DRU BLAIR grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, and began studying medicine at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. During his undergraduate studies he discovered his artistic ability and switched majors to fine arts in his senior year, graduating with a BA in fine arts. He later found employment in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as an airbrush artist painting shirts. His rapid success inspired him to continue his education in art at the University of South Carolina in Columbia where he earned an MFA and went on to begin his career in commercial illustration. Dru won the National Airbrush Excellence Award in 1998, 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 existence. In 1997, he founded the Blair School of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina which evolved into the Blair School of Realism in his ancestral hometown of Blair, South Carolina. Dru is an Air Force Association Life Member, Army Aviation Association of America Life Member, member of the North Carolina Association of Designers and Illustrators, member of the Graphic Artists Guild, Artist Fellow member of the American Society of Aviation Artists, and board member of the International Airbrush Association. Some of Dru’s work includes poplar themes, such as the Budweiser Bullfrogs. He was the official artist for Star Trek: Voyager book covers, as well as several of the other Star Trek licensees. He has worked for some of Americas most recognized companies, including Coca-Cola, Nabisco, and Proctor and Gamble, to name just a few.