Jeff McKay

At the heart of each Jeff McKay painting is an indelible fondness of the American West.  He was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. Frequent family adventures westward left a powerful impression on him as a youngster. By the time Jeff was six years old, he had traveled from the Badlands of South Dakota to Leadville’s Silver Dollar Saloon, and every stop in between...including countless abandoned silver mines & ghost towns scattered throughout the Rocky Mountains.  

The images of the westward trips never faded, and they surfaced vividly as his art evolved.  In 1998, with three small children, he chose a painting hobby to help ease the stress of raising a family in modern times.  His hobby eventually crossed paths with his love for the American West, which fueled Jeff’s passion for becoming a professional artist.  

A self-taught artist, he sought fundamental training from renowned landscape artist Robert Moore during a summer workshop at Robert’s studio in Declo, Idaho. In Jeff’s self-teaching years, he scoured through more than two hundred instructional art books and painted more than one thousand paintings seeking the knowledge he needed to paint professionally. Jeff spent more than seven years learning his craft on his own and developing his technique while preparing for a career as a professional artist. Despite the difficulties of self-learning, he never gave up; he eventually developed his trademark style of texture and color.

Today, collectors seek out Jeff’s work in art galleries throughout the Rocky Mountain states. He primarily works in oil and applies thick, textured colors with palette knives, razor blades, kitchen utensils and maple sticks taken from a tree in his own front yard. For Jeff, the West encompasses the true American spirit of adventure, freedom and life without limits or boundaries.  As a professional artist, He strives to bring the authenticity and wonder of the western experience to each painting.  Jeff is an Associate Member of the Oil Painters of America®. He and his wife, Sandra, have five sons and one daughter. They still reside in Little Rock, Arkansas.