What is an artisan?

Bread maker. Chef. Fashion designer? Yes. Who are we to say? Musician? Yes. The word is, in its purest form, associated with artists. Artistes, for you Francophiles. Gregory Hyder is an artisan. How? He’s a classically trained musician who has cultivated legendary parties and weddings at some of the nation’s finest hotels and combined his variety of talents into a life well lived.

But something happened along the way. Some inner turmoil and frustration, the needing to have an expressive outlet other than a life’s worth of professional success helping breathe life into the dreams of others.

Paint. We all find ways to express ourselves. Gregory picked up a paintbrush on a whim, and a different world came to life. A world of colors, inspired by his garden and his travels. He works with various materials, mostly acrylics and oils, but won’t ignore broken glass or the occasional chia seed.

This was not Gregory’s dream. It started more as compulsion, something he needed to do. This IS his outlet for expression. His breath. He humbly challenges you to consider what might give you a motivation to find a pursuit that allows you to express yourself, maybe reveal some emotions that are just coming to light.

The irony is Gregory’s very contemporary paintings are the reflection of an old soul, someone who has faced life’s challenges head on and who knows life is a journey. His painting has now become an extension of that journey. An artisan does not stop. An artisan cannot help him or herself. Indeed, we’re all artisans one way or another. We wake up every morning, and whatever we do, the world notices, whether we notice or not.