Meet Glennray Tutor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Glennray Tutor.

Glennray, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story, if not completely plotted by my work, is at least intertwined with it. I am a visual artist. My medium is oil on canvas. I have often wondered why I am an artist, and the best I can conclude is that I am an artist because I am fascinated with life. And for some reason I want to share my wonderment with others. 

Los Angeles is my favorite city and I visit as often as I can. I have shown my artwork in L.A. for the past 30 years. Because this magazine is a venue for a celebration of all things L.A., you might enjoy hearing a brief account of my first Los Angeles adventure. 

I grew up in a small town in southeast Missouri. In my family’s photograph collection were several photos chronicling a trip by car that my dad and a friend of his made to Los Angeles from their homes in Mississippi. The year was 1941. My dad and his friend were 18 years old. World War II was about to start. My dad would soon join the U.S. Army Air Corp and spend the next few years in Europe as a soldier and reconnaissance photographer. But that’s another story. 

The photos inspired me to want to follow his L.A. trip with my own. So, after graduating from high school and working for a while making donuts at a bakery and saving my money, I and a friend left Missouri headed to Los Angeles. We were in my car, a 1967 Mustang. This was the summer of 1969. We were both 18 years old. I nor my friend had ever been beyond the western border of Missouri. For that matter, the farthest east we had been was Memphis, Tennessee. The farthest north was St. Louis. The farthest south was Oxford, Mississippi. (Which happens to be where I currently live and where my studio is located. How I came to reside here, of all places, is yet another story.) My friend and I had talked about and planned this trip for years. Finally, to be experiencing the actual journey and venturing out of the narrow vicinity in which we had grown up–to say we were excited is an understatement. 

We each had $300.00. I don’t know what the equivalent value would be in today’s money. But this was 1969, and by our calculation, this amount would easily get us to Los Angeles, allow us to casually stay a month or so, then return us cross country to our homes. However, somewhere in Texas, the car engine began to malfunction. As we traveled, it progressively worsened. By the time we reached L.A., the engine completely stopped working. We drifted the car down a hill into an auto repair shop. Yes, it seemed a miracle that the shop was there! 

While the car was being repaired (the mechanic said he would need to replace the entire transmission), my friend and I explored the city by foot, taxi, and bus. During this time, I developed a fondness for the remarkable elements that make up Los Angeles: the light, the climate, the terrain, the ocean, the architecture… 

In a week, the car was ready. Did my friend and I discuss the amount of money we had? Did the mechanic overhear us? Probably. Because after paying the repair fee we had just enough money for gas to make the trip back home. No money for food. Instead of motels, we slept in the car at truck stops. You must rationalize and conclude that the mechanic was a kindhearted and somewhat generous man. Otherwise, he would have taken every cent we had. Also, he was bright at mathematics, geography, and gasoline consumptive potential. His accuracy was phenomenal. When my friend and I pulled into our hometown, we had no money leftover. As a surprising epilogue to this story, after our return, we learned that the car’s transmission had not been touched. My car had simply needed a new set of points. A set of points at that time would have cost around a dollar. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I have had my share of obstacles and challenges, but comparing them to many people’s situations I have observed, read, or heard about, I feel mine have been mild. 

I have been aware that I am an artist since my very beginning. Consequently, I never had the experience of choosing a profession. I have been told that when people reach a point in their lives when they must make a decision concerning a career, it brings on serious stress. All I had to do was figure out how to make it in the world as an artist. 

Talent alone will never bring about success for an artist. These things are also required: determination, work, self-discipline, work, perseverance, work, enthusiasm (even if one sometimes has to pretend it), work. And… work. 

Regarding financial amenity through the sale of my artwork, I have been fortunate. But making art has been the chief luxury in my life. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My compositions are complex, but my technique is simple: oil paint applied with brushes to canvas. My paintings consist of objects presented in such a way that an interplay of the visual, emotional, and intellectual occurs. Metaphor is always an essential aspect of my work. How deeply into my paintings a viewer explores depends on the viewer’s perceptive abilities and intelligence. 

What matters most to you?
Everything matters. 

Contact Info:

• Website: GlennrayTutor.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/glennraytutor