Jay Ewing was raised in New Mexico, made the decision early in life to be "an artist and a businessman." He moved to California in the late 1970s to attend Art Center College of Design and begin his career. He graduated in 1980 with a BFA in Illustration, and set to work in the movie industry as a storyboard artist, doing quick sketches, and gaining experience that would become quite valuable when working on location.

Jay opened his own business in 1984, and still works at it part-time today. The business allows him the opportunity to travel extensively, and he takes along a watercolor sketchbook wherever he goes. He also travels with his wife Carole on vacations around the world, gathering more imagery wherever they go.

Jay paints about half the time on-location (called "plein-air"), and this experience gives his work the life-like quality seen in the images he captures. It's quite common for someone to stop in front of one of his paintings and exclaim "I remember that spot... I stood right there!" Jay's work evokes the feeling of each location he paints in, and this results in a convincing yet artistic rendition.

He is comfortable in both watercolor and oils, and "goes back and forth" regularly, allowing the experience of each medium to strengthen his knowledge of the other. His subject matter includes seascapes, architecture, marine subjects, and rural scenes. His style and methods allow him to capture even the most complicated scene accurately and quickly, and to expand on the subject in a later painting or two, done in his studio.

Jay has studied under Tony Couch, Ron Chesley, and most recently, Margot Lennartz, and also teaches his own students in watercolor. He is a member of the California Art Club, the Mid-Valley Arts League, and the San Gabriel Fine Arts Association. He has won several awards and has been the subject of newspaper articles within his local community. He is represented by Whites Gallery in Montrose, CA and by Segil Fine Arts in Monrovia, CA. He also displays at two galleries in Eureka Springs, AR.

He resides in Pasadena with his wife Carole.