Guy lives in Wickford Village, North Kingstown and was a member for 4 years before he became a Juried Artist Member (JAM) 8 years go.
How would you describe your artwork?
My background is Industrial Design. Majored in Transportation Design, interfacing with Chrysler, GM and Ford Designers. However, due to the economy and timing, I ended up with a career in the toy industry for over 35, designing toys for Tonka and GI Joe. When I was seventeen, I took oil painting classes from a very accomplished local artist where I lived along the New Jersey shore. Taking those art classes early on helped me with applying color and was instrumental in college and my working career.
Do you currently volunteer?
As a WAA member, I try to volunteer whenever I can. I currently serve on the WAA Board of Directors and in my sixth and last year on the board. I’ve been the lead in restoring the exterior of our building from structural repairs to the new paint scheme that compliments the architecture of our building, to working daily with contractors to get the job done.
I’ve been very involved in the Wickford Art Festival since 2019. With other volunteers, we marked the streets for artist booths. My task that year was organizing food vendors along the waterfront and interfacing with town officials. In 2021 we moved the Festival to the Park to conform to CDC guidelines. This meant laying out the Artist Booth spaces on the grass field and all that goes along with making the Festival a success.
If it wasn’t for our volunteers we would never have a festival. During the festival, I was one of the many volunteers that were on the field assisting artists setting up and working throughout the Festival, including break down on Sunday. The festival is a lot of work, but is so very gratifying and rewarding knowing that I was part of something very special.
From where do you find your inspiration?
I draw my inspiration from my environment. My subject matter is usually based on local marshes and beach settings. It’s also important to notice the small things. Textures in nature, such as the structure of flowers and leaves.
What is your favorite thing about the Wickford Art Association?
Being around so many talented people is very inspiring and also contributing to the WAA organization.
Something people don’t know about me?
I also love automobiles and have partially restored a car that I wanted since I was a kid. A 1966 Imperial Crown Convertible. My parents owned the same year sedan and being a 12 year old, it was an impressive car. Our school library had a car book in German. While thumbing through it I found our car and discovered there was also a convertible. The statistics said, production 514 built. It was rare then and even rarer today. It’s fun to drive, especially along Ocean Road in Newport.