A prolific artist and musician, McIlvaine received a BA degree in creative studies with an emphasis on painting from the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara in 1993, and an MFA from Otis School of Art in 1995. His work has been exhibited in Prague, Sacramento, at a solo show titled “The Pursuit of Happiness” in Los Angeles in 2002, and more recently with a solo show at Matrushka Construction in Los Angeles. His work in music includes nine albums, from solo releases under Gregory Vaine, The Frogtown Serenaders, and the well-regarded and celebrated family folk music group The Hollow Trees.
The current work represents a new dedication to painting that McIlvaine has developed over the last few years. His paintings start with the Surrealistic practice of automatic drawing, a stream of consciousness approach with no preconceived ideas about content. One line leads to another and slowly images emerge and colors are added in an entirely intuitive process.He utilizes transparency and layers to add details and light effects while also letting the material physicality of the paint and the semi-randomness of application shine through. His work filters through the lens of his appreciation of art history, and takes particular inspiration from sources such as Gutave Moreau, James Ensor, Francis Bacon, and Charles Garabedian. The result is a self-constructed and amorphous mythology; a group of symbols and figures that invite a personal interpretation from the viewer.