John Murray classes week of July 27, 2015

Cool Summer abstraction!

Dig the work of Robert Ryman, a great influence on my early work in California.

Cool, detached, cerebral and gorgeous painting , it goes across my eyes and mind like a cool oceanic breeze on an exquisite coast of the imagination: no death, no war, no politics, just the infinite space and pulse of 

ephemeral existence...a life we can only dream of.

Try your hand at this concept next week... 

see you then, love. john.

John Murray classes week of July 20, 2015

Mid-July!

Celebrate with a portrait of Julius Caesar, for whom the month was named by the Roman Senate.
The warmest month in the Northern  Hemisphere, the coldest in the Southern.
Rejoice in the hot sun and ancient lineage of this truly majestic month by attempting a deconstructed vision of this noble warrior and civic leader.
Don't forget under-painting and drawing with charcoal and pencil, then layering and viscosity exploitation overall.
See you next week
john.

john Murray classes week of July 13, 2015

Next week work a painting from an image like this one.
A cold sea and beach on the Maine coast.
Isolated and grey.
Deconstruct the content of such an image and bring your paint and drawing forward until the piney salt
grainy cold idea becomes a unique work of art.
see you next week john.

John Murray classes week of July 5, 2015

Next week try a painterly mask that exemplifies your attitude toward the viewer of your work.
Ignore anything that stands in the way of your representation.
No nicely rendered apologia.
A painted reality that does not truly mean anything, but that functions only as paint and attitude.
See you then
John

John Murray classes week of June 29, 2015

Welcome to my Summer session

Next week let's look at our image and ignore what we see in the mirror.

In any medium try a selfie that matters in a deeper way than the illusion of self one thinks one sees reflecting back from our glass.....

Below are two that I recently completed.

See you next week, John.

 

John Murray classes week of June 7, 2015

Last week of Spring term!

It has been a pleasure working with all of you artists who took my course and put up with me.

Don't forget that Art is the last frontier! 

I have a workshop on Saturday June 13 from 1-5 pm that is a mixture of poetry and painting there is still room...try a mixture that could be very volatile for you as an artist...it has been for me.

I also teach all Summer at NAC every Mon. and Wed. from 4:30-8:30 pm. 

See you next week, John.

John Murray classes week of June 1, 2015

There will be a model on Monday, both morning and afternoon classes.
For Tuesday Figure Class, of course a model...
Wednesday, Supercharged Painting, both sessions and Teen Class, work with sticks as painting implements, instead of brushes..
See you next week, john