For Greg Andrade, making art has never been simply about creating something beautiful. It is about telling a story.

His relationship with art began in kindergarten at Osage Elementary, where he spent time every day at a large easel, working on oversized sheets of newsprint with tempera paints and big brushes.

“It was my first foray into the magic of color and mark making of art as an activity,” Greg recalls.

He continued drawing throughout school and became an art major in high school. Then he discovered architecture — what he calls the “ultimate three-dimensional art form” because it creates spaces that people actually inhabit.

After earning his degree in architecture, Greg built a career in the field while continuing to make art on the side. For him, the two disciplines provided a natural balance.

“Art making helped balance the tedious modes and tasks that the practice of architecture would demand,” he says.

That balance became even more meaningful during his career at Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California. There, Greg had a realization that would shape his artistic philosophy: His artwork was telling stories.

From that point forward, each new body of work became its own creative experiment. Different stories required different mediums, and the medium itself became part of the message. Rather than developing one signature style and repeating it, Greg allows the subject to dictate his materials, scale, techniques and visual language.

His inspiration comes from dreams, intuition, memories, travel and memorable places.

His most recent series took him back to the beaches and beachside places of his youth on the west side of Los Angeles. Creating the work became a trip down memory lane, revisiting places and experiences that had stayed with him.

One piece recalled “The Shack,” where Greg and his friends would gather after long days in the water. Another remembered Ballona Creek, where they would jump from a bridge and park their cars to linger after dark.

To capture those memories, Greg used watercolor inks, large charcoal and pencil sticks. The rough, energetic materials reflected the movement of the waves and the colors and textures of the beach.

Each series, he says, is an experiment in an experiential part of life — and because he creates primarily for himself, he has the freedom to let his process continually evolve.

That independence has been important throughout his career. Greg has organized his own exhibitions and once owned and operated Hatch Gallery in Pasadena, where he showcased his work alongside other Disney artists pursuing fine art outside their commercial careers.

Some of his proudest moments have come when his artwork unexpectedly inspired Disney theme park installations or architectural designs. He also enjoys the surprise of rediscovering pieces he once rejected.

“I’d pull them out years later and realize, ‘Hey, I like this work now,’” he says with a laugh.

Now, nearly two years into life in Ardsley Park with his wife, Terry, Greg continues to create and exhibit his work independently. His next exhibition is planned for Hop Atomica in Savannah this fall.

Art has also become a way for Greg to connect with his new community. Friends throughout Ardsley Park and Savannah attend his shows, purchase his work and, most importantly, share in the experience.

“That is to me what art as art is all about,” he says. “Art for me makes community and brings people together.”

Community and mentorship have long been part of Greg’s creative life. He has mentored young designers in his own studio and others, taught for a decade as a professor and worked with Kidspace Museum, where he helped children learn through making and play. He sees teaching as a two-way exchange, believing he learns just as much from those he mentors as they learn from him.

Greg's wife, Terry, has also been an important source of inspiration. A talented interior designer with a keen eye for art, materials, color and design, she was the guiding light of their Pasadena studio.

Together, these experiences have led Greg to a central belief: Story is at the root of creation.

That philosophy is the foundation of his newest project, Design Is Story, a book he spent nearly five years developing and launched this August.

It is a fitting next chapter for an artist whose work has always crossed boundaries — between architecture and art, commercial work and personal expression, and individual creativity and community.

For Greg Andrade, there is always another story waiting to be told.