Jay Durrah is a self-taught artist from Western Pennsylvania, Howard University alumni, who has been sketching since the age of nine. His grandfather noticed his skills and asked him to draw the sketch in the TV Guide. It was an ad in the journal for an art institution that stated, “If you can draw this, you too can be an artist.”

Jay is drawn to creating portraits. He starts most portraits with the eyes for he believes they capture the essence of a person’s being. Jay’s burgeoning style strategically places patches of vibrant colors on canvas to form beautiful figures. The use of multiple colors represents the multiracial aspect of humans. No one is of a pure race; people have much more in common than the differences society tries to emphasize. Through his art, Jay would like people to focus on the commonality of humanity.

Jay has shown his work in museums, galleries, corporate shows, music and art festivals in New York, Miami, New Orleans, Chicago, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Richmond, and DC to name a few. A highlight of his journey was getting selected for a group show at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Jay had four solo shows at the Lamar Art Center in Barnesville, GA, Gallery O on H in Washington, DC, The Harlem Coffee Co. in Harlem, NY, and Harmony Hall Art Center in Ft. Washington, MD.  

In 2019, Jay finished a large commissioned project to paint eight mural sized paintings in the grand lobby of the newly renovated Ames at the Meridian apartment building in Washington DC. In 2020, Jay was commissioned to paint a mural of beloved NBC 4 Washington anchor the late Jim Vance in the Jim Vance Media Center, and the library at Archbishop Carol High School