Gary Priester

Born on the wrong side of the tracks in Beverly Hills (where they actually

do have a right and wrong side), I was raised in the 90210 zip code before

they had zip codes. Eventually I managed to graduate from Beverly Hills

High School after my mom made repeated bomb threats to the school

board threatening to blow up the oil well in the back of the school if they

did not graduate me.

I graduated from Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California

with a major in advertising design. I worked in advertising as a TV and

print art director for about 15 years, mostly in Los Angeles and San

Francisco. My wife, artist Mary Carter, and I started our own graphic design

firm in San Francisco. We had lots of fun and had the privilege to work for

some exceptional clients including Ernst & Young, Chateau St. Jean

Winery and Vineyards, Charles Schwab, and Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream to

name a few. We moved to Placitas in 2000.

I started using a computer in the mid 80’s and began doing computer

graphics in the early 90’s. I have written and published two books on

computer design, five books of Stereograms, and several hundred

magazine articles and web tutorials. 98.4% of my work is done from

scratch using Xara Designer Pro X, an incredible British vector drawing

software application. I build my images using the basic shapes. There is

very little drawing involved. I try to replicate the slick liquid look and

lighting that is used in advertising photography, a throwback to my

advertising and graphic design days.