Serge Gay Jr. has a lot of talents to his name. The Grammy-nominated creative director and art director is also a painter, illustrator, and graphic designer. But whatever he does, he does it with meaning and purpose.
“I always have ideas, so planning to execute that idea takes work, from taking tons of photos, or searching for images, color, size etc, to make my imagination come to life,” he told African Digital Art, stressing that his artwork takes “lots-and-lots-and-lots of planning and researching,” after which the painting comes easy.
Born in Haiti and currently based out of San Francisco, California, his art infuses inspiration from living in cities from coast to coast. Influence in his work can be found from the culture and sociology of his homeland of Haiti, but also from New York, Miami, Detroit, and San Francisco.
“I got interested in art as a child growing up in Miami,” he relayed. “There was art everywhere you looked at my parents’ place.” His father, being an artist himself, would make and sell clay pottery and sculptures in Haiti. “As a child, I’ve always wanted to pursue art as a career,” says Gay Jr. “There were doubts at times, but it was my parents who told me to go for it and should try to make a living doing it.”
And when it comes to making his art – versatility is key. “I think artists should be more versatile, should be entrepreneurs, having more than one style, mostly with illustration, and making it into a business,” he says.
Take a look at some highlights from his Instagram page:
