Ray Shugart once skipped school because he was afraid to get up and speak. “I used to stutter,” he said, “a lot of hesitations. And you know how kids can be. I’d talk, and they’d say “Shuu…gaaa … rt….” “It was high school. I remember leaving school – the only time I ever skipped school – because I had to get up in front of 22 kids and give a speech. A poem that I had to recite. And I did not want to do that.” He has never forgotten that day, the day he silently walked away. And, perhaps, that moment helped forge the path for a man who throughout his life resoundingly and confidently found his voice – including success both as a martial artist and as an illustrative artist. For countless people in the area, he is known as “Master Shugart,” a seventh-degree master instructor in Tae Kwon Do who for many years taught the discipline’s techniques in classes, to generations of students. Now, he is known by countless other people as Ray … an artist who, through his mastery of pencils, pen and ink, creates illustrations that marvel in their sense of appearing lifelike. Both his martial artistry and his illustrative artistry draw from a similar well, he said. “In Tae Kwon Do, I would always say it develops determination, dedication, and willpower,” he said, “and can show you that you can do anything you want. “And if you’re doing a drawing, or whatever, it would be the same.” Ray, a Southwick resident, grew up in Brimfield, took drafting classes in high school, and blended what he learned there with a general love of drawing to build a career as a technical illustrator. He joined the United States Air Force out of high school, and while there he worked as a graphic illustrator, made charts, “kept my drawing going.” After his military service was over, he went into professional drafting, working as a technical illustrator for companies that included Hamilton Standard, Union Carbide, and Otis Elevator. Along the way, he found Tae Kwon Do. He started teaching classes out of his cellar, in 1985, “and it kept getting bigger and bigger,” with a studio in Agawam, and the business growing to the point that he eventually decided to take his martial arts full-time in 1999 – leaving corporate technical illustrations, and pretty much all drawing, behind. In March of 2020, everything changed. Covid. “My last class was March 24, 2020,” he said. He had told the class that he’d see them again in a couple of weeks, and when those weeks turned into months, optimism imploded into harsh reality. “I was 70 years old. I said, ‘What am I going to do now?’’’ First, he made the decision to retire from teaching martial arts. And then, he rediscovered his artistry. “I decided,” Ray said, “to do a picture. To see if I could still draw.” He sat down, and began to draw an illustration of a Greek Orthodox priest, from a picture that had appeared in an edition of National Geographic. “It took maybe 25 hours,” he said, and when he was finished, and looked at his work, “I said, ‘Ok … I can still do this.’’’ Five years later, Ray Shugart’s illustrations are a prominent part of the region’s artistic landscape. He has consistent displays at libraries and other venues, and his work has appeared at many shows, including the Agawam Community Artists and Artisans Pioneer Valley Art Festival. He started out illustrating with graphite pencils, nervously moved on to the new-to-him world of colored pencils, and has now done more than 100 illustrations in colored pencils. His work includes people’s portraits, pets, wildlife, homes … pictures of anything or anyone that might have special meaning to someone, an image they wish to preserve. When Ray talks about his process – about sketching something out, trying to get the color just right, using erasers exactly where they are needed, maybe adding a little white, maybe not – he is a man clearly enjoying the moment, loving the give-and-take between his perception and possible perfection. “You’re never going to have a perfect picture,” he laughed. “You just need to hide the mistakes.” It is safe to say that most observers do not see many mistakes in Ray Shugart’s work. Yet, a motivating factor for him is that they might. “That’s the most important thing: the recognition, acceptance,” he said. “Will they like the work I did for them? Or are they going to just kind of smile … and be polite? “It’s just me, the way I do my artwork. I like to surprise people, with the effort I put into it. “I just don’t want to anyone to be disappointed.” He probably needn’t worry. The recognition, and the acceptance, of his artwork is now firmly established. And if Ray Shugart ever thinks back to that day in school, when he was so upset about what other kids might say about a speech, he can just smile. Today, he could simply hold up one of his illustrations, and they would all see that a powerful picture can indeed be worth a thousand words.