Gary has always loved the visual arts, and upon retiring as an academic dean,  he pursued his art interests and shares various scenes of still life, landscape and portraiture of family, friends and travels in oils and acrylics.  He particularly enjoys portraits and capturing the real personality of the individual.  “Faces and the eyes, they say are windows to the soul. Each person is so unique yet there’s rules to follow…”

Gary is a member of the Cincinnati Art Club, the second oldest continuously operating art club in the United States, with past luminairies such as Frank Duveneck, Henry Farny, and Herman Wessel.  He is a former member of the Club’s board of trustees and currently serves the Club as coordinator of workshops and continuing education programs.  He is also a member of the Cincinnati Decorative Art’s Society and the Cincinnati Art Museum. 

Gary counts his artist mentors as having significant influences on his work and those include: Louis Cornelius, Kevin McCarty and Carin Hebenstreit as well as many others in the Cincinnati Art Club, and of course those represented in art museums around the world!  Having an education background, he’s always amused at those who say they are “self-taught,” as frankly, “…they all are students of others, and no one has learned in a vacuum.  A simple visit to an art gallery, artist’s home or studio, or a museum, or an artist’s demo, or an author’s book illustrations and writings, provides the teachings.  Others’ ideas and influences impact one’s practice, even with new ground-breaking revolutionaries. Yes, a little ego or confidence is good, and so is some humility for what we can never fully know or understand or completely reach perfection!”  He counts his copies of Masters’ works as meaningful learning experiences, something that has been a tradition for centuries.

Gary enjoys viewing other’s work and asking questions about their techniques or styles and approaches, especially what led to the images, and sharing his own work and conversing with others on the visual arts.  He’s always open to suggestions and is willing to share.  His work has been exhibited in several galleries, most regularly in the Wessel Gallery of the Club and is held in various residences in the Midwest and Cleveland/Cincinnati regions. He earned the “People’s Choice Award” for a recent show hosted by the Club.