Artist Randy Hayes was born in 1944 in Jackson, Mississippi. He lived in Clinton, Mississippi, until he was sixteen, when his family moved to Tupelo.
Hayes attended college in Memphis, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Memphis College of Art in 1968. In 1969, he worked as a VISTA Volunteer in Seattle, Washington, until 1970.
His career began as a freelance scene painter and set designer in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1976, he moved back to Seattle and opened a used and rare book store. The store had a small art gallery in which photographs were displayed. In 1983, Hayes began to work on his art full time.
Hayes returned to Mississippi in 2013, opening a studio in Holly Springs. He was awarded the Mississippi Institute of Arts and letters award for visual arts in 1990. His work is in the permanent collection at the Mississippi Museum of Art.
Hayes’s work primarily features photographs of culture and history. He incorporates painting on some of his photographs. Hayes currently lives in Holly Springs, Mississippi.