I'm a 60 year old artist in Memphis, Tennessee. I spend my life trying to catch stories, give them form, color and light, then send back out into the world.
I sometimes see people that look so interesting that I want to paint them. I’ve been to shy to ask, but last week, I saw a man and I did it — I asked a stranger if I could take a picture of him so I could paint him. He said that’d be fine. We exchanged phone numbers so I could text him the work when I finished it.
Here’s the photo:
Deago with the golden dreds/braids
Here’s a sketch I did to get a good feel for the structure of his face:
And here is the painting. It’s 8×10″. I was thinking a lot about how Black people, and Black men in particular, are still the target of so much violence from white people. How all of us have to fight racism and violence. So while I painted, I decided to turn him into a saint. We are all in this together, we can all be saints. It’s not a perfect likeness, but I enjoyed painting him.
Saint Deago
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This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways.
Cards and prints on some of my art is available on Redbubble.
If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.
It’s been hard staying focused and awake since the quarantines started. There has been a new undercurrent of fear in our lives, in my life. I have handled it the best I could, but I’ve not been very creative since March. Then last week I started to paint for about an hour each day. My actual plan was to paint for 30 minutes before dinner, kind of earn my vittles psychology. And It worked. I began painting for longer periods of time. I got my Rosie paintings done. I started painting an exuberant clematis flower, and two other paintings where I just did what the paint told me.
Yesterday was a bad day for me. A bout of depression and loneliness nibbled at me for part of the day. Then I had a flashback to a traumatic event from over a decade ago. Luckily, I talked to a friend, not specifically about what I was going through but about loneliness and how to manage it. It reminded me that the past was in the past, and I really don’t have anyone in my social circle that feels threatening to me. Even though it didn’t completely clear up my anxiety, I painted.
I got three paintings mostly finished and put the final touches on them this morning.
This one really created itself. I started brushing off extra paint on a small 5×7″ canvas, until the colors formed a shape and then it became a story. Definitely speaks to the anxiety I have.
Not Part of the Plan, by Joy Murray, 5×7″ acrylic and ink ($30) SOLD
I’ve been worried the impact this pandemic is having on vulnerable children. I always have them on my mind because I have been one and I have worked with them, using art and stories to help them sort out their lives. This painting started out as more of a cosmic abstract, but it changed to a child.
Star Child, by Joy Murray, 8×10″ acrylic and ink ($60)
And then I finished my clematis painting.
Clematis, by Joy Murray, 8×10″ acrylic and ink, ($60)
Every day I didn’t paint, I told myself not to worry (though I did), I just needed a break and some time to process this terrible virus and the shutdown. I needed to learn how to take care of myself during the reign of COVID 19. And everyday I saw the clematis vine growing on my porch, and more around the corner at a neighbor’s house. I saw a bit of spring every day.
I experienced a wide range of emotions, but again a friend and art brought me back to my self, back to where I could paint from that place where things aren’t clear, but have meaning nonetheless.
I hope you and your friends and family are doing well, too.
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This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways.
Cards and prints on some of my art is available on Redbubble.
If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.
I have a postcard of Rosie the Riveter on my kitchen wall. And it gave me an idea of making a strong woman character for Covid 19. When I sketched her in my sketchbook, she was too nurse like:
And I wanted her to look like anyone, not necessarily just a health worker, so I painted this, which you’ve seen:
Rosie the Risk Reducer, by Joy Murray, 8×10″
As the weeks have gone by and I see all these health workers being so brave and helping educate people. They’re even standing up to protesters who don’t believe in the virus, or they don’t believe they’ll get sick.
So I went back to my original idea, with a few changes:
Rosie the RN, by Joy Murray 8×10″
I’ve seen a lot of illustrations and photographs honoring health care workers, so this is one more. All we have to do is follow a few protocols and wear masks and gloves to be heroes during this time. I know it’s hard, and a lot of people are hurting for money and food. It’s a worldwide crisis that hasn’t been handled well. But we have dedicated people who are working to heal us and to keep us from ever getting sick in the first place.
I hope you stay safe and thank you for the precautions you’re taking.
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This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways.
Cards and prints on some of my art is available on Redbubble.
If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.
I’ve been experimenting with selling art to people online, but not through Etsy or any of the other forums. I felt I could do better with direct contact here on my blog and on Facebook. I decided to try a facebook page dedicated to art sales because I want to help my friends Frankd Robinson and TheOuterCircle sell their art, too. I wanted to see if it got more traffic than my personal page.
I WISH I LIVED IN A BETTER WORLD by Frankd Robinson, mixed media, 11×23″ $300.
THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT, by TheOuterCircle, Acrylic on Board, 10×13″ Framed $100THEY HAD NO IDEA detail
It did not. The page seems cluttered and not any easier to navigate than the one I already use. They want me to pay for boosts and are always bugging me to put money into advertising. They told me there were messages I couldn’t find. I may not be smart enough to do the page. It doesn’t seem to lead to sales anyway.
In fact, since the safe at home protocols have been in place, I’ve sold three pieces, one from my regular Facebook page. And two from the blog. So that less assertive way of sales seems to be the way to go.
IT’S COMPLICATED by Joy Murray
YOUR SOUL GROWS WITH YOU by Joy MurrayYOUR SACRED LIGHT by Joy Murray
So I’m going to take the art page down and let you know about art for sale through this blog and my personal Facebook page. I’ll be posting things from the March show that had poor turnout because of the corona virus. Contact me by email or on facebeook if you’re interested in the pieces by Frankd and TheOuterCircle posted here.
Frankd Robinson, TheOuterCircle, Joy Murray Friends Through Art
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This blog is brought to you by the generosity of people who support me on Patreon , buy my art, and who support me in so many different ways.
Cards and prints on some of my art is available on Redbubble.
If you find a typo, let me know, and I’ll send you a postcard.
joy murray art~stories~life 