Gary studied at The Ivy School of Art in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania concentrating on painting, illustration and graphic design. As a teenager, he was awarded the opportunity to attend weekend classes at The Carnegie Institute, under the watchful eye of renowned painter Joseph Fitzpatrick, whose students, amongst others, included Andy Warhol and Phillip Pearlstein.
He had a 42 year graphic design career before retiring as president and creative director of the award winning graphic design and integrated marketing firm, Vance Wright Adams and Associates. His work was featured in multiple publications such as Communication Arts, Art Direction, Advertising Age, Forbes Magazine and The New York Times.
His naturalistic approach aims to represent subjects as they appear, focusing on realism, accuracy and detailed observation. Emphasizing on the use of color, lighting, shadows and perspective rather than abstract forms or dramatic embellishments. All of his artwork is original, never reprinted or duplicated.
His medium of choice are wax based colored pencils, perfect for layering and blending then fixing with clear acrylic spray. Then adding more emphasis on color and detail using scratch board tools, if necessary, before final fixing.
He and his wife Kimberly, are avid travelers, which gives him plenty of nature, landscape and seascape source, amongst others.
He can be reached at Garyapa1@gmail.com