Words by Natalie James
Images provided by Jay McKay
Jared ‘Jay’ McKay is a visual artist, muralist, and tattooist who uses oil, acrylic, and spray paint in his larger-than-life works. Born and raised in New Orleans, LA, his work honors the lives of everyday New Orleanians with themes reminiscent of his childhood in a pre-Katrina New Orleans. I joined him in his New Orleans studio to talk about his art, inspiration, and BUTTER.
Natalie James: How long have you been an artist?
Jay McKay: I’ve been an artist since I was a kid, but professionally since about 2014.
NJ: What started you as a child in art?
JM: I used to draw on all my homework. Me and my cousins would have drawing contests. We’d pull up stuff in a book or a coloring book and mimic it and have contests to see who could draw the best. So, my mom noticed what was going on and she was like, “Oh, well maybe he’s into art.”
[Then], I met my first art teacher — Ms. Jay. Ms. Jay took me under her wing and got me enrolled in some gifted art classes. She would come get me on the weekends and bring me to art museums and all that type of stuff. She saw I had the eye and she believed in what I was doing so it just went on from there.
I started tattooing at the age of 14, then I met a bunch of artists and they were street artists so that’s how I got into learning about spray paint, murals, and other mediums.
NJ: What kind of art has been your biggest inspiration?
JM: Once I dived into murals and being around other artists, I kinda got more of a sense of how far this could take me. I learned a few things in school and from a bunch of friends, but I’m more self-taught. It was the fact of [seeing] how far I can go. The levels of how my work changed and progressed as I got older because I learned different things. That was the fun part about it — just going back and looking at the progression of being better than last year.
NJ: What is your process?
JM: I come up with a concept — I draw it out first. Most of the time it’s just thoughts in my head or I may see something passing by on the street and go, “That’s dope, I wanna remix it into my own way.” Most of the time it’s thoughts or looking through books. Then, I make it come to life.
I don’t pick out colors until I start painting. That’s why you see a lot of vibrant colors. Only thing I know for sure is that my people gon’ be Black and there’s gonna be some pink in there — for sure. Other than that, I just kinda go with the flow on my colors.
NJ: What does it mean for you to be an artist from New Orleans?
JM: As far as me being born and raised here and representing my city, it’s always been a true accomplishment for myself. We have an art scene here. New Orleans is known for the rich culture, the food, the music, Mardis Gras, second-lines, but we do have a serious art scene here. I’m not a fan of painting traditional New Orleans because it’s just watered down to me. I call it ‘tourist art’.
My perspective of how I paint New Orleans is through the neighborhood and through the people — things that the tourists don’t really get to see. Things that we see growing up here. If you don’t know, it can get lost in the sauce. My ultimate goal is just to show [people outside of here] that, “Alright, this is what’s going on in New Orleans.”
NJ: Which neighborhood did you grow up in?
JM: I grew up between the Third Ward, Uptown, and the Seventh Ward. I was a outside kid. Coming up, we was outside riding bikes, playing at the park — you know, just finding things to do outside. That’s what I paint in my works.
NJ: What kind of impact has Hurricane Katrina had on you and your work?
JM: We can’t forget about Katrina. In New Orleans, we gon’ celebrate regardless. It was a tragic thing, but keeping it moving through adversity is why we celebrate it. Katrina was a positive for some people and it was a negative for some people. I got the chance to move to D.C. with my dad. I [had] a lot more opportunities as a teenager. I went to Africa with my school and I furthered my art education there. Of course I was homesick, but I was exposed to a lot more being up North because it moves a lot faster.
NJ: What are you looking forward to getting out of BUTTER?
JM: Meeting new collectors, being exposed to a new market, and building some new relationships. Of course the goal is to sell pieces, but outside of making money, just building a rapport. It’s another market and another area to get my name out there. Even if my pieces don’t sell, it’s just the notoriety — “Oh, this is a dope artist!”
NJ: What made you say “yes” to BUTTER?
JM: This is the first art fair that I’ll be a part of, so why not? It seems like a cool vibe. Never been to Indianapolis. I’ll have the chance to go there.
NJ: What is the message that you’d like to translate through your work?
JM: What I do with my art is try to bring the light out of situations. The pieces going in BUTTER are called Fun in a Flood. When we were kids, we played in the flood water. Flooding outside was like a little neighborhood beach — you gon’ make the best of it.
In light of a catastrophe, I want to shed light on the positive side of it and how we make do with things. A lot of my pieces are in reference to bringing light to tragic situations. That’s what I bring into most of my art.
To keep up with Jay McKay follow him on:
Instagram: @artby_jay
Website: art-by-jay.com
