure all the renal staff and fellow patients have a reason to smile.

Gifting everyone a drawing of their choice is just the start for this 71-year-old, who has travelled the world with his work and is always happy to share a story.

Chris said he has been drawing since he was a child in school, but the hobby really picked up after his cancer diagnosis in the 90s.

"It was a way to keep my mind focused on something other than treatment," he said.

"But now I see it as a way to spread joy."

Occasionally, Chris sells his work to fund buying more pens, but mostly his pieces are intended as gifts or donations to be raffled off for raising money.

His admiration of the renal staff is not a one-way street.

Just spending a little time with Chris on dialysis can be like sitting with a celebrity as everyone stops for a quick chat or flashes a grin his way.

Nurse Sharon Carlin described him as a "golden bubble who lifts everyone’s mood in the room."