Marcia McNair is the perfect example of someone who can wear many hats. She is a professional painter, teacher and author not to mention wife and mother. Even though her schedule often becomes crazed, she sees all of her titles as a blessing because she believes they have all brought a sense of fulfillment into her life.

"I love my life. It's busy, but it's a great life," said McNair.

A resident of Westbury for 15 years, McNair said she immediately grew attached to the village's serene atmosphere. "Westbury is a quiet and a close-knit community. We found this spacious house here and it's been great. We are not too far from the city, too," McNair said, adding that she became inspired to move to Westbury when she saw how much the residents embrace diversity. "When my husband and I were looking for a neighborhood to move to, we wanted a community where we could see growth in a multicultural environment. Westbury had it," she said. "Westbury is very strong in welcoming, accepting and cherishing the different cultures of people."

The search for a new home came when McNair needed a place to raise a family while continuing to paint. "I always had an art studio in the city and it was a lot of commuting so my husband decided to find somewhere that was big enough [for both of us to] live and work," she said. McNair eventually found a balance between being a painter, a wife and a mother by turning part of her Westbury home into her very own art studio. "We expanded the space in the house so it would be similar to the studios I used to work in," she said, adding that in her studio, she "gets away from everything" and focuses only on her artwork, which she said gives her a chance "to be a creative person."

An acrylic painter for almost 40 years, McNair said her interest in painting started when she was 10 years old after she began attending a Saturday art program at Pratt Institute. "This helped to build my self-esteem in this area that I was interested in," she said, adding that she developed a love for being creative from her mother. "My mother was a very good seamstress. As an adult, I kind of realized that her creative approach to some of the garments that she would make was similar to the way I was approaching some of my paintings," she said.

McNair continued to pursue her interest in painting at Pratt Institute throughout high school before moving on to earn a bachelor of fine arts degree from Hunter College in Manhattan. It was during her college years that McNair realized studying "color theory in art" was what she enjoyed the most. "For some reason, I was always attracted to abstract art. I always liked patterns, colors and contrasting colors," she said.

Today, the paintings McNair creates demonstrate these concepts and focuses on a variety of perceptual elements. "In my work, I like transparencies and colors blending into each other. Within each area there is also like its own world of energy," McNair said. "A lot of my paintings also have these shapes, which are like open windows. It's like a space for your eye to rest or your imagination to rest. I also bring in perceptual questions like is this box within this space or is it floating above this space?"

At Hunter College, McNair received training from well-known, independent African-American artist and Long Island native Richard Mayhew. She said she finds Mayhew's appreciation for nature inspiring and that the way he looks at nature still inspires some of the paintings she creates today.

When she completed her undergraduate degree in 1979, Hunter College had just started its masters in fine arts (MFA) program and McNair continued her education by enrolling. While attending graduate school, McNair also began substitute teaching at different schools throughout the New York area, thus beginning her career working with children.

"I taught different age groups from kindergarten through junior high school during that time," she said. Shortly after, she earned her master's, becoming one of the first graduating students of the college's newly formed MFA program, an achievement that continues to bring a big smile to McNair's face.

The abstract art painter has also had many achievements in her professional artist career. Her paintings have been exhibited in various well-known art galleries throughout the New York area including the Danny Simmons Corridor Gallery in Brooklyn, which is owned by famous artist, art collector, philanthropist and poet Danny Simmons. McNair has also worked with other well-known African-American artists, including Raymond Saunders, Howardena Pindell and Faith Ringgold.

Being a part of well-known women artist groups like the Entitled: Black Women Artists group has also helped McNair succeed as a painter. "The women groups were a good thing because it was nice to mingle and network with other women artists," she said. "It's great to have role models and mentors of other women who have gone through the struggles of trying to get their work discovered."

What made these groups even more helpful to McNair was that she was able to learn about the business side of professional painting. "Art schools don't tell you about the business side, but art is a business," she said, adding that she works as a businesswoman by getting slides of work out to art gallery owners and completing applications to be a part of different art exhibits.

Working as a teacher is another of McNair's careers. Most artists have a second profession, she said, because "their art does not always pay their bills." However, McNair said that teaching is something she loves because it has become a way for her to encourage the next generation to activate their creative side. "Teaching art is my passion. Even though I am a resource room teacher now, I still work with kids that need extra help in academic areas and I always try to bring in something creative," she said, adding that she has also taught on a college level as an adjunct professor at Hunter College as well as Saint Peter's College in New Jersey.

Teaching has also opened a number of doors for McNair including introducing her to the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa. "I was working on a junior high school [students] and we were trying to find a way to help the kids appreciate their culture, family and ancestors," she said. "By doing the Kwanzaa projects, I found that the kids were able to understand their culture more and they were able to feel better about themselves. I feel very strong about the principles of Kwanzaa in terms of teaching and I try to incorporate them in my classes."

McNair added that she sees Kwanzaa as a family celebration because it promotes the "renewing of family bonds and feeling good about yourself."

Spending time with her students and teaching them about the holiday inspired McNair to write a book called Kwanzaa Crafts: Gifts and Decorations for a Meaningful and Festive Celebration, which was published in 1998 by Sterling Publishing Company Inc. That same year, McNair did a book signing at Barnes and Noble in Carle Place. "My book signing was on Fox 5 News when the book was released and I did an interview. That was exciting," she said.

Balancing a family life with a career has been challenging to McNair but she said that her "family works as a team and that makes things much easier." She is especially grateful for the love and support that she receives from her husband Keith. "Keith will cook dinner so I can get back to painting," she said. "He is definitely not one of those guys who say this is a woman's work and this is a man's work. We work together as a team."

In being a mother, McNair believes that her two children, Blaise and Leandra, have helped to give her life meaning. "Being a mother has been a pleasure and a lot of my energy has had to go to them to make sure they are on the right path in their lives," she said, adding that her everyday decisions also show that a woman has to have a selfless attitude when she is trying to balance her career and family life. There were many times when McNair had to stop teaching on a college level because her kids needed her for their activities. "Balancing everything is difficult in terms of energy and time but I love my life," she said.

According to McNair, while many female artists choose not to have a husband and children because family life interferes with their art, her decision to have a family is one she does not regret. "I think that being a fine artist painter you spend a lot of time in solitude inside the studio and many artists don't experience everything in life. I think by having a husband and children you definitely get to experience life," McNair said. "I think by being a wife and mom, I have been able to grow in so many ways as a person. If I didn't have my husband and children, I would have felt that something was missing."

McNair advises aspiring artists to always appreciate their work and continue to work diligently at getting their work in an art exhibit. "A lot of people may not understand the process of being an artist but the more energy you put into your art, the more results you will see," she said. Opening up an art studio and gallery is a possibility for McNair in the near future. She is also currently exploring new crafts like quilting, but said painting is and always will be her first love.