Martine Murphy - Meath

Irish artist Martine Murphy, Meath

I absorbed the basics of life and painting at my father's knee. In my late teens I went for a short time to the National College of Art, Dublin. In the late 70's early 80's I spent five years working in a Graphic Design studio. The influence can be seen in some of my paintings, a merging of graphic and decoreltic styles (a phrase coined by my father). However, I have developed various painting styles. I was chuffed when one of my paintings won a master class, back in the 80's, with the renowned contemporary Irish artist Robert Ballagh. One of life's peak moments was when he allowed me use his own brush for blending! The painting I completed at that workshop, 'The Turf Cutter' was sold shortly after. It's the one painting I regret selling. Over the years, I have used my creativity and art within the community. I believe that, like many of the other visual and performance arts, painting transcends race, colour, religion and gender as a form of self-expression and communication. I paint in a variety of mediums. My main subject inspirations are the things that speak to me personally and evoke emotion, whether it is a sunset warming rocks in the Burren, a ruin - steeped in bloody history or a hen on a mission in a farmyard in Diggle. I work from my studio in the heritage town of Trim, Meath Ireland.