Hunter Jay

I credit my artistic outlook largely to the 1940 film “Fantasia.” My parents

 knew I loved music and had an inclination for it, so though we were rarely

 ever taken to the theatre for a movie...they made an exception for this. It

 was a major event for me at age six, and little did I suspect how much it

 would impact the rest of my life. My parents didn’t know at the time that I

 was equally interested in the visual arts because, well...I didn’t know it

 myself either.

 I was deeply impacted by the music of this film, of course, but the

 fantastical world presented on the screen through artistic animation

 touched me just as deeply. It was an epiphany. I discovered I was more

 interested in the settings for the characters in the film instead of the

 characters themselves. I wanted to live in the depths of that mysterious,

 magical, lush world onscreen. I wanted to explore it.

 And so...to this day, that is what I capture on canvas, or more specifically,

 linen. The mystery, the intrigue, the exotic and ephemeral qualities of my

 work are what make it identifiable, along with saturated hues. The subject

 itself varies. I tend to focus on closeup views of plants, flowers and insects.

 However, the essence of water and its refracted light will seize my

 imagination as well, so you will find some coastal paintings, along with

 waterfalls and ponds. Even aquatic life, like jellyfish, lion fish and koi take

 center stage on occasion.

 Looking back on that childhood experience in the movie theatre, and being

 taken to another world via the film “Fantasia,” is what continues to

 fascinate me to this very day, which may be one of the reasons my colors

 are so intense, vibrant and saturated. The enchanted landscapes of Walt

 Disney are very subtle in my paintings, and may not be immediately

 noticeable...but that is where the inspiration was born.