ABOUT THE ARTIST

Marty Gray's paintings reveal a deep awe for what he sees around him. Passionate and introspective, a man on an artistic mission, he's devoted to painting exclusively from his life's experience. "In a sense I'm greedy" he says, "I don't want to miss one little bit of this experience we call life. I'm alive when I paint. In fact, when I don't go out and paint I feel spiritually cut off."

His passion for travel has led him all over the globe. His paintings in oil have allowed him to document and share his desire to experience such varied environs as the South Pacific, Europe, the Mediterranean, and Indonesia, as well as his native California.

Gray divides his time between his home and studios in Laguna Beach and Kauai. Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1954, Gray's family moved to Lakewood, California the following year. His path as a painter would manifest itself some years later after he spent many years pursuing a career as a songwriter. Gray recalls, "I loved playing music but I didn't like the music business. After years of writing and recording in my studio I felt burned out and decided to pursue other interests. It was shortly thereafter that a friend turned me on to a set of paint and brushes. From the first moment I touched the brush to canvas, I was hooked." Gray sold his recording studio and dove head first into his lifetime love affair with painting.

Following his love for surfing, Gray moved to the island of Kauai in 1973. Spending part of his time living in a tree house community on the lush north shore was to be a life altering experience. Gray comments, "There is nothing more beautiful than nature's creations. With such great beauty around us it's sometimes difficult to decide what to paint, and even harder to paint something that does justice to what we see."

Fortunately, Gray had some of the top artists in their selective fields to call friends. One of these artists was Charles Lynn Bragg. "Chick" as his friends call him took Gray under his his guidance when he first began painting, and taught him the technical aspects of painting.

As a devotee of the California and French Impressionists, Gray began studying their images, and consciously taking his work in a new direction. Eventually he began to discover what it was he had sought for years: his own voice as a painter.

Gray reflects, "The only way to grow as a painter is to try new things, to immerse yourself in the landscape, to accept that there will be failures for every success." His richly painted compositions, with their shadows and vibrant colors, create wonderful impressions that are certain to evoke memories among those familiar with those settings.