Artist's Biography

 

David McKay chose to give up his employment as a structural technologist in 1972, to become a full time artist.  Since that time he has shown his artwork in over one hundred exhibitions in galleries in Canada, the USA and Europe.  McKay is an elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) and also an elected member of The Society of Canadian Artists (SCA). David served a four year term on the Board of Directors of the Canada Council for the Arts.

 

Over the past five decades, McKay has been included in exhibitions at the Montreal Olympics, the Canadian Cultural Centre in France and the National Gallery in Canada.  Numerous magazine and newspaper articles as well as radio and television programs have featured McKay's work including Bravo Television and CBC Television and Radio ... each have featured David McKay on their national networks. 

 

David McKay is included in dozens of public art collections and a few selected ones are listed below.

 

The Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Esso Resource Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

University of New Brunswick, both Fredericton and Saint John campuses, New Brunswick, Canada

Royal Bank Building, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Confederation Art Gallery, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada

Irving Oil Limited, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

McCain Foods, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, England

 

A COMPLETE BIOGRAPHY IS AVAILABLE FROM THE ARTIST ... [email protected].

 

 

   Artist's Statement

 

When I think of my artwork I think of my home province of New Brunswick, my years as a child growing up here and of its beautiful landscape and humble buildings.  That is what inspired my artwork over forty years ago and continues to do so today.

 

The word beautiful however can be misleading.  It is not only the brightly coloured leaves of autumn along the Nashwaak Valley or the brilliant sunsets over the Saint John River beside my home that I find beautiful.  These things are beautiful but, from an artistic point of view, are also dangerously close to being merely decorative.  The beauty that I find inspiring for my art are the images that have an emotional impact grown from my life's experiences associated with them.  Those first small flecks of snow against a dark November landscape for example, or a warm breeze on an August night ... things that make me stop and wonder and remember.

 

I use two traditional media for my painting; watercolour on rag paper and egg tempera on gessoed panels.  Working in watercolour gives me the freedom to be both loose and controlled at will and within the same painting.  I love the experimental nature of the watercolour medium.  Egg tempera, by contrast, has a narrower range of manipulation.  I am drawn to the earthiness of egg tempera and at times there seems to be a physical affinity between the subject matter and the actual paint that I am applying.  The paint mixture is very thin and the thousands, perhaps millions, of tiny brush strokes give egg tempera paintings their unique appearance.  Although I am considered a realistic painter, it is not necessarily my intention to be realistically accurate in my renderings.  My approach to painting seems to have evolved from a combination of memory and imagination.  It is always the emotional relationship that I have with my subject, rather than the factual depiction of its details, that I try to convey.

 

Craftsmanship is very important to me.  I have made an extensive study of pigments and other materials used in my art making, particularly my egg tempera painting.  I am disciplined and dedicated.  I try to work all day, five days a week in my studio and reserve the evenings and weekends for the business matters of my profession.

 

My dream for the future remains as it was when I was a young man ... to be fortunate enough to spend my time creating visually what is in my heart and mind.

 

 

 

Why I Paint in Egg Tempera

 

Egg tempera is the most beautiful and sensitive painting medium that I have ever used.  The paint is a simple mixture of fine artist's pigments, egg yolk and distilled water.  Tempera can be used in extremely thin layers giving it wonderful glazing capabilities.  The white gessoed panel, underneath the paint film, reflects light back through the painting giving it a beautiful glowing effect.

 

Egg tempera is one of the oldest media know to mankind, dating back to antiquity.  Tempera painting was surpassed in popularity by the newly invented oil paint in the fourteenth century which was more convenient for artists to work with.  However, during the twentieth century egg tempera saw a revival especially with realists painters who enjoyed its natural earthy quality and its ability to render fine detail.

 

The medium is best painted on rigid panels that are first primed with numerous layers of traditional gesso.  The dried gesso resembles plaster and can be smoothed to a degree similar to that of polished marble.  It is this smooth painting surface that allows the artist to paint extremely thin layers of paint with delicate fine lines.  The paint film dries in minutes but continues to cure and harden for years after the painting is finished.  The surface of an egg tempera painting displays a slight natural sheen and the many layers of paint and the thousands (perhaps millions) of tiny brush strokes combine to give an egg tempera painting its distinctive finish.

