Paul Chepikian, of Greek/Armenian descent, was born in Jidda, Saudi Arabia in 1955. Having spent part of his childhood in Egypt and Lebanon, his family moved to the United States in 1963 when Paul was eight years old. Speaking five languages, but not English, Paul attended public school and at age thirteen, he was proudly sworn in as an American citizen.

At a very young age, Paul showed talent for the visual arts and began expressing himself creatively in photography as well as other media. Using an instamatic camera, he began shooting images in the urban and inner city landscapes of his adopted home town of Paterson, New Jersey. This was to become the foundation of his vision in photography as Paterson was one of the birthplaces of the industrial revolution.

After having attended three different high schools in three years, Paul, legally an adult at the age of eighteen, chose not to move to California with his mother during his senior year but opted instead to get a job as well as his own apartment. Upon graduation, he received a cash scholarship from the New Jersey Art Directors Club. This was to be the first art scholarship awarded to any student in the 40-year history of Passaic Valley High School. Immediately upon graduating high school, Paul began a career in New York City as an art director and designer often fulfilling the photographic needs for projects as well.

His passion for photography grew to encompass cinematography and filmmaking. 1979 found Paul taking the next step in his journey, a move to Los Angeles. His expanding creative universe found him writing and producing as well as performing and teaching improvisational comedy with the Harvey Lembeck Professional Comedy Workshop at Paramount Studios and working with alumni of Chicago's Second City. Among the many projects he wrote and produced was “Deep Dish TV,” a Cable Ace Award nominee for Best Comedy Special which aired on the Showtime Network. Wherever his journey took him, a camera was not far out of his reach.

With the birth of digital photography, and the breadth of expression that comes with having a digital darkroom on ones personal computer, his passion for the visual realm thrives. As it was in the beginning in his hometown of Paterson, his creative vision continues to focus on the smaller details in urban landscapes that often go unnoticed. Paul hopes that his work will continue to illuminate the surprising design in everyday life.

Paul lives to create and does so in Encino, CA with his wife, Terry, and their two dogs, Jenny and Sully.