Del Gish was born in rural Oklahoma. He was a student of Sergei Bongart, a Russian-American master in Los Angeles. From 1967, Gish became an instructor at the Northwest Nazarene College and later he acquired his master of fine arts from the University of Idaho. He worked as an instructor until 1971. In 1975 he was elected as a member of the American Watercolor Society. His works are in private and public collections, including the Seattle Art Museum, the Art Students League in New York City, the SAFECO collection, and the Frye Art Museum. He currently works and resides in Medical Lake, WA. After acquiring his master’s degree, he went again to study with late 20th century and contemporary masters Nelson Shanks, David Leffel, Sergei Bongart, Burton Silverman and Harvey Dinnerstein. The legacy of his study with those painters is reflected in his incisive portraits and crisp, beautifully balanced and subtle still life, and fresh landscapes.
His landscapes and figurative work are often from his travels in Rwanda, India and Russia. Gish begins each day thinking about his work. If he sees something that strikes a note or if something works, he admits that his stomach churns a little and he’s driven to do the thing. He doesn’t always know at the time if it’s good or bad. He says it’s like falling in love – it’s difficult to be objective. Gish is known for his landscape, still life and portrait paintings. He considers himself a realist painter. Over the years his paintings have appeared in a wide range of publications and in many juried exhibitions. Gish has received many honors and awards through the years.
