Ann McCay

Ann McCay uses composition, pattern and colour to infuse her paintings with a narrative and to draw out the personality of the subject.  She works from her studio overlooking the High Street in the centre of Shrewsbury.

Ann studied Fine Art at Bristol Polytechnic specialising in printmaking.  She then moved to Granada in Southern Spain, attracted by the Moorish architecture and Mediterranean colour, and produced patterned textiles and posters of cities. Back in London she developed an interest in portraiture and buildings, before moving to Shropshire in 1998 with her young family.  Her commissioned portraits have been shown at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery.

Her paintings convey a sense of space and have a strong narrative element. Settings are theatrical, often portraying man made structures within natural vegetation. The eye is led along paths, through windows and into doorways. The familiar is made strange often through the use of intense colour and light. The juxtaposition of images inspires the viewer to create his or her own stories.