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Gary Hughes M.F.A., also know as Gary Lee Hughes (1948-), is an American fine artist living in Santa Cruz California.

Gary Hughes was born in Long Beach California, a place many consider the ugliest place on earth. His childhood was primarily in Paramount California, an equally undesirable place and it is possible that the environment and the lack of intellectual stimulation in these areas caused him to think in an inward manner, allowing the imagination of the fantastic scenes that permeate a large part of his artistic production.

His mother Lael Hughes, nee White, (1923-1995), was a local politician and promoter of non-partisan politics, typified by her election as President of the Los Angeles League of Women Voters and her service on many boards and committees for the City of Long Beach, (as the family moved back to Long Beach in 1964). Similar to Gary, she had an academic mentality that allowed her to graduate with an R.N. at the age of seventeen. She did not work as a nurse, moving to Long Beach from Michigan for health reasons at eighteen. She then worked at Douglas Aircraft durning World War Two, where she met Gary's father. Since gary was an only child, label had high academic ambitions for him and was constantly disappointed by his disinterest in anything serious, other than his voracious reading habits, often reading book a day. She taught him the skills that a grown up would need, such as cooking, financial responsibility and sewing. Her attempts to introduce him to mature societal interactions were a failure.

His father, Harry Wesley Hughes, (1916-1984), was born in Idaho, but moved to California as an infant and spent most of his life there. Also a student with potential, he graduated Junior High at age 11, but was pulled out of school by his father, Harry Joseph Hughes, a construction worker, and went to work immediately in the construction trades. He remained a construction worker for the major part of his life. Though a working individual, Harry was a talented artist and had taken classes at the palace of Legion of Honor in San Francisco as a teenager and considered an art career. His mother's suicide in 1938, a shotgun marriage and the war effort caused him to believe that an art career was not possible. He did paint and draw on a regular basis during Gary's childhood. Gary has clearly stated that it was his father's frustration with being unable to be a working artist that made him aware that he might pursue this path, rather than going to law school, which was his original goal.

Schooling:

Gary did not go to pre-school since his mother taught him to read at an early age. He attended kindergarten through fourth grade at U.S. Grant Elementary school in Long Beach, though he was not a Long Beach resident. At this time, Paramount, California had not become a city and was a part of the County of Los Angeles. After being thrown out of the Cub Scouts, he was then thrown out of the Long Beach School District. He began attending Los Cerritos Elementary School in Paramount, which he preferred because the playgrounds were grass, not asphalt. He and his neighbor Patrick, had to be separated by the school, due to their disruptive behavior that multiplied when they were together.

Gary attended Paramount Junior High School and Alondra Junior High School. At the end of the seventh grade, Gary skipped eighth grade to the ninth. It is unconfirmed but believed that Gary was offered a position at UCLA at age twelve, as he was a precocious student of science and literature. Neither he nor his parents were prepared for the sacrifices and financial needs for this move and the idea was table. Gary was unaware of this offer until informed by his parents in early adulthood. People who knew Gary at the time agreed that he was able to face the scholarly aspect of this challenge, but emotionally immature and unable to take his education seriously at an adult level. He became a mediocre student due to lack of challenge and his typical anti-teacher attitude.

Gary graduated Paramount High School at an early age with mostly bad grades. His high scores on the college entrance exam allowed him to attend California State University at Long Beach, then known as Long Beach State College. His interests, which were primarily surfing, ice-skating, and involvement in the drug-soaked music scene of Los Angeles distracted him from any serious studies. He graduated with a degree in History in 1970. typically, Mr. Hughes has never made a cent as a historian, validating his beliefs that although enlightening, college is not for everyone and many should attend schools that are career-oriented.

Nearing the end of his college attendance, Gary thought of his future. He knew he could not be a lawyer, as his disrespectful, spontaneous outbursts would not be acceptable in court. His friend Al, suggested he pursue art. As if pushed though a magic hole, this became Gary's obsession and he began to produce drawings on a regular basis. He took a few art classes after college and applied to attend graduate school at CSULB. Blessed with a little of his father's talent, he progressed as an artist and upon application, he was ranked second in a group of three hundred applicants. Preparing for grad school, he became deathly ill with asthma, probably as a result of his constant pot smoking. He moved to Arizona and entered graduate school at the University of Arizona, graduating with a M.F.A. in 1975. Though a top student in drawing and painting, he was often considered a black sheep, due both to his obsession with technique and his outspoken aversion to the abstract expressionist art that typified the University at that time. He was the cartoonist on the Daily Wildcat, the University newspaper and his controversial cartoons caused the University Board of Publications to cease all publishing of that newspaper for three weeks in 1973, specifically to suppress his publication. James P. Cook was his primary advisor and instructor during his period of independent study. Peggy ("Bailey") Doogan was his thesis advisor and committee chairwoman. He had scholarships and grants, but supported himself as a fry cook and lumberyard craftsman.

Career:

Since Gary did not attend art school until after graduation with a B.A., he was not aware of the methods by which an artist maintains a career. This has been a problem to this day, as he is rarely interested in the "real" art world. His lack of art shows and publications are a reflection of this ignorance. His first move was to ignore the art world and become a bicycle frame builder. He studied under the top frame builder of the period, Albert Eisentraut, (an art school graduate himself), for about eighteen months, while still doing art at home. A series of events found him living on a sailboat at the time, and unemployed.

In Tucson, Gary developed a penchant for expensive stereo equipment, guitars and other toys. His insatiable desire for expensive toys forced him to seek ways to make extra money. He taught himself sigh painting and a bit of commercial art to make extra money. He also bonded with Tucson artists Paul Mavrides, Hal Robins and Charles Oldham that led him in the direction of cartooning and underground culture. His fellow student John Wenger gave him inspiration to continue as a fine artist.

He had met a girlfriend, Diane F. Iglesias, and they began to live between his boat and her apartment. Though always drawing or painting and maintaining his skills, Gary went through a period of drug-laced exhilaration, sailing his boat on LSD or Psilocybin, ice-skating and bicycling. Diane had a more serious bent on life and amazingly, convinced him to start an art business and buy a home. She provided the car, and money to get him started and soon, he experienced success as a commercial artist and sign writer. The pair prospered, but broke up, remaining best friends. She was gone, but he was left with a home, shop, and employees. For the next decades he became a well-known commercial artist and sign guy with fabulous clients and several employees. He semi-retired in 1995 and in 2005 gave his business to employees Jack Jesmer and Erich Malvre. At this time, Erich owns the business and still has many clients who date back to the late 1970's.