Photo by Arthur Olson

Gary Hughes is a Californian artist located in Santa Cruz, south of San Francisco. He received a B. A. from Califonia State University, Long Beach and an M.F.A. from the University of Arizona in 1975. While many artists are "born" to do art, Gary made a spontaneous decision to become a professional artist while a senior in college, then a reluctant pre-law student. Growing up in a cultural void, he was totally ignorant of anything about art whatsoever. He worked very hard to develop the skills for graduate school, and get a rudimentary idea of what the world of art held. Having a degree in history, he was able to acquaint himself with art history enjoyably and still studies history daily. LIke most other artists he has his favorites, and not-so favorites.

Soon after Gary graduated from Arizona, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and began working as an independent artist. He has had a successful career doing fine and commercial artwork of all kinds, maintaining a painting studio at his home near the ocean and a second studio in Oakland until 2005. His wife, Robin, is a research scientist, an expert in genetics, nanopore technology, anatomy, and physiology. Together, they share a life of creative pastimes mixed with an excessive dose of surfing and mountain biking. Their hobbies are fast sports cars, stringed instruments, cactii, pet reptiles, audiophile pursuits, and lots of other fun, distracting activities with their friends across the country. You may see a more personal and frivolous view of Gary and Robin, photos and links by finding the "Everything else" link in the About this site section. Gary's art is in many private collections in the U.S. and Canada and he has shown at various venues over the years. His illustrations have appeared in several periodicals, and his commercial art and signwork appeared almost everywhere. Prices on his pieces vary, please contact him directly to purchase original art, or Giclee prints of any piece on this website. If you prefer to buy a piece through a retail dealer, you may contact the R. Blitzer Gallery at (831) 458-1217.

Gary's thoughts on his role as an artist today.

Gary's primary drive in making these paintings is to become masterful in all manners of two-dimensional art. It is his goal to make well-painted pictures, with original subject matter, unique compositions and color, in many media. His media are oil, watercolor, pencil, chalk, charcoal, airbrush, colored pencil, ink, and computer art. Although his application of these materials is solid and traditional, the manner in which he creates imagery and executes the pieces are somewhat different than the typical painter. Gary's embracing of technology has contributed much to his ability to create unique imagery that goes from strictly realistic to psychedelic and back. Each medium is pursued as it should be, in a technical sense, and the imagery is intended to reflect the visual potential of the chosen medium.

Gary does not consider the pursuit of art anything special, he is concerned with the making of pictures, and that only. Gary does not believe that one is special simply because one is creative, or has a special talent, almost everyone is good at something. Art is merely one more form of entertainment and should be subject to the viewers' whims like any other amusement. He feels society's true heros are the plumbers, who come to your house in the middle of the night and unplug your toilet. Art was indespensibly important before the camera was invented, but since then, it is simply something one does as a choice in life. Recognizing that, it is Gary's intent to be entertaining and thought-provoking in his subject matter. Many of the paintings are intended to stimulate the viewer's imagination. Although Gary is serious about painting and art, he realizes that there are things in life that are just as important, and is commited to not missing out on living the surfer's dream, driving fast and having a partner in life who is always fun and creative. We hope you enjoy this work and consider your time here well-spent. Thank you for browsing.

Photo by Phil Matthews

About the site: The primary photographers for the 2021 site were Donald Bright, Robin Abu-Shumays and Gary Hughes. Web design by Gary. Art is always best in person. We did our best to present this work online.