 

Given minimal care, egg tempera is more permanent than oil paint and there are examples of tempera paintings in museums that are many centuries old.  An occasional gentle dusting or polishing with a dry soft cloth is usually all the maintenance that is required.

 

 

 

Why I Paint in Watercolour

 

For me, working in the watercolour medium is an exciting opportunity to be both loose and controlled at will, and in the same painting.  The paint flows beautifully, and sometimes unpredictably, with lots of water.  But it can also be controlled for sharp details by using a dryer mixture of paint or, as some call it, drybrush.

 

Although I am sure that I would be considered a traditional painter, I am definitely not one to follow traditional rules when it comes to applying watercolour paint, or removing it for that matter.  I freely use whatever technique I feel is needed to get the effect that I am seeking.  I spatter, sponge, scrape, blot, rub, paint over, or anything else that seems needed.  With a small pointed brush, I can work in a very deliberate way (similar to egg tempera) for the sharply focused areas.

 

The subject matter for my watercolours (and also my egg tempera paintings) is found in, or remembered from, my native Province of New Brunswick.  I don't necessarily paint what I consider a beautiful subject, as I am more concerned with what holds an emotional impact.  Sometimes I will find myself staring at the tone of a small patch of grass in November when it has wilted and turned brown or those few small white flecks of snow swirling around a dark December sky ... things that make me stop and look and wonder.

 

My artwork is realistic in genre but I don't usually paint on location or from photographs as that can lead to simply copying the visual information, and I want the feel of the subject to come across.  My working method seems to have evolved through a combination of memory and imagination.  It is such a free way to work.

 

 

 

Curriculum Vitae

 

Permanent Collections (Selected):

 

Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB

His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, England

Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB

New Brunswick Art Bank, Province of NB

Irving Oil Limited, Saint John, NB

Esso Research Centre, Calgary, AB

Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlottetown, PE

Universite de Moncton, Moncton, NB

University of New Brunswick (both Saint John and Fredericton campuses)

New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, NB

Cities of: Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton, NB

McCain Foods, Toronto, ON

 

Solo Exhibitions (Selected):

 

Gallery 78, Fredericton, NB, 2024, 2022, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2006, 2002, 2001, 1999, 1997, etc.

Andrew and Laura McCain Art Gallery, Florenceville-Bristol, NB, 2016

Saint John Art Centre, Saint John, NB, 2014

Argyle Fine Art, Halifax, NS, 2011

Canada Media Marketplace, New York City, NY, USA, 2001

Peter Buckland Gallery, Saint John, NB, 2001, 1999

Ring Gallery, Saint John, NB, 1994, 1990, etc.

Gallery 1667, Halifax, NS, 1988

Shayne Gallery, Montreal, QC, 1987, 1984, 1982, 1980

Manuge Galleries, Halifax, NS, 1980

New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, NB, 1978

University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, 1977 (toured the APAGA circuit)

Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, 1977

 

Group Exhibitions (Selected):

 

SCA 54th. Open International Juried Exhibition. 2023

SCA 53rd. Open International Juried Exhibition, Papermill Gallery Toronto, Ont., 2022

Marion McCain Exhibition of Atlantic Art, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB, 2019-2020

Hibernus, RCA Juried Exhibition, John B Aird Gallery, Toronto, ON, 2016

Making Things Matter, Gallery 78, Fredericton, NB, 2016

Wolastoq: The Saint John River Project, Beaverbrook Art gallery, Fredericton, NB, 2010

McKay, Scott and Wilson, Figures and Landscapes, Peter Buckland Gallery, Saint John, NB, 2010

Portraits - New Brunswick Artists, New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, NB, 2009

Boston International Fine Art Show, Boston, Mass., USA, 2008

Toronto International Art Fair, Toronto, ON, 2007

Atlantic Canadian Artists: A Selection, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB, 2002

