Collection: Shay McCafferty

Artist Statement:
My artwork revolves around the importance of nature and how people today seem to forget that we are a part of the natural world. The subject matter I often depict include animals, plants, skeletons, human figures and decay that I combine into whimsical playful colors or compositions. I use mostly wood as the surface for my detailed colored pencil drawings. I have also begun to experiment with other ways of incorporating and manipulating wood such as staining, painting, layering, cutting and burning to create new work.

Shay’s appreciation for art started at a young age while watching her father paint. She would later go on to earn her AA from Montgomery College, and later her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she majored in drawing and concentrated in printmaking. After college, Shay created LYNX Art Academy, a virtual art school that ran throughout the Covid-19 lockdown. During this time, Shay taught a variety of classes for students of all ages and skill levels. In 2020 Shay curated, Art in the Park, a pop up art show, both for her students and for emerging local artists and that same year curated, Love is Love, an international virtual art show for youth artists, where artists submitted a visual interpretation of their definition of “Love”. In 2023 Shay was an artist in residence for Annmarie Sculpture Garden’s 2023 ArtFest where she created an interactive project that invited guests to become part of a story tied to nature. Later in 2023, Shay began working for Murals of Baltimore, apprenticing under renowned muralist Michael Kirby, where she learned the art of painting large scale frescos and murals using acrylic paints. Shay is currently focusing on expanding her practice and exhibiting her work in art fairs, exhibitions, as well as working with clients to create murals and public art.