This Visual Artist Proves That Community and Consistency Can Build a Creative Career That Lasts
This conversation with Jarrad (Jay) McKay was a fresh reminder of why I love interviewing. It’s always interesting to hear people’s unique stories and get a dose of inspiration.
By Kirby CarrollJuly 31 2025, Published 2:54 p.m. ET
Jarrad is a visual artist whose story is one of persistence, boldness, talent, and authenticity. A few days fresh from the Essence Fest stage, he walked me through his introduction to art and how it transformed into a fulfilling career.
Today, he creates art exhibits of his work, speaks to crowds, and is affectionately known to some as the “unofficial mayor” of New Orleans. Looking ahead, he’s dreaming bigger: collaborating with Pharrell, diving into creative direction, and exploring the world of interior design. But few people know that Jay once asked to paint for free in a sneaker shop just to get his name out there, or that he funded his first art show, not knowing if more than 10 people would show up.
In this exclusive conversation with Bleu Magazine, Jay walked me through the courage and challenges it’s taken him to get to this moment. Check it out below.
BLEU: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Jay: Well, I’m Jay McKay—a father and a husband. I'm also a visual artist, muralist, and tattoo artist from New Orleans, born and raised.
BLEU: Well, I knew one of those because when I was looking up your background, everything I read about you mentioned New Orleans. Talk to me a little bit about the role the city plays into your work and overall creative process.
Jay: Being from a cultural city with such a large background, history, and Black culture is very important to me. A lot of my pieces are in reference to the neighborhood and being outside, because outside was our social media growing up. I like to bring reference to that—the essence of the neighborhoods—whether it's touching on gentrification, changes, crime, or different aspects of the culture. In the midst of it all, I like to bring out the good in New Orleans.
BLEU: Speaking of social media, I’d love to learn how you feel about it. Obviously, there’s power in connecting online. But we all consume things so fast now, and art takes time. How has that affected your work? What's your relationship like with social media?
Jay: I wouldn’t say it affects me because when I feel like I’m consuming too much of it, I take a step back and come back to reality. Sometimes, I beat myself up when I feel pressure. But then I remember, I’m where I’m supposed to be. I'm where I wanted to be years ago.
BLEU: You’ve always been interested in art, right? When did you decide to make it a business?
Jay: When I did my first solo exhibit. I grew up in a tattoo shop. I was around visual artists and muralists all the time (my father, grandmother). Then in 2015, I put up money and made my own show happen. Seeing people come out and buy pieces and prints made it all more real. The overwhelming support from my peers and city pushed me to take it seriously.
BLEU: Let’s talk about community. A lot of creators put heavy focus on making sure their product or service is as broad as possible. But it feels like you’re very intentional about connecting with us. Why are you so intentional about that?
Jay: Starting with my community is what gave me a foundation. I’m from the hood; many of the people I know were not going to art shows and museums. My events were bringing out a mixture of people and groups, so I had the opportunity to open a lot of people’s eyes; that’s important to me.
BLEU: Fun in the Flood is a standout piece. Tell me about the inspiration behind that one.
Jay: I released that piece during Katrina’s anniversary. I remember being a kid at my cousin’s house and playing in the floodwater often, not knowing it was serious and dangerous. So that was my rendition of pulling out the joy in a bad situation.
Now, Katrina, that was totally different. There was no fun during Katrina, but this was my rendition of bringing light into a dark situation.
BLEU: Have you ever questioned this journey? How do you get past it?
Jay: Hell yeah, plenty of times. I’m not a machine, and art is a feeling—a process. Some days I don’t feel like doing it; some days opportunity isn’t coming through, and sometimes, people don’t like it. I go through a lot. I’m my own worst critic. I’m working on an exhibit now, and I keep thinking what if I don’t have enough pieces, or it's not a good night? There’s a lot of self-doubt sometimes. But again, when I get like that, I take a break, walk, or even a few days to cool off.
BLEU: You seem like a very expressive person. What’s your therapy? If you weren’t an artist, how would you find creative expression?
Jay: I love fashion and interior design. I spend hours on Pinterest, just looking at design and aesthetics. And I look at fashion blogs and follow quite a few social pages. That might be a journey I look at down the line.
BLEU: That seems like a natural transition. How do you define success?
Jay: People feel like money is success, which is a good standpoint. Because who doesn't need it? But to me, it’s getting ideas out of your head and having the courage to be bold and do bold things—like my art show.
That was big for me. It’s like, five people could show up or 1,000 people could show up; it’s a gamble.
BLEU: Finally, I’ll close with this. What advice would you give to an aspiring visual artist?
Jay: I can write a book about this, but the number one thing is to be original. You don’t want to be a trend. Trends come and go; create longevity. There’s no rules in art, so create whatever you want to. Never stop learning, and don’t be afraid of criticism. Also, build the right relationships; sometimes, it’s even better than the check. Don't do that all the time (laughs), but sometimes, it just makes sense.
To learn more about Jarrad McKay, visit https://www.kkuratedcreativeagency.com/.