Three Traditional Realists, The Upstairs Gallery, Thomaston, Maine, USA, 2001

Works in Progress, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB, 1992

Marion McCain Juried Exhibition, Beaverbrook Art gallery, Fredericton, NB, 1991 and 1989

NB Juried Exhibition, Beaverbrook Art gallery, Fredericton, NB, 1987

Realist Painters, Hollander York Gallery, Toronto, ON, 1986

Realism, Aggregation Gallery, Toronto, ON, 1978

The Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, NB, 1978

The Montreal Olympics, Montreal, QC, 1976

Atlantic Coast, National Gallery of Canada, (Travelled Internationally) 1976

 

Professional Affiliations:

 

Elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA)

Elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA)

Board member of the Canada Council for the Arts (2012-2016)

 

Honours, Awards and Prizes: (Selected)

 

1st. Place, FASO, BoldBrush Painting Competition 2022

SCA, Duggan Canadian landscape Award, 2021

Fredericton Arts Achievement Award, 2019

Senate 150th. Anniversary Medal, 2018

Honourable Mention in NB Juried Exhibition, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, 1987

Creation Grant, ArtsNB, 1986

Canada Council Travel Grant, 1976

Included in Canadian Who's Who

 

Media Coverage (Selected):

 

Radio and Television:

CBC Radio, Shift Interview, October 2022

Bravo Television, half hour documentary, 2003 (national)

CBC Radio Canada, half hour documentary, 2002 (New Brunswick and Quebec)

CBC Radio, Mainstreet, 1990

ASN Television, Halifax, 20 minute feature, 1990

CBC Radio, Anthology, (national), 1987

 

Magazine and Newspaper Articles:

The Telegraph Journal, March 17, 2011

The Salon (Telegraph Journal), January 27, 2007 and August 1, 2009

Arts Atlantic, issue nos. 11, 14, 18, 19, 24, 25, 36, 38, 43, 47, 49 and 55

Halifax Magazine, September, 1980

Art Magazine, Toronto, issue nos. 22 and 25

The Atlantic Advocate, June 1977

Numerous articles in: The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton), The Gazette (Montreal), The Evening Times Globe (Saint John), The DailyNews (Halifax), The Ottawa Sun (Ottawa) and The Toronto Star (Toronto)

 

Publication of Work (Selected):

David McKay, RCA an artist's perspective, published by Xeno - Optic, 2023

Included in New Brunswick Painters, by Wilson, Larocque, Buckland, published by New Brunswick Museum, 2009

Included in The Maritimes:Tradition, Challenge and Change by Peabody, MacGreagor and Thorne, published by Maritext, 1987

 

Cover Art For:

Wild Apples: A Dialogue With Thoreau, Michael Pacey, Pottersfield Press, 2022

Setting in the East, David Creelman, McGill-Queens University Press, 2003

Canadian Media Contacts, Canadian Tourism Commission, 2001

For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down, David Adams Richards, Oberon Press, 1989

The Fiddlehead, The Tribune Press Ltd., 2012, 2008, 1983

When Things Get Back to Normal, M T Downey, Pottersfield Press, 1985

Road to the Stilt House, David Adams Richards, Oberon Press, 1985

Fury, David Watmough, Oberon Press, 1984

Bell Aliant Directory, 1983

 

Commissions (Selected):

 

Down the River Road, watercolour painting for Canadian Media Contacts, New York, USA, 2001

The Runner, egg tempera painting commissioned for gift to His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, 1985

Warming Up Downtown Saint John, large egg tempera painting for Irving Oil Limited, 1984

Paintings of the McDonald Farm Historic Park for Bell Aliant (reproduced on their 1983 directory)

 

Lectures, Workshops, Teaching, etc (Selected):

 

I Paint in Egg Tempera, an educational exhibition with demonstrations on the egg tempera medium that toured several galleries in New Brunswick, 1992.

Three day workshop on the egg tempera medium given to New Brunswick Art Teachers, 1985

Gave dozens of painting demonstrations and talks to school children, scouting groups and other groups both in studio and classroom.