Liam Murphy discovers an Artistic Treasure Trove

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Liam Murphy discovers an Artistic Treasure Trove.

Canada

Click images to enlarge.

Woodland Trilliums, 12" x 16" acrylic on board $1800.00

The brown parcel arrived in the late fall on my doorstep. It felt like Christmas. It was over fifty large tubes of Winsor and Newton Finity Artists’ acrylic paint and over a hundred varied pure sable brushes. I was ecstatic with my treasure trove.

This was my “bonus” for having my painting “YesterYear’s Rose”, selected as one of five Canadian paintings for the “My Country in the Year 2000”… Winsor & Newton’s Worldwide Painting Competition. The worldwide selected images then constituted an exhibition which showed in London , Stockholm , and at the United Nations, in New York .

I love using Winsor and Newton paints.

During my travels, when I come across a spectacular vista, I stop in my tracks, do a quick pencil sketch on paper and promptly transfer this to my gessoed board or canvas for later deliberation. My hyper-realistic style allows me to capture a moment and present it so that it often provides others with the same sense of discovery that it evoked for me.

The process begins as I recreate the rich and varied hues of a Hawaiian seascape or a pristine Canadian lake. Finity acrylic paints allow me to convincingly capture arresting locations. I am constantly amazed at the ease of working with these paints, because they allow me to effortlessly mix and regenerate the exact colors that I observed on location.

Incoming Tide, 16" x 20" acrylic on board $2100.00

	I tend to use a varied Finity palette and my choice of colors range thru’ Titanium White, Mars Black, Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Phthalo Green, Hookers Green, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Orange, Quinacridone Red, Dioxazine Purple and Phthalo Blue Red Shade. One of the special effects that I often use is applying paint with coarse wet sponges to create interesting backgrounds prior to using my thicker pure sable Winsor and Newton brushes to build up the realistic image. I love adding a little water to the paint on my mixing palette and using a thick sable brush to create soft translucent glazes that create an interesting atmosphere. Finally, I use dampened 000 Series 707 Pure Sable brushes to add all of the important details, using a minimal amount of paint.
Ala Wai Tapestry, 16" x 20" acrylic on board $2100
Winsor and Newton paints have helped me build an international art career that has already surpassed my highest expectations.
Sadly my brown parcel is now severely depleted and I have to replenish my professional treasure trove. However, there’s one thing that I have learned… Winsor and Newton are my “jewels” of choice.

Liam Murphy painting in Muskoka, Ontario

For more information about exhibitions and galleries that include my artwork, please visit my web site at www.liammurphy.com

Here at Practical Painting we couldn't publish Liam's article without showing you two of our favorite paintings.. the beautiful way Liam has captured the light and shadows of the Autumn leaves in "Alert Chipmunk" and in his award winning "YesterYear's Rose".. we loved the texture of the barrel and shadows the roses cast on the fence. - Click on either image to see larger versions.

Alert Chipmunk, 12" x16" inches acrylic on board

YesterYear's Rose, 18" x 24" acrylic on board : Sold