Art by Ryan Hayes

Ryan Hayes is a self-taught artist working in acrylics, watercolor and mixed-media sculpture. After a career of 25 years as an art director in graphic design, he moved from southern Indiana to Florida to pursue fine art.

His original acrylic paintings combine traditional and contemporary styles. Smooth brushwork in the background contrasts with thicker layers of paint applied with palette knives to create depth and detail.

Having learned woodworking from his father, Ryan also creates one-of-a-kind driftwood pieces. He hand-sands the wood to reveal its character and combines it with metal sails, inks and pigments, using techniques he developed to add color to the metal.