Patrick McCay is an Irish born Scottish/ American painter who resides in the Boston area. He earned an undergraduate degree in fine art and a Masters in painting from the Glasgow School of Art, in Scotland (1970-76). Later he earned a second Masters degree from Notre Dame University in the United States (1988).

McCay’s paintings are rich in color and composition and combine abstract and figurative elements. They reflect the influence of the Scottish and German expressionists, American abstract expressionists, as well as that of the Bay Area Painters. Painters of particular influence in McCay’s work include Soutine, Francis Bacon, Hockney, Kokoschka, Rauschenberg, Motherwell, Rothko, Diebenkorrn, and Nathan Oliveira.

McCay has participated in many individual and group exhibitions and received many awards. He participated in exhibits at the London Royal Academy, Glasgow Royal Institute, Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Royal Academy, Sydney College of Fine Arts, as well as in individual and group exhibits in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Savannah, and Boston, in the USA.

In the words of Dr. Michael Kissane, Art Historian, "It is never difficult in McCay's work to enjoy the distinctive Scottish character that permeates the work. The Scottish colorists and gutsiness of expressionists such as Mctaggart, Gillies and Redpath have all been influences and provided resource to him in his early training at the Glasgow School of Art, one of the historically great Art schools of Europe. His work also recalls the resillience and disparate thought of the likes of Motherwell, Morley, Kokoscha and Soutine.

McCay's seemingly uncanny command of both color and composition is given full vent in both his Piano and Tablescape series. His works are no pedestrian record of mechanical reality, they are a reality subordinated by innovation that is never simply an invitation just to 'see' but to experience; They are a refreshing and powerful evocation that constantly provide visual surprises and the transient expression of moving forms, great painting, a theatrical treat."

McCay is the recipient of numerous grants and awards. His national and international exhibition record includes: London's Royal Academy, The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, The Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Royal Academy, The London Institute, "Arthaus 11,' Sydney College of Fine Arts, Australia, and the Irish College for the Humanities.

McCay was included in the 2001 Art in America list of museums, galleries and artists.

He is currently Dean of Academic Affairs for the New Hampshire Institute of Art and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Irish College for the Humanities.