About Charlie Hays

Texture plays a unique and integral part in my work, often influencing the final composition. The underlying layers are very organic, giving way to geometry and drawn images that provide the structure of each piece. Images from my past and present intermingle, some are painted over, some allowed to remain. Utilizing multiple layers of acrylic paints and glazes, sewing patterns, scraps of paper, fabric, and a variety of other materials, I explore memories, places, and the feelings they evoke. 

I believe in facing, embracing, conquering your fears, living your best life, adventure, sport, experiencing life with all senses, growing vegetables, laughing until you cry, cleaning under the furniture, reading the book before you see the movie, reading the whole book, singing with headphones on, sewing and mending, doing it yourself, cooking from scratch, fairies, love, passion, exploration, something Other, the evolution of relationships, breakfast, creme brulee, pumpkin pie is a vegetable, flexibility, breathing, shaking your booty, balance, color, texture, contrast, the clarity of abstraction, the purity and wisdom of children, beauty, kindness, oatmeal, AC/DC, taking risks, knowing your heart, opening your eyes underwater, painting, perennials, traveling, letting go, trying something new, fostering independence, always exerting your best effort, the therapeutic power of chocolate, squats and lunges, the glass is half full, looking on the bright side, attitude affects outcome, studying a foreign language, admitting when you are wrong, acceptance, reevaluating, focus on what you need and what you want will come…making lists.

BIO: Raised in an artistic family in rural Oregon, I aspired to have a career doing “something creative”. I worked as a graphic designer in the high-tech industry for several years before graduating cum laude from the University of Cincinnati with a BA in Art History and a minor in painting. Having spent the last decade traveling the country, I have settled in the glorious San Francisco bay area with my husband and three beautiful children.

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