Going to a Currier & Ives exhibit as young kid at a local college began Gary's fascination with the American West and deserts. In the gallery next to the Currier & Ives exhibit were some paintings of the New Mexican desert by Georgia O'Keeffe.
Years later Gary began visiting on vacation and touring as a musician in the American Southwest. With guitar and camera in hand, he spent all free time on these tours and visits learning songs and photographing the awe-inspiring landscapes: the deserts, the rugged mountains and the flowers.
In July 2015 Gary finally made the move west from Vermont to the Colorado Desert in Riverside County California (near Palm Springs). At this time he began his journey of learning to paint with a camera. As a self-taught photographer he called on his influences and loves of artists like Georgia O'Keeffe and other painters, photographers like Ansel Adams and his late father, Marion, both a photographer and musician.
Starting in August 2015 Gary began going out on photo shoots in the desert and surrounding mountains every day, no matter the weather, with two goals/objectives: find natural objects of interest, of uniqueness and of beauty and capture these objects with the vision of a painter creating a lasting image people would enjoy seeing.
Gary considers himself a photo student for life with a major in sunsets and a minor in everything else. The pandemic with so many stay-at-home orders in his area has given a boost to his learning curve with so much time and no where to go but photo shoots in the desert.
When he is not out painting with a camera Gary can be found performing/playing music, writing songs, studying painters and reading poetry. Anything creative works for him!!
