PHILLIPs' MILL Juried Art Show

This year’s image by Doylestown artist Jay McPhillips, combines the artist’s trademark charm, vibrant color, and Impressionist influence seen in much of his work. “When I first started painting, I was greatly influenced by the work of the Pennsylvania Impressionists. And I have stuck to that,” says McPhillips

McPhillips’s art journey, however, began in a more corporate setting—as an art director in top New York City advertising agencies where he worked on major accounts like Coca-Cola, crafting visual campaigns for global audiences. A former staffer for Comedy Central, McPhillips also designed print ads for some of the network’s most recognizable shows. He later worked as the graphic designer for McCarter Theatre in Princeton, a position that introduced him to the world of theater and performance. Over the years, he’s lived, worked and found inspiration in such vibrant creative towns as Portland, OR, Boothbay Harbor, ME, Portsmouth, NH, and Portland, ME where he studied at the Maine College of Art.

For the past decade, McPhillips has earned a living designing, painting, and selling his work throughout this area and says his Bucks County years have had the most lasting impact. He describes himself as a “working man’s artist” who likes “making stuff” that reflects the personality of the local shops, restaurants and attractions he has frequented in the many places he has lived. This includes “portraits” of the County Theater in Doylestown, the Swan Bar in Lambertville, the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge, and now Phillips’ Mill.

“It is such an honor to be recognized for my image of the Phillips’ Mill, the very place, the creative hub, for such icons as William Langson Lathrop, Fern Coppedge and Daniel Garber,” says a grateful McPhillips.