Artist Gary Fish and Robin

Artist / Innovator

A resident of the American West for most of his life, artist/innovator Gary Fish has been observing and painting its various regions for over thirty years, and has produced some of the more original large scale (up to, but not exclusively, 5 foot by 6 foot) fine art paintings of this unique area. Mr. Fish paints in the studio and on location, utilizing a color and compositional sense evolved from his plein-air (outdoors) painting style.

With a genetic relation to the McCartney clan of Great Britain (i.e., Paul McCartney), and a former musician himself, Gary was born into a family of artists.  First and foremost, he attributes his artistic abilities to genetics.  Extensive scientific research has verified, conclusively, the powerful influence inherited genetics can have on related individuals.

His mother was one of the early designer/artists for Hallmark Cards.  Two aunts, his brother and sister and some cousins are all artists.  An uncle was an archi-tectural and industrial designer, who also designed custom boats in his spare time.  While Mr. Fish learned the essentials from various professional artists and attended the appropriate art classes, he points to genetics as the determining factor for artistic skills. 

"You're always ahead of any like-minded competitors on the learning curve if you have something in your genetic background indicating a natural inclination or 'onboard talent'. It's essentially unbeatable, and I feel blessed by that fact. Genetics has given me the incomparable advantage of artistic and creative abilities that I've enhanced over time, but I've worked hard and sacrificed a lot to make a good thing even better.",  he says.

With something like this [being an artist], you eventually become your own best teacher, whether you like it or not. "Who knows more than the artist himself how a painting he or she is working on should look?", he says.  Mr. Fish prefers a devotion to innovation and focusing energy on producing original paintings that will stand the test of time.  He strives for a classic, timeless look.

As an innovator, he decided to figure out how to effectively use and implement acrylic paints in a more approachable, "user friendly" manner than had previously been done, resulting in the implimentation of the Argos Paint Palette system. 

"I tend to sort things out to make stuff more easily accessable.  I did the same thing as a musician.  I was a percussionist who was also a music arranger. I had ideas, and acted on them", he says.  He strives for an "art for art's sake" look with his work.  In other words, he shuns the production line attitude that many artists succumb to once they become even slightly successful. 

Each painting Gary presents to the public eye as finished, stands on its own merits as unique and singular in itself.  "It's just a matter of following my natural inclination towards this type of art, as I prefer it when judging, accepting or buying art", he says.

Mr. Fish's primary influence is the early 20th century Impressionists of both France and America.  He states, "Painting with the knowledge obtained outdoors electrifies a scene, giving it an 'inner light' that puts it in a league akin to the Old Master painters". 

In 2012 Mr. Fish launched Gold Moon Studio in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains gold country, and in 2019 moved back to Lake Tahoe, California. * 

[The Gary Fish connection with a San Francisco music Blues Legend.  Click here for information].

 *  excerpts from management article

- Ancient Family Heritage -

Fish family Coat of Arms

The name Fish is an ancient legacy name.  Ancient legacy refers to the very first names people had for themselves as part of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The first authentic mention of a Fish family in history is in 1066 A.D. when a family of that name followed William the Conquerer to England from Normandy. 

Aside from a McCartney clan connection, another "famous Fish" (no relation) was Hamilton Fish (1808 - 1893) who was the 26th United States Secretary of State under President Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (1869-1877).  The English family of Fish is believed to be a branch from an old Saxon family, which, in the rosters of German nobility, dates from a remote era.

Many old family names (such as Fish) have a Coat of Arms (shown above).  I stumbled onto mine many years ago.  I love the exotic, imaginative interpretations these heraldic artists devised to describe, via images, what constituted a family's background and heritage.

As one would expect, the Fish name was taken on by someone who worked in the ancient fishing industries.  It is derived from the old English word 'fisc', which meant fish.  The earliest family names were all derived from what job or business the individual(s) were involved in (i.e., Taylor, Smith, Woods, etc.).

The basic simplicity of the crest design was to allow easier identification from a distance (on the medieval battlefields) so friend and foe could get a clearer view of who was opposite them, as family banners waved in the breeze.  It was a safety factor, since combatants were usually dressed in armor of some sort, and could not easily be identified without banners of this sort.

From what I was able to uncover about my coat of arms, the fleur-de-lis (the three stylized flower designs on the central shield) indicated some sort of royal standing from the Yorkshire County region of England where my ancestors held a family "seat" (land and an estate) from feudal times, prior to the Norman Conquest in 1066 A.D.

A family seat was the principal manor of a medieval Lord, which was normally an elegant country mansion and usually denoted that a family held political and economic influences in the area.  Fun to think about, but apparently my British ancestors were de-throned at some point during there "reign" of power, so now, centuries later it's very hard to trace what exactly this royal connection may have been.  Probably land or property owners.

Some day I hope to uncover the details.  I have incorporated the shield of my coat-of-arms into my business logo design.

The original Fish family coat of arms taken from an ancient manuscript listing some of the oldest families coat of arms in the British Isles and parts of Europe.

Addendum:

Research has shown there is a genealogical connection be- tween segments of the Fish family and the McCartney clan.

Many (though not all) family names have notable persons in there ancestral lineage.  Mine happens to be the McCartney clan, amongst others. 

It certainly explains a few traits I have in common with Sir Paul that  surprised even me!  It all comes back to genetics.