Short Bio
An intuitive high-textured oil painter with Nature as primary inspiration, I began my professional art career 25 years ago after completing undergraduate studies in studio art. Stylistically, my work is Post-Impressionist with a modern twist similar to works appearing after Monet and before Kandinsky. These artists are primary influences as are Van Gogh, Cezanne, Pissarro, Seurat, and Vuillard. Marrying beauty with function to harmonize space is a personal goal. I believe one’s visual experience is psychologically and emotionally significant to a positive life-experience and that art has the power to inspire and comfort, heal and rejuvenate. I enjoy professional representation at cortilegallery.com and newelementsgallery.com with collectors across the US and in England, Ireland. Hong Kong, and Japan. Believing art is meant to work as well as please, my creations hang in healing spaces in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, and Montana. It's a joy to paint; it's also a privilege. It's my hope that my imagination rendered in composition and color conveys that level of appreciation and spreads happiness.
Statement
I'm an intuitive painter working in high-textured oils on gallery-wrap canvas. My primary inspiration is Nature, on land and at sea. Using brush and palette knife with generous application of a varied palette, I work in a Post-Impressionist style.
Resume / CV
Ann Parks McCray
Body of work: Richly textured oils on gallery-wrap canvas; Nature-based abstractions.
Gallery Representation
Cortile Gallery, Provincetown, MA
New Elements Gallery, Wilmington, NC
Recent Publications
Wrightsville Beach Magazine, Wilmington, NC: "Art Treatise: Freedom and Play" at http://www.wrightsvillebeachma...
Southern Living Magazine, March 2023: Southern Living Home, Wilmington, NC.
Recent Shows
New Elements Gallery: An Artful Home, opening February 26, 2016.
Cortile Gallery: 10th Annual Grand Season Opening, opening July 8 , 2016.
New Elements Gallery: 32nd Annual Holiday Show, December 2016.
Cortile Gallery: Two-person exhibition opening August 4, 2017.
Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, NC, State of the Arts/Art of the State III (SOTA3), October 2017 to July 2018.
The Studio at Design Associates, Wilmington, NC: Two-person show Nov. 8, 2017 - Jan. 1, 2018.
New Elements Gallery: Artful Home Show, Feb. 22-Mar. 17, 2018.
Wilmington Art Association: Spring Show 2018, Apr. 8-14, 2018.
Sunset River Marketplace Art Gallery, Calabash, NC: Abstracting Nature in Metals & Oil, two-person show, May 4-July 1, 2018.
Cortile Gallery: Artistic Expressions: New Works, May 18-June 14, 2018.
Landfall Foundation Art Show, Wilmington, NC: August 15-18, 2018.
Accepted to 2018 No Boundaries International Art Colony, Baldhead Island, NC: Nov. 1-15,2018.
Maryland Federation of Art (MFA), Annapolis, MD: Strokes of Genius, Nov. 2-26, 2018.
New Elements Gallery: Annual Holiday Show, December 2018.
New Elements Gallery: The Art of Style with Ann Parks McCray, Feb. 22-Mar. 23, 2019.
Cortile Gallery: The Shape of Color, Two-person show, Opening July 12, 2019.
New Elements Gallery: Soiree with Ann Parks McCray, private invitational. Oct. 25, 2019.
New Elements Gallery: Annual Holiday Show, December 2019.
Cortile Gallery: Squared, Nov. 2019.
New Elements Gallery: Decades of Decor, Feb. 28-Mar. 23, 2020.
New Elements Gallery: Out of the Blue, April 23-May 21, 2021.
New Elements Gallery: The Wonder of Water, one-person show, August 27-September 18, 2021.
New Elements Gallery: Annual Holiday Show, Dec. 2021-Jan. 2022.
Art Essex Gallery: Live Invitational Exhibition, Jan. 12-Feb. 5, 2022, Westport, CT.
New Elements Gallery: Annual Home Show, Feb. 25-Mar. 19, 2022.
Cameron Art Museum (CAM): State of the Art (SOTA), Apr. 8-Sept. 18, 2022.
Cortile Gallery: A. Paul Retrospective/Benefit Art Exhibit, opening July 22, 2022.
Wilma Daniels Gallery: For Eden Village, Art Exhibit/Benefit, opening July 22, 2022.
New Elements Gallery: 37th Annual Holiday Show, Nov. 25-Jan. 7, 2023.
Van Der Plas Gallery, NYC: Of Integration, Mar. 3-13, 2023.
Rhode Island Water Color Society, Pawtucket, RI: A Fine Line, July 8-Aug. 3, 2023. Awarded 2nd Place Prize of show.
Touchstone Gallery, Washington DC: People and the Planet (virtual), Aug. 2-27, 2023
New Elements Gallery: Textured Daydreams, a Two-Person Show, July 28-Aug. 19, 2023.
Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD, Strokes of Genius 2024, Oct. 25-Nov. 25, 2023, awarded prize.
Rhode Island Water Color Society, Pawtucket, RI: Falling into Winter, Nov. 4-Dec. 15, 2023.
Putting Art to Work
Recent Benefits:
Breast cancer awareness
Child Advocacy
DowntownWilmington
First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, NC
Charlotte, NC, Heart Association
Humane Society
North Carolina Coastal Land Trust
University of North Carolina at Wilmington Memorial Scholarship, School of Engineering
Wilmington Symphony
Landfall Foundation Art Show & Benefit, Wilmington, NC
Eden Village Art Exhibit/Benefit, Wilmington, NC
Organizational Placements:
Charles Wilson VA Outpatient Clinic, Lufkin, Texas: three paintings in the waiting room.
Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio: Nature photographs in the chemotherapy treatment rooms.
Whitefish (Montana) United Methodist Church: nine-piece abstraction, Madonna & Child, Sunday school area.
The Opportunity School, Amarillo, TX: oil collection.
The Nunnelee Pediatric Specialty Clinic, Wilmington, NC: four oil paintings
Facebook Webpage: www.facebook.com/ARTwithannparksmccray
Instagram: @annparksmccray
Artfinder.com Ann Parks McCray at artfinder.com/artist/ann-parks-mccray/
