"A Week in Review (January 31 - February 7, 2014)"

What a week (January 31 through February 7) busy, busy, busy...

1. Last Friday dodged ice & snow and deliverd my art and the art of Carolyn Blue to the Council for the Arts in Jacksonville NC.

2. Saturday taught my "Collage Creations" collage workshop at Artspace.

3. Sunday attended the opening reception of "Carolina Living" featuring the art of Carolyn Blue and also my art in Jacksonville, NC.

4. Monday & Tuesday, Danny Clark painted my studio.

5. Wednesday, I cleaned and reorganized my studio.

6. Thursday, I cleaned my studio and finished all my 100 Heart paintings.

7. Friday, I hung the 100 Heart paintings in my studio. Also, debuted my new paintings during First Friday.

8. Celebrated my accomplishments and blessings by treating myself to sushi. Yummy!

"100 Hearts: Art is for Lovers" Opening Reception & Exhibition"

“100 Hearts: Art is for Lovers” Opening Reception & Exhibition

Where:  McRay Studios, Artspace Studio 205, 201 E. Davie Street, Downtown Raleigh (near City Market & Big Ed’s)

When:   First Friday, February 7, from 6 p.m.-10 p.m.

Cost:  Free.

This event is open to the public.

Chocolates will be served.

A collection of new paintings by Eric McRay -- “100 Hearts: Art is for Lovers” -- debuts at McRay Studios at Artspace on Friday, February 7 through Friday, February 14.

Acclaimed North Carolina artist Eric McRay assembles new series of 100 plus - 6x6 inch original paintings to create a show teaming with energy, magic, and romance.

Named “Best Local Artist” by Metro Magazine, N&O’s “Artist to Watch”, and recently featured in Our State Magazine; Eric McRay states, “Together these pieces create a complete expression of love, sensuality, romance, and a rich quality of life”

“Remember…trends and lifestyles change so quickly, but an art collection is a visual diary of a couple’s life together”, McRay noted.  

919-614-2174
www.mcraystudios.com

For more information about McRay Studios, visit us at www.facebook.com/mcraystudios

"Opening Reception of Carolina Living featuring Eric McRay & Carolyn Blue"

Opening Reception of "Carolina Living"
featuring the art of Eric McRay & Carolyn Blue

Opening Reception...
Sunday, February 2nd
3:00pm – 5:00pm

"Pate Farm" framed acrylic painting 11x14 by Carolyn Blue $200

"Fields of  Cotton" acrylic on canvas 30x40 by Eric McRay $900

Exhibition Dates: February 2 - 21

This month in our gallery is a collaborative art exhibition between Raleigh Fine Artist Eric McRay and Folk Artist Carolyn Blue. This show will be a colorful mix of styles and viewpoints.
Raleigh artist Eric McRay has become a major force in the North Carolina art community. Eric McRay’s studio at Artspace in Raleigh is as colorful as his paintings.  His work has been collected by Duke University and the North Carolina Central University Art Museum as well as numerous private collections. McRay was recently featured in "Our State Magazine".
Eric focuses on favorite subjects such as Wilmington, Morehead City, Swansboro, Winston-Salem, Raleigh and the North Carolina Beaches. He captures the spirit of North Carolina living, “Here everything shines, everything is colorful, and everything is full of light.”

Fuquay-Varina folk artist, Carolyn Blue is a member of the Lumbee Tribe. Bold colors grace her canvases drawing the viewer into the beauty of this land which is reflected in her paintings of cotton fields and tobacco barns dotting the land. “Art to me is touching… feeling… of passion being lost for a time in that painting… of color coming through the light.”

View the artwork of these two North Carolina artists at the opening reception...
Sunday, February 2nd @ 3:00pm – 5:00pm
Council for the Arts
826 New Bridge
Jacksonville NC

Phone (910) 455-9840
Email jaxarts@jaxarts.com
Website http://www.jaxarts.com

"Assemblage & Collage Group Exhibit - NC Wesleyan, Rocky Mount NC"

Friday January 24th from 7pm to 9pm is the
Opening Reception and Party for the
"Off the Wall: Collage/Assemblage Group Show".
Music provided by the Winston Band.
Hope to see you there.

