As a seven-year-old second grade student in Hawaii, Gary was supposed to create a thank you card for his class. Gary says “I couldn’t even draw a good stick figure…so I found someone else to do the work, and I turned it in as my own. When the teacher saw it, she was dazzled. She said it was the best she had ever seen! I felt so guilty! I decided my only hope to be redeemed was to learn how to draw and paint.”
Since then the words: “The best I’ve ever seen” haunted and motivated Gary to develop the exceptional artistic and philosophical depth that he puts into his pieces.
As a child, the legends and stories of the samurai fascinated Gary. Eventually the “way of the warrior” (Bushido) and it’s philosophy became a part of Gary’s devotion to discipline, courage and pursuit of perfection.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam and surviving the Tet offensive, Gary lived in Japan for three years. Here his multi-cultural (Korean, Filipino, Spanish) family background drew him to the spirit, aesthetics, and exoticism of the Orient like a fish to water…
With a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii, Gary returned home to seek a career in commercial art. His Air Force experience drew him towards the field of aviation and space technology where he secured posits in Seattle with the Boeing Company and later in Sam Francisco with the Lockheed Corporation.
Now Gary is dedicating his time to his family and the expression of his life experiences as well as his studies of Taekwondo, Karate, mixed media graphics and printing, and other artistic techniques in his continuing pursuit of perfection. Gary also donates much of his time and art to various community organizations/events in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and other states. While in Arizona, look for his work at either the Matsuri Festival or the Arizona Aloha Festival.
Gary’s work can be found in galleries around the globe and he invites you to view them at the following link:
www.hostallero.com
Or you can e-mail him at:
AsiaStudio@aol.com
