Gregory Hayes

I was born and raised in South East Louisiana, I discovered a talent for drafting in high school, this was the spark of passion for art that quickly erupted into an inferno. After high school I went straight to work for a few years while creating art on the side. Then in 2009 I was given the opportunity to pursue art further and began my college experience at Nicholls State University. Shortly after enrolling at Nicholls I started an apprenticeship at a local tattoo parlor becoming fully emerged in the wild world of art. I studied many different forms of fine art at Nicholls, focused mostly in oil painting, printmaking, and art history. In 2014 I graduated from Nicholls with a Bachelor of Fine Arts specializing in lithography. Today I work in a variety of mediums using mostly watercolors, oils, and relief printing, often times mixing media. 

The unique artistic experiences I have encountered led me to an interest in surrealism which developed into invented symbolism to express personal struggles. My work explores the tension between chaos and order, creating an ambiguous space with visual surprises for the viewer by combining deep serious tones and pockets of humor. My goal is to create a universal message using visual narratives based from personal experiences, while leaving room for the viewer to fill in the blanks and apply it to their own experiences.