Exhibition Dates: Jan. 10- Feb 9

"Off the Wall: Collage/Assemblage Group Show"
Reception Party with Winston Band, 7-9 pm. Friday, Jan 24

Mims and Civic Galleries in the Dunn Center
NC Wesleyan College 
3400 N. Wesleyan Blvd.
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
Info: eadelman@ncwc.edu

"Currently Registering Students for Saturday "Collage Creations" Collage Workshops"

"COLLAGE CREATIONS" collage workshops

Registering students for Saturday sessions.

Instructor: Eric McRay
Ages: 16 years and over. 
Tuition: $100 per session
Phone: 919-614-2174 
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (break for lunch from 12:30 p.m. -- 1:30 p.m.)
Location: McRay Studios Artspace Studio 205
201 E. Davie Street Raleigh, NC 27601

Join expert collage artist, Eric McRay for a dynamic learning experience. Come learn or expand your knowledge of collage/papier collé (French: pasted paper or paper cut outs). This collage workshop is open to the beginner, intermediate or advanced artist. In this workshop you will create your own unique collage artwork, utilizing painted papers, photographic reproductions, photos, scraps of fabric, and elements from magazines, paint, and more. Through collage techniques you will experience a truly unique way of approaching your art, whether creating representational or non-representational works.

Testimonial from a "Collage Creations" Attendee:

Dear Eric,

I hope this finds all well with you. I want to take a moment and thank you so much for offering the collage class I recently attended. You really opened my artistic eye. Being surrounded by your artwork was inspiring and motivational. Thank you for being so patient and encouraging as I bumped up against my own barriers.

I can now look forward to creating collage with a totally refreshed point of view!

Warmly, Sarah M. 


You can feel free to call 919-614-2174, email, or text Eric to ask questions and reserve your spot. 

Accepting a limited number of students per session.


Upcoming Workshops Schedule:

Saturday February 1st, 2014
Saturday February 15th, 2014

Supply list provided at time of registration. We look forward to sharing the collage experience with you.

http://mcraystudios.com/colle%27/default.htm

"Off the Wall: Collage/Assemblage Group Show"

Jan. 10 - Feb 9...

"Off the Wall:
Collage/Assemblage Group Show"
Reception Party with Winston Band, 7-9 pm. Friday, Jan 24

Mims and Civic Galleries in the Dunn Center 
NC Wesleyan College 
3400 N. Wesleyan Blvd. 
Rocky Mount, NC 27804 
Info: eadelman@ncwc.edu

"The Garden" by Eric McRay

"Make That Kitty Meow!" by Eric McRay

"Buddy's Pride & Joy" by Eric McRay

"Boomtown" by Eric McRay

"Trial by Fire II"

"Make That Kitty Meow!"

"The Garden"

November 1-30, 2013
Opening Reception
First Friday Gallery Walk: November 1, 2013
6-10pm

Artspace
Upfront Gallery
201 E. Davie Street
Raleigh, NC

Artspace Phone: 919.821.2787
http://artspacenc.org/exhibitions/current/upfront/

McRay Studios Phone: 919-614-2174
mcraystudios.com

For the month of November, new collage works by Artspace Artists Association member Eric McRay will be on display in the Upfront Gallery.

McRay has had a vital presence in the Artspace building for over fourteen years. About the collage technique, he says "collage, one of the major innovations of modern art, is an artist inserting pieces of the real world into a constructed one." McRay injects impromptu invention in the construction of his collages, which include such materials as painted papers, photographic reproductions, snippets of photographs, scraps of fabric, elements from magazines, cut & torn paper, water-media & acrylic paints. The different materials of everyday existence are edited, sliced and reassembled into new images on paper, board or canvas.

These constructed worlds pull the viewer into a new reality. Collage empowers McRay to push the boundaries that allow the real world to infiltrate a painting, dissolve the conventions that separate art and life, high art and popular culture.

Artist Bio
Eric McRay received a BFA degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he earned a four-year scholarship for his artistic talent. He has been exhibiting in NC since 1987, and McRay was juried into Artspace in 1998. McRay has been featured on TV and radio shows, and in multiple newspapers and magazines. McRay's work can be found in numerous corporate collections.