Ray Hunter was born and raised in Montana. He graduated from Eastern Montana College (currently MSU--Billings) with a major in Art Education. Hunter moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1976 where he studied with artists Jerry Stitt and Deanne Lemley. While in Seattle, he explored the variety of maritime settings, both by sailing and fishing. His maritime subjects for his watercolor paintings expanded by virtue of the wealth of subject matter in this area. He has participated in workshops with Charles Reid, William Ryan, Alvaro Castagnet, and Joe Bohler. Hunter became a full-time artist in 1995, and he moved to Santa Barbara two years later. He has been inspired by the changes in light and color of California, and challenged by the quality of art created by fellow California artists.

Ray works with a wide variety of subjects, from landscapes to flowers, from portraits to marine subjects--especially boats. His recent painting of two fly fishermen won the Grand Prize in the 2007 Paint the Parks Mini 50. Two paintings are now in the Top 100 and Mini 50 Paint America show, and he is included in the American Society of Marine Artists national exhibition. His works may be viewed at Waterhouse Gallery, in Santa Barbara, and Seaside Gallery, in Pismo Beach. His work has been seen at the Peppertree Ranch Art Show, Edmonds Art Festival, the West Coast Paper Show, the annual Frye Art Museum Exhibition, the Mercer Island show, and the Howard-Mandville Gallery in both Edmonds and Kirkland, Washington. His work was also featured by Foss Tug in its 1994 and 1997 annual calendar.

Hunter is a signature member of the California Watercolor society and the American Society of Marine Artists. He is an Artist Member of the California Art Club
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