Roxie Ray was born the youngest of five children, and raised in Corona del Mar. She spent much of her youth in Newport Beach enjoying lobster bakes and bonfires on the beach when the ocean was, in her words, “still alive.” As a child Roxie was enchanted by the rolling coastal landscape of Southern California. The ocean remained a sanctuary throughout her life and a metaphor in her work where she could “purge and flush emotions.”
Although Roxie was born long after the Depression had ended, her parents’ struggle through those years left them very frugal, and money was tight when she was growing up. It was perhaps inevitable that Roxie would evolve into a community minded philanthropist, sharing her own resources with numerous organizations and advocating for issues committed to the betterment of society. She was a co-founder of Studio Channel Islands in Camarillo, where she was an Artist-in-Residence and board member, and sat on the boards of Focus on the Masters, Camarillo Hospice and the Meadowlark Service League. She was dedicated to education and helped with numerous fundraising activities to benefit California State University Channel Islands.
Roxie received her Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Psychology and Master of Social Work from Washburn University in conjunction with the University of Kansas. Her professional career began as a Psychiatric Aid at the Topeka State Hospital working with mentally ill adolescents and middle-aged women. She went on to work for Head Start, a Federal program that promotes the school readiness of children from birth to age five from low-income families. Roxie spent ten formative years in Kansas witnessing firsthand the inhumane treatment of minorities and the civil rights abuses of the late 60’s and early 70s, especially in the rural areas.
It wasn’t until the age of 41 that Roxie took her first art class, enrolling in a painting course at Oxnard College taught by James Jarvaise. Roxie credits her understanding of color that lit the spark that fueled her passion for painting to Jarvaise.
She went on to Ventura College to continue her studies in a variety of classes. Her teachers included Richard Phelps, Hiroko Yoshimoto, Ellis Jump, Carlisle Cooper, Mary Michel, and Gerd Koch. She recalled “the tremendous education she received from the great faculty at Ventura College.” Hiroko Yoshimoto commented “I am honored and so proud to have had Roxie in my classes at Ventura College in her early stages of her powerful and successful art career. She was a sincere and inquisitive student and quickly became a “mother” figure to young and not-so-young classmates. Her warm and caring personality continued to make her one of the important leaders of this amazingly supportive art community. It is a devastating loss, but Roxie’s spirit will live on brightly among us.”
Roxie’s developed an affection for the Hispanic culture through the employees who worked in her father’s building company during her youth. Growing up with these individuals instilled in her a deep respect for their work ethic and joyous family life. Her paintings capture field workers laboring in rising heat and bathers languidly floating, rendered with deep respect and dignity, explaining that she was “tired of field workers being seen as simply part of the landscape.” The paintings are at once realistic depictions of everyday life and socio-political statements. She wanted to convey a keen awareness of the laborious aspects of what it takes to produce food for our tables. The viewer is caught in ambiguous situations, observing faceless yet very human figures, anonymous, marginalized and yet essential to our daily lives.
Roxie understood what it meant to be a member of a community and had empathy for her fellow human beings. In her own words, “Art teaches you humility, as does life.” Roxie was a serious woman who cared deeply for her family, her friends and her art. Her ever-present smile and gracious manner warmed all who knew her. Her compassion, her philanthropy, her desire to make the world a better place, left us all richer for knowing her.
Source: Focus on the Masters biography of Roxie Ray
Return to the Roxie Ray Artist Endowment Fund page.
See more of Roxie’s art on her website: here