About Dru Blair

Dru Blair - Dru Blair is photorealist artist and instructor. Many of his earlier paintings dramatically portray subjects that salute Man's greatest technological triumphs. His realistic aircraft paintings are often mistaken for airplane photos. While Dru's helicopter and airplane paintings focus primarily on high technology aviation and military aircraft, he has also been selected to portray many Star Trek novel covers, as well as such diverse subjects as the well known Budweiser Bullfrogs, and dozens of magazine covers. 

Dru was born in Newbern, NC., September 7. Growing up in Columbia, SC, his ambitions originally were directed toward a career in medicine. However, during his undergraduate studies at Furman University in Greenville, SC, he discovered an artistic ability. He switched majors his senior year and graduated1 with a BA. degree in art. He later found employment in Myrtle Beach, SC. as an airbrush artist painting shirts. He continued his education at the University of South Carolina in Columbia earning a Masters Degree. He worked in Atlanta from 1985-1987 transitioning to commercial illustration. 

In 1988 he won the National Airbrush Excellence Award, which ushered in a wave of commercial opportunities. The following year he produced his first aviation painting, 'Power' which became the first of three Air Force Magazine covers and remains the number one selling aviation print in the world . Other aviation paintings followed the advent of his own publishing company, Blair Art Studios Inc., and more recently, the Blair School of Art in Raleigh, NC. 

Dru Blair is an Air Force Association Life Member (1989), Honorary