Hunter Jay Galleries
Hunter Jay Galleries moved from Sarasota to Asheville, North Carolina. Hunter’s each painting is a detailed masterpiece. When viewing his artwork, you can feel the peace of the place, observe a creature, or you can almost smell the flower, or hear the splashing water. Each painting looks so realistic. It is a definitely a Must See.
“I’m intrigued by “Mystery.” It’s what motivates me in anything I paint.” – Hunter Jay
Many of Hunter Jay’s pieces incorporate a mystical, soft-focus background, playing with the contrast of darkness and light. The sharp foreground and fuzzy background are distinctly different, but both contribute equally to the overall mood he wants to convey. His subject matter varies; it may be a leaf, a flower, a rock, a twig…but his goal is to reveal the wonder of the hidden world around us. One way he does that is by experimenting with the geometry of the composition. Often, he finds that the way the elements are arranged is much more important than the actual subject matter, embracing an admiration of simplicity. The paintings evoke contemplation, be it a mountain stream pouring over a boulder, a leaf, or a lush tropical scene.
Hunter Jay is an acrylic artist. His works are created with multiple layers of transparent glazes. Each layer affects the next, creating an arresting depth of field. The final details are created with natural liner brushes. Largely self-taught, he has an innate sense of composition that aligns with his background in graphic design, contributing to the overall illustrative impact.
About the Artist
Hunter Jay’s art career began in 1964 with drawings of Godzilla in battle with squadrons of fighter jets. Fellow first graders were his early collectors for these scenes of chaos; all free for the asking. At the time, no one knew he’d rather draw cars and castles, but the Godzilla drawings were so popular and made his friends so happy, he couldn’t resist.
When Hunter Jay was ten years old, his parents (AKA Santa Claus) gave him a microscope for Christmas. The entire process of using the microscope fascinated him; the lens that had two settings, the little rectangular glass slides, even the gray metal box it came in! But of course, the best thing was getting a good look into an infinitely tiny magical world. A grain of sugar became a revelation to him. A blade of grass could turn into a hairy log! The scales of a butterfly wing astounded him.
Hunter Jay thinks his parents knew him better than to expect the microscope to be a launching pad into a bio-science career, but if by chance they did, that didn’t happen. In fact, he is quite sure that if he remembers correctly, within a matter of a few months he or his brother had somehow accidentally destroyed the thing. However, the magnified intricacies of that hidden secret world have always stayed with Hunter. He was asked to add a flower (in closeup) to a commissioned landscape painting a few years ago, and since that time his direction has slowly changed. He’d been painting broad expanses of sky and have gradually moved more into the intense focus of a much smaller subject, even though he still love to paint sky.
“My paintings embrace an admiration of simplicity. Colors may be brilliant and bold, but never shocking. The work evokes a contemplative and peaceful place, be it a sun-showered field of daisies or a quiet, icy winter scene. My work has been showcased in juried shows throughout Colorado. In 2006, my work was chosen by acclaimed director Kar Wai Wong to be used in his film “My Blueberry Nights”, starring Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weiss, and Nora Jones.” – Hunter Jay
AWARDS and Special Interest:
- 2022 Uptown Art Gallery, Sarasota FL
- 2020 Artsy Shark Featured Artist
- 2020 “Open Season” Exhibition, Art Center Sarasota
- 2020 “Big Show” Exhibition, Art Center Sarasota
- 2020 “Artist Spotlight “Traditional” Fusion Art Gallery, Palm Springs CA
- 2019 Honorable Mention “Leaves & Petals” Fusion Art Gallery, Palm Springs CA
- 2019 “New Views” Exhibition, Art Center Sarasota FL
- 2018 – 2019 Westward Gallery, Denver CO
- 2018 Stapleton Open Studios, Denver CO
- 2018 Best in Show “Leaves & Petals” Fusion Art Gallery, Palm Springs CA
- 2018 Finalist, Artroom Gallery, “Drawing Competition”
- 2018 Stapleton Open Studios, Denver CO
- 2018 Fourth Place, 3rd Annual Waterscapes Art Exhibition. Fusion Art Gallery, Palm Springs CA
- 2017 Best in Show “Seasons” Fusion Art Gallery, Palm Springs CA
- 2017 Stapleton Open Studios, Denver CO
- 2017 Wings Over the Rockies Art Show, Denver
- 2017 Frame by Frame Gallery Featured Artist, Denver CO
- 2016 Stapleton Open Studios Tour
- 2016 Fusion Art Gallery ‘2nd Annual Artist’s Choice” Online Exhibition
- 2016 Denver Hospice Mask Project
- 2016 Fusion Art Gallery “Waterscapes” – 2nd Place/Traditional
- 2016 Colors of Humanity “RED” show
- 2014 Center of Attention: KDVR FOX31 Artist of the week Good Day Colorado: 12/15-12/19/14
- 2014 Denver Hospice Mask Project
- 2014 Clothes to Kids Exhibition and Benefit
- 2011 Gardenscapes Exhibition Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce
- 2011 DYAO Painted Violin Exhibition and Benefit
- 2010 Artist of the Month-January- Denverartists.com
- 2008 Hunter’s artwork featured in Kar Wei Wong film “Blueberry Nights.”
- 2007 Artist’s Magazine Student Still Life Competition – Second Place Cash Award
- 2007 Kaladi’s Halloween Show – Best in Show
- 2007 Mountain Connection Magazine Cover Competition – Honorable Mention
- 2007 Himme Productions National Greeting Card Competition – Honorable Mention
Hunter Jay’s studio/gallery is located at Modern Muse in the River Arts District:
Address:
191 Lyman Street, Suite 110
Asheville, North Carolina 28801
Modern Muse is open every day except Tuesday from 11AM to 4PM. Hunter Jay is at Modern Muse Thursdays through Saturdays from 11AM to 4PM. On Sundays through Wednesday, Hunter Jay works from his home studio, but if you’d like to meet him at Modern Muse, please feel free to contact him and he will arrange to be there!
303-552-8725
Website: