Addressing The Light Source
Artists Palette|No 169
Over the years this notable artist has been trying to capture the energy and beauty of a seemingly ‘nothing there’ landscape. This simplicity encompasses great colour and light. It seems harsh … yet safe at the same time.
John Murray
Addressing The Light Source

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.

This story is from the No 169 edition of Artists Palette.

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This story is from the No 169 edition of Artists Palette.

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