Ian McKay has had a dual career in the visual and performing arts since 1967, when he became a professional actor in Vancouver's live theatre scene. By 1969 he was a mime with a rock band and performed in clubs and theatres, including an opening act for Led Zeppelin. He also worked with Cheech and Chong at the notorious burlesque house, “The Shanghai Junk.” During this time, he took a six-month foundation art course. Finding this too academic, he decided to teach himself traditional drawing techniques by studying the old masters.

His visual art career was established when he moved to Toronto in 1972 and had his first solo painting exhibition at the Gadatsy Gallery. He continued to exhibit in Toronto while pursuing his mime performance work in Canada, Europe, and the USA.

In 1977, McKay relocated to Guelph, Ontario to concentrate on painting and teach drawing and anatomy at the University of Guelph. His first public art exhibition in Guelph was at The MacDonald Stewart Art Centre in 1982. When McKay moved back to Toronto in 1985, he focused on his performance art and converted an old warehouse into a theatre and exhibition space. For the next seven years, he presented performances of dance, theatre, readings, and new music. During this time he also choreographed and performed modern dance pieces and acted in both the theatre and dance Fringe festivals.

From 1990 to 2001, McKay's visual art focus was the Tower of Babel project – a series of finely detailed and fantastical architectural drawings. Three works from this project were selected for inclusion in Visionary Architecture (authored by Ernest Burden; McGraw-Hill, New York). In 1992, he received the award of excellence in international competition from the American Society of Architectural Perspectivists.

McKay moved back to Vancouver in 1996. Four years later he was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration. Although he is now legally blind, he maintains a director’s role in his business. Since 2001, he has been creating abstract paintings that reflect his degenerating vision as well as the degeneration of the post 9/11world.

Since 2008, McKay has challenged himself by returning to the Tower of Babel series, all hand drawn and improvised directly in ink, using a power 10 magnifier. These new works are available as limited edition prints. The Tower of Babel originals were exhibited in New York City at the Outsider Artists Fair, 2010. Ian McKay is now represented in New York by Marion Harris. Marion can be contacted at www.marion-harris.com.

McKay now belongs to a group called The Blind Artist's Society. His work can be viewed and purchased on the website www.blindartistssociety.com. This society also supports artists by holding an annual exhibition in Troy, N.Y.