Cecil Jay's earliest studies were at the Royal College of Art, South Kensington, later with Sir Hubert von Herkomer and George Hitchcock.

She obtained the Herkomer Scholarship, became a member of the Royal Miniature Society and painted many notable persons in England. She is represented in the Liverpool Museum, by a group of water color panels on ivory entitled,"La Vie Paysanne." She also paints genre pictures and portraits in oils, and is a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon, Royal Academy and other exhibitions. This exhibit contains 10 watercolors and is run concurrently with George Hitchcock: Oil Painting