Some might say that John Murray’s current home at Lightning Ridge in New South Wales makes a dramatic contrast to his Melbourne birthplace – but it doubtless feeds his passion for the Outback landscape.
John has a Diploma of Art, and he has always nurtured the same artistic interests.
“My full-time career started 25 years ago in Lightning Ridge,” he reveals. “My enduring passion is for painting and working with paint … I love the stuff!”
As a professional artist, John has used oils, pastels, crayon and charcoal; but he prefers and consistently works with acrylics.
“I love the landscape and the animals that inhabit it,” he relates. “The landscape is such a dynamic and changing thing; with colour and intensity … and it is interesting to watch animal life adapting to its rhythms.”
John Murray is a realist painter working in the medium of acrylic paint on canvas and paper. Whimsical photo-realism is one way to describe his approach to painting. On a technical level, he places a priority on addressing the light source in a realistic way.
“No matter how indulgent I am with parodies of birds and human behaviour, there is always that attention to light and shadow,” he insists. “My work is constantly evolving and I enjoy contrasting serious landscape studies with whimsical caricatures of birds and other creatures.”
When he arrived in the Outback as a city artist, his first impression of the landscape was the simplicity and clarity of his new surroundings.
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Esta historia es de la edición No 169 de Artists Palette.
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Eye of Observation
Draw, draw, and draw some more; develop your artist’s eye of observation. Sterling advice from a lady who believes that seeing shapes in paintings requires a truly ‘arty’ eye.
Pelicans To Portraits
This lady has painted everything from pelicans to portraits. She has completed commissions including cats, dogs, horses, possums, numerous beach scenes … and even a Scottish piper.
Gregory John Brennan: Lost Profession
Looking back on his early career as a bulldozer driver, this rural New South Wales painter laments the days when he was too young to appreciate his outstanding potential as an artist.
Pastels: Once We Were Important
A simplified and well named painting tells a powerful and interesting story. This clever pastel artist is delighted to share her techniques for the benefit of others.
Fibre Art
This artist feels that the hardest lesson she had to learn was to believe in herself … and once she did that, everything started to fall into place and her confidence grew.
Water Lily Magic
Instead of paper and paint, this artist uses fabric and threads … and she uses a sewing machine instead of a brush. The textures, colours and prints of fabrics thrown together with threads fascinate her, and often give inspiration for her designs.
Loading Wheat – 1920s
It is rare to see an artist displaying this level of skill and understanding in capturing the activity and atmosphere of bygone days from Australia’s agricultural history.
‘Jama' – King Cheetah
This exquisitely talented lady believes that every artist has failures … but it is important to remember that every success is better than the one before.
Blahuta's Ute
Early in the year we ran a feature about ‘Utes in the Paddock’ – a landmark project by several notable artists. In this article, one of those artists shares his story and some of his views … and describes the process of creating his own piece of an amazing collaborative work.
Artists' Easels
Many important tools are employed by artists in creating their paintings. Artists’ easels are now available in a host of styles and configurations to enhance the creative process. Some of your favourite art materials suppliers are more than pleased to highlight a selection of the many products being offered.
