Born in California in 1922, Jay Andrews grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a young man, he was very athletic, winning state trophies in high school in the broad jump and pole vault. He initially wanted to be a forester, and attended college in Louisiana and also the University of Nevada. He and his wife Hope traveled and lived all over the world when Jay joined the U.S. Air Force as a pilot.

Following the service, Andrews worked as a draughtsman for an architectural firm, then decided to get his own license at the University of California. He was a practicing architect in a one-man office in La Mesa for 50 years, designing and remodeling houses until he was well into his 90s.

But more than anything, Jay Andrews “lives to paint,” as he has said. His childhood love for drawing and painting grew into a passion, and he became a gifted and prolific watercolorist, depicting scenes from his many travels, but focusing most of all on San Diego and environs. Among the many artists he says have inspired him are Ted Kautsky, John Pike, Sir William Russell Flint, Edward Seago, Shuang Li and J. Milford Ellison, the first president of the San Diego Watercolor Society, where Andrews was an influential member since its founding in 1965.

Well into his very advanced years, Andrews still painted every day and was always on hand to offer constructive art critiques to Society members. By most accounts he was never very interested in exhibiting his own work, but he always could be counted on to help others. He passed away in 2019.

Mary Platt, Museum Director