North Carolina art enthusiasts don’t have to look far to follow the indelible footprint of Raleigh artist Eric McRay. Whether by brush and pallet, education and mentorship, or advocacy and philanthropy, McRay is a maestro of art who orchestrates his art-centered entrepreneurial vision with ease and precision.

McRay’s influence is found in visual art exhibits and displays; in classes he teaches to champion creative thought; through community partnerships; as a coach to newcomers to the local art scene; on visits to his new, state of the art e-commerce website; and at McRay Studios in downtown Raleigh’s Artspace.

As a recent guest on a national podcast, McRay described his aesthetic as one that revolves around the sensual aspects of life and its art, and taps into the passion of individual appeal and personal experience. To capture the inherent variety of life in his art, McRay creates across genres; an unwitting challenge to the status quo of artist classifications by genre, or style. “Art is a mirror of the human experience,” McRay said. “It can’t be blueprinted for a factory assembly line. It’s about the person holding the brush. It’s about authenticity.”

McRay is a native son of our nation’s capital, who discovered his artistic talent as a student in the Washington, D.C., public school system. He earned a four-year scholarship to the Maryland Institute, College of Art, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was selected to join Artspace in 1998, and has served as the Vice-President and President, respectively, of the Artspace Artists Association, and held seats on the Artspace Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Artspace, Inc..

McRay’s signature jazz series features musicians grooving themselves faceless; coastal and country landscapes conjure tranquil familiarity through color and the depth of interconnectedness between man and nature through texture; and his commissioned paintings freeze-frame the people, places and things of our memory. McRay’s whimsical Heart Series reminds us life is the heartbeat of art; and his abstract paintings mesmerize with imagination and challenge the pulse of possibility for everyone, from art experts and enthusiasts to art hobbyists and the art curious.

McRay’s voice continues to grace broadcast airwaves, print publications and online portals, offering a charismatic, down-to-earth realism about life, art and business that has garnered him recognition among “Artists to Watch” in The (Raleigh) News & Observer, and lauded him the subject of feature stories in Our State Magazine, Fortune Small Business, Southern Living and Art Business News. Joining private McRay collectors from local, national and international corners of the globe are: the American Tobacco Campus, Duke University Medical Center, Duke Health Raleigh Hospital, Western Wake Hospital, SAS Institute, N.C. Central University Art Museum, UNC-Chapel Hill, and N.C. State University. McRay’s work also was displayed in the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen as part of the Art in Embassies Program.

McRay’s passion for acrylic and canvas ultimately led a maestro-like evolution to a unique expertise in the business of art. Eric McRay’s life and living legacy reflect the sage mantra, “Life is Art.”

Visit McRay’s website www.EricMcRay.com . Follow him on twitter @McRaystudios and like him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/eric.mcray?ref=br_tf