Working from my imagination, I have been fascinated with composing all types of animal life in my paintings, and recently as commissioned murals. My work is full of aquatic wildlife and many of the paintings have dark, mysterious themes. I like to compose various creatures in and around tropical foliage to demonstrate life as “nature vs. nature” with animals and humans trying to live cooperatively in nature and with themselves. My art is full of symbolism and can be interpreted in all ways.

Many trips to The Bronx Zoo have inspired me to draw and paint animals I would probably never see in my home environment such as ostriches, hippos, tigers, monkeys, and elephants to name several. I also have been inspired by the dioramas filled with animal life at The Museum of Natural History. I place some of the painted animals in their natural settings, while others are from my imagination.

I also introduce the human figure co-existing with wildlife, as in the painting Boat Bathers. Another series of paintings are people riding on ostriches at different times of the day. I have always been interested in environment and how the weather affects it.

The Red Lizard represents an intimate view of the fantastical (sic) tropical world full of confusion and chaos. Resting Tortoises represents both arid and tropical landscapes and the wildlife who inhabit it.

—Owen Gray

Recently Owen Gray has been painting commissioned murals of his animals and wildlife for children (and adults). These commissions have included kitchens, interiors of apartments, furniture, on canvas, other types of surfaces. Delving into the website, there are examples of furniture and designed walls. Non-toxic paint is always used.

With the baby boom in Tribeca (where Gray lives) and other boroughs of NYC, parents have been eager to expose their infants and toddlers to the animal kingdom in their urban environment.

Children possibly bring a more innocent curiosity to the animal world. The murals can be as simple as a butterfly or as complex as a string of hippos, tigers, monkeys, turtles and birds. The murals are less dense than Gray’s intricate paintings.