Christopher Murphy

One of the many wonderful things about living with an artist is that the house is filled with…wait for it…art.  With a few exceptions, the paintings in our house are Chris’. One of my absolute favorites is “The Butterfly Effect”, which hangs in our bedroom.  Almost every night before I fall asleep I look at that piece, even if just for half a minute, and admire it. It’s peaceful and soothing and I always feel

Abstract art can be hard to understand.  As I’ve stated many times before, a common reaction to an abstract work is “But, what IS it?”.  If a person fails to understand and connect with a piece it is nearly impossible to appreciate it.  As a non-artist, this is something that happens to me all the time. “Isn’t this work AMAZING!” they say, to which I respond with my most enthusiastic “Uh huh!”, wait for an

Spoiler alert: This post is shamelessly self-promoting.  Well maybe not shamelessly. Okay yes, shamelessly but not in the bad sense of the word.  Of course we want to promote Chris’ work with the ultimate goal of selling it; there’s certainly no shame in that.  And what better time to reach out to his biggest fans than the holiday season? So if you’re looking for a unique gift made by a local artist that will make

As I write this, Halloween is just around the corner (and as you read this, it will have just been over).  We love Halloween in our house; it’s the beginning of the holiday season and it’s a fun night with friends, dressing up in our favorite costumes, and eating TONS of candy.  What’s not to like? We’re lucky because our neighbors also like to celebrate Halloween. We are far from the most decorated house, but

To find inspiration for this month’s blog, I began reading a book Chris recommended, Abstract Painting: Concepts and Techniques by Vicky Perry.  It was on the first page of the preface that I found just what I was looking for.  She included a quote by Clement Greenberg that I immediately thought was brilliant and was totally jealous that I had not thought of.  He said “…the onlooker who says his child could paint a Newman

“She knows what’s going on Seems we got a cheaper feel now All the sweeties are gone Gone to the other side With my encyclopedia They must’ve paid her a nice price She’s putting on her string bean love This is not really happening You bet your life it is”   The above are lyrics to my favorite Tori Amos song, “Cornflake Girl” from 1994’s Under the Pink.  Can you tell, from these words, why

  I watched a segment of CBS This Morning that featured art created by robots.  Art. Created by robots. Artificial intelligence, to be specific. Programmers at Google have figured out how to “teach” computers to make art.  In test after test, people failed to consistently recognize the art made by computers from art made by people. Without being able to identify a specific emotion, I felt an immediate uneasiness about that fact.  And as I

One of the best parts about being a parent is getting a front row seat to watching a person grow and become who they are.  When our son was a baby, we marvelled at all the milestones; his first smile, the first time he rolled over, when he learned to clap, his first word, that amazing look he gave me when I picked him up from daycare that said “Mommy’s here!”.  As he grew older,

How is a painting created?  How does a blank canvas become a work of art?  If you’ve ever found yourself pondering these questions, we invite you to keep reading to get an idea of how Chris creates his pieces. (Spoiler alert: It’s not at all like Bob Ross.) The first step is to decide how big the piece will be.  Sometimes, this requires assembling the canvas. Other times it’s as simple as acquiring the piece