Wanting to get better at blogging! + New Fine Art prints available on Etsy

I'm going to try to post more on this! Is blogger dead now anyway?! Are Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest the way to go? Is it all just a giant waste of time?! Who knows! Anyway, i'm going to get back to blogging more either way...

I've recently made prints (in multiple sizes) available of two of my paintings from the recent Over The Line studio show. Both of which can be purchased from my Etsy shop, yay!

Fertile

Rainsong

Over the Line studio show 2017

"Fertile" by Maria Murray

"Rainsong" by Maria Murray

"Morning" by Maria Murray

"Pete's Parrot" by Jim Kelleher

"In Your Face" by Erin Goulding

Some pics from our recent Over the Line studio show! It was such a lovely night and as usual I feel totally humbled and inspired to be sharing a studio with some many amazing artists.

Finalised Rainsong (or close to finalised!)

Rainsong.

Walking in an ethereal earth

the cause you fell for far too deep

dissipate of any worth

In this ethereal earth

The feeling that you had to keep

For fear, for hesitation

for to save your reservation

Anticipation filled with doubt,

All you have derived

And all you tried to figure out

            In an ethereal world you walk

While someone else is waiting

In the space between two worlds apart

For you to keep your heart.

Rainsong brought him out into the night,

She danced on city river rails and curbs
beneath his skin.

Away from all the indoor lights, howling

deep within, the purple colours of the night

She found him.

Dizzied from the dust, that sparkled from her

breath. Untrembling he touched, a life that

breathed death.

A high hum coming from the sky, unsettled

him again- pulling apart, left standing by although,

She could not wait

Eoin Murray, 2014

I think this is finished! This was an interesting and very long process. it started out as an abstract painting:

The painting was based on Eoin's poem, Rainsong, I worked on it in it's abstract form for a long time before deciding it was finished, but then going over and back about whether or not it really was! I've been doing mainly portraiture the last while, and after seeing an image on Instagram which set off another image in my own mind, I started experimenting with it in Photoshop, layering over many different photographs before I found one that I felt really worked. I created a photoshop painting of this photo, to bring the painterly feel into it, and then got it printed onto canvas. I wasn't happy at all with the canvas print however! The colours were completely washed out, so I worked back into it with oils and gave it the vibrancy I first wanted. I'm happy with it now, and it's strange developing a new process, it gives me a lot to think about!

Balloons portrait

What I think is my final portrait of Eoin, based on a photograph I took of him over 20 years ago, when he was 4 and I was 14. This one took months!! But I definitely learned a lot.

InSitu 2016

In January of this year I joined Over The Line Studios. It's my first time having a studio and I LOVE IT!! It's so motivating being part of a creative community. The studio is over Glenline Fitted Furniture on the North Ring Road and we recently had our first show, InSitu, in that location. Again I was delighted to be involved and found the whole process very engaging. Here are some pictures of my work...

I feel very lucky to be part of the studio. The other artists are all so inspiring and have been teaching me so much! Here is some of their great work...

Dervla Baker

Judy Fisher

Martha Cashman

JP LeVillain

Yestin Reboul

Allie Glynn

Clara Griffin

Caireann Browne

Andrew Whitelaw

Jennifer Aherne

Louisa Sloan

John Dwyer

"See ya later" Eoin #3

Third and I think final portrait of Eoin. I learned a lot from this painting, it was definitely the toughest and most emotional process so far. Still didn't learn nearly as much as I did from him though!

Eoin #2

2nd in a series of portraits of my youngest brother Eoin, bravest person i've ever known and a continuing source of inspiration and strength for me.

Eoin #1

A recent oil painting of my beautiful and inspiring youngest brother, Eoin.

Na hOibreacha, Crawford 2014

I finally got a chance to call into the 4th year show in Crawford today. Some beautiful work as always, here are some of my highlights...

Constance Roberts

Femke Vandenburg

Helen Stringer

Maria Elizabeth Muller-Took