Artist’s Statement
I feel very comfortable repeating some of the daily events of life, but in art, I like variety. And the subjects I choose to paint are varied. I tend to jump from a realistic landscape or still life to the subject of color and abstract shapes in painting. I also enjoy attempting to capture the uniqueness of a personality from time to time. My one consistent artistic enjoyment I have maintained over the years is painting the female form.
I started painting early. My parents started my painting career as a pre-teen with lessons from a lady who made copies of pictures she liked. I remember she bought cans of white lead as a substitute for commercial white oil colors because the white lead was much cheaper. I learned more practical things like mixing colors and some techniques of applying paint. I also learned several bad habits from her that would take some time to overcome later when I majored in art at college, but she gave me a start, and I’ve always been grateful.
I remember the first time I felt overwhelmed with emotion from viewing a painting. It was a Robert Motherwell painting on display in San Francisco. I returned to that museum several times over the next few weeks to stand in front of that painting and charge my batteries so to speak. I strive to achieve that feeling in my own paintings.
James W. Murray
I feel very comfortable repeating some of the daily events of life, but in art, I like variety. And the subjects I choose to paint are varied. I tend to jump from a realistic landscape or still life to the subject of color and abstract shapes in painting. I also enjoy attempting to capture the uniqueness of a personality from time to time. My one consistent artistic enjoyment I have maintained over the years is painting the female form.
I started painting early. My parents started my painting career as a pre-teen with lessons from a lady who made copies of pictures she liked. I remember she bought cans of white lead as a substitute for commercial white oil colors because the white lead was much cheaper. I learned more practical things like mixing colors and some techniques of applying paint. I also learned several bad habits from her that would take some time to overcome later when I majored in art at college, but she gave me a start, and I’ve always been grateful.
I remember the first time I felt overwhelmed with emotion from viewing a painting. It was a Robert Motherwell painting on display in San Francisco. I returned to that museum several times over the next few weeks to stand in front of that painting and charge my batteries so to speak. I strive to achieve that feeling in my own paintings.
James W. Murray