Ray Phillips was born in Winnipeg in 1941, growing up in an environment that encouraged artistic expression. His grandfather, famed Canadian watercolourist, Walter J. Phillips and his father John Phillips of Phillips Advertising, were highly influential in his pursuit of an art career. As a son and grandson of artists, he strongly believes that art is in his blood. Ray received his art education at the University of Manitoba School of Fine Art. He honed his watercolour and airbrush technique during his long career with Phillips Advertising. He also received inspiration from dozens of artists he associated with during his career. It was during his career as a commercial artist that he honed his skills in watercolour and airbrush technique. Despite the demands associated with his successful commercial art business, he always managed to find time to devote to his own creative work. Today, Ray devotes his full energies to pursuing his creative vision. The excitement of painting, according to Phillips, begins with the selection of a subject and working with it to achieve good design. Each painting represents many hours of work, involving equal parts of technical skill and inspiration. Most importantly, he receives tremendous satisfaction from transforming a blank piece of paper into an image that brings enjoyment to others. Ray Phillips' original works are watercolour paintings, which are painted in a combination of traditional watercolour technique and airbrush. His limited edition prints are produced in the artist's studio by the artist himself. Each step in the process, from scanning and colour correction to printing with fade-resistant pigment inks onto archival paper is completed by Ray to his own exacting standards. Watercolour paintings by Ray's grandfather, Walter J. Phillips continue to be avidly sought-after by collectors today and Loch Gallery of Winnipeg is pleased to represent Ray Phillips, the current generation in the continuing Phillips art tradition.