Where are you from, and how did you end up in North Carolina?
I’m a native of Northwest Washington DC. I came to North Carolina in 1987 looking for a new beginning.
Do you have formal training as an artist, or are you self-taught, or a combination of both?
Art has been my lifelong vocation, my great obsession. I was acknowledged for my artistic talents from an early age, the first grade. After high school, I earned a scholarship to the Maryland Institute College of Art where I obtained a B.F.A. I’ve been a full time working artist since 1999.
Does your work have a central theme, or several themes?
As an artist, I work in various themes and series. My artwork pulls from a range of influences such as art, American, and Biblical histories. Mutually, my work addresses the human experiences of family, labor, faith, and life’s hardship.
For your “Grit & Grace: Stories from the Southern Soul” exhibition at Bank of the Arts you’ll be showing a lot of collage works. What about that medium appeals to you, and how does it compare and contrast to your more traditional painting works?
The contrast between my paintings and my collages is in painting there is the singularity of using one medium, acrylic paints. Meanwhile, collage is the alchemy of making art from upcycled materials such as old photos, fabrics, sandpaper, foils, and preprinted papers. Mutually my collages combine multiple art fine mediums such as acrylic paint, colored pencils, colored inks, watercolors, and more.
Looking at your body of work, there’s a lot techniques, styles, and mediums represented. Do you have a favorite, and why, or why not?
Yes, in my collages the viewer will see influences of Impressionism, Cubism, Fauvism, Pop Art, Folk art, comics, and Renaissance painting. My Contemporary Modernist collage style is an amalgam of my artistic education. For me it’s difficult to have favorite. It like saying which is your favorite child. My favorite style is always were I am in my artistic journey.
Who is another artist whose work you admire or inspires you?
I love so many great artistic talents. My favorite artists are Picasso, Matisse, Warhol, Romare Bearden, and Jack Kirby.
What one piece, award, or exhibition are you particularly proud of, and why?
Tough question, I’m thankful for every piece, award, and exhibition. It’s all the fullness of who I am. The work I’m most proud of is probably a groundbreaking oil painting completed in college. It is titled, “Float.” The exhibition I was most proud of was a retrospective exhibition at the North Carolina Central University Art Museum. I was only 42. The NCCU Art Museum was the first museum I visited when I first come to NC at the age of 22. My proudest award my collectors choosing my art, and me supporting my family.
What advice do you have for new artists or people wanting to get into art?
Study art history. Work steady. Have a thick skin. Keep it fun.
In one sentence, what is art to you?
As a young man art was my religion. Now art is my method to legacy and immortality.
I know you’re having a solo exhibition at Bank of the Arts during the month of July, but where else can people find your work?
Visit ericmcray.com and follow mcraystudios on Facebook and Instagram.