Today we’d like to introduce you to Terry Hastings.
Hi Terry, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in Minnesota with a degree in Theatre, a piano in the living room, and a clothing store of my own. When I needed photos for my first website, I bought this new invention called a digital camera, said “Fuck it, I can do this,” and became a photographer.
Sixteen years ago, I moved to Palm Springs and never looked back. I soaked up the sun, the pools, and the hot guys and built a career out of it. My early work focused on photography, staging light and form with theatrical precision. But during COVID, with no models and nowhere to go, I pivoted to digital creation. I started cutting up my own photos in Photoshop, channeling Henri Matisse’s paper cut-outs, and filling the compositions with saturated geometric color.
Now, my work blends photography, and digital collage. It’s bold, clean, and unapologetically desert-born: equal parts theatre, geometry, and poolside mischief.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
After moving to the desert, it took me a year to get my bearings—and my Palm Springs style. I started with photos of hot naked guys in the desert, clutching 15 yards of fabric blowing in the wind. They were a hit. Then came the pool work: think early David Hockney, but in photography.
By year two, I landed my first gallery and started selling right away. I thought, “Wow, I made it already!” But then the gallery owner became ill and shut down. I found another space just up the street—but apparently, it was too far up the street. Things slowed down. So I pivoted: restaurants, hotels, art shows in the park. Anywhere they’d let me hang my work.
Good thing I didn’t quit my day job. I was working retail at a fancy cheese shop when COVID hit—and suddenly, I couldn’t breathe or stand. I developed an anxiety disorder from working with the public, so I bowed out and turned to eBay and Etsy. I tried selling my art, but quickly learned: people wanted the nude photos. You gotta pay the bills somehow.
That paid the bills. I got my work online, including a feature with Pan Homo Art in Tel Aviv—the only gay art gallery in the Middle East. With a lot of hustling, I kept the lights on.
Being an artist is a rough job. You don’t just create the work—you have to sell it, too. And sometimes, you have to reinvent the whole damn thing.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an innovator. I’m not interested in recreating the work of a photographer who’s been dead for 40 years—I want to create images that haven’t been seen before.
Many people see my water photos and assume they’re paintings or heavily manipulated. I tell them: the color is fabric in the water, and the only Photoshop I use is to brighten. The water is my filter.
Once I mastered that, I moved on to digitally reworking my photographs—blending Hockney, Rothko, and Frank Stella in a Modern Minimalist Martini served with a big gay twist.
I push the boundaries of art while keeping the viewer comfortable. It’s bold, it’s clean, and it’s unapologetically mine.
What’s next?
Those bills aren’t gonna pay themselves—unless I find a sugar daddy, but who’s got time for that? I’m too busy creating and chasing the next big thing. And that’s exactly where I’m headed: BIG.
I’m expanding my canvases and going larger—big bold colors, big desert subjects, and bigger emotional impact. I’m continuing to explore the light and themes of the desert, pushing the scale while keeping the soul.
I feel at home here. And I want that feeling packed into your suitcase and hung on your walls. Call it Big Desert Energy—and yes, I’ve got plenty to share.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://TheHastingsGallery.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/Mr_Terry_Hastings
Image Credits
Headshot is by Brad Arnold
