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Hello and welcome to Rachel Murphy Art!
I’m a full-time artist who lives in Northern Wisconsin.
My artistic journey began with my mother, Marian Walker, who studied at the Milwaukee School of Art in the 1950s.
Although she set aside her oil paints to raise a family, she never stopped sketching. As a child I remember asking for coloring books, she would hand me blank sheets of paper and say, "draw your own.” So, I did.
When I was about six years old, my mother began to rekindle her interest in oils.
I remember how good the turpentine and paints smelled and became very involved in what she was doing , so much so that she could not get any painting done herself. So she set me up with a canvas and paints of my own. From that point on we enjoyed painting side-by-side, for many years.
By my senior year of high school, I was selling my work locally. At that time, Wildlife Art was all the rage. One year later Frame and Feathers Gallery in Roseville, Minnesota, published three of my wildlife paintings, distributing them nationwide as both limited and open-edition prints.
Caricatures: Art of the Moment
While studying Commercial Art in Minneapolis, I landed a job drawing caricatures at Valley fair, where I had the unique opportunity to work under Mad Magazine illustrator Tom Richmond. I was surprised by how challenging it was to draw live caricatures. At the time, I was a published wildlife artist and assumed drawing "funny pictures" would be easy. Boy was I wrong! I was skilled at working from a photo, but capturing the essence of a moving, breathing person in a fast-paced environment was completely a different world . I found myself struggling through some long hours working side-by-side with some very talented artist. That experience taught me how to draw quickly from life and how to work hard in a high-energy environment.
Since then, I have traveled the country drawing caricatures at state fairs. In 2018 I began offering Live Digital Caricatures,
providing unique, tech-forward entertainment for trade shows, colleges and corporate events nationwide. I also continue to draw at local festivals throughout northern Wisconsin.
Plein-Air Painting: Art in the Wild
In 1999, while exploring the St. Paul Art Crawl with friends, I stumbled into the studio of plein-air artist Joseph Paquet. His painting are created entirely from life, on the spot, with no photo references. When I asked Joe how he did it, he said: "It’s all about getting down the right shape, in the right color at the correct value.” Great, I thought, that sounds simple, and signed up for lessons! Quickly I discovered a depth of knowledge I did not know existed. I learned firsthand that capturing the right shape, color, and value "in the wild” is no easy task. Once again, I found myself putting in some long hours, painting side-by-side with incredibly talented artist.
Inspiration on the Trail
When I’m not at the easel or capturing caricatures in a crowd, I am most likely on horseback. We have raised several American Quarter Horses with working bloodlines, and they are the heartbeat of many of my paintings. I strive to capture their physical beauty, grace, and power, as well as the unspoken bond between horse and rider.
Many of my paintings begin as snapshots taken from the saddle. Whether I'm riding the Maah Daah Hey trail in the Badlands of North Dakota or exploring around our land in Wisconsin. I am always documenting ideas that eventually become studio pieces
These days
People often ask how I can work in two completely different styles of Art: To me, it's like jazz and rock 'n' roll—I love them both! They may seem very different on the surface, but deep down, both disciplines require many of the same skills like a solid understanding of drawing, value, and color. Whether it’s a wiggly child at a festival or a fleeting light effect of a sunset, the goal is the same, capturing the essence of your subject quickly. This duality also brings variety to my schedule, one week I’m entertaining crowds at a trade show, and the next I’m enjoying the quiet solitude of my studio.
"While I strive for accuracy in both disciplines, my ultimate goal is to go beyond correctness and capture something a little more. Like the graceful energy of a horse, or the prismatic play of light across a field, and the raw expression of a person or animal and sometimes a tree. My art is a pursuit of motion. I chase the feeling of movement— and strive to capture the world not as a still image, but as a living, breathing experience."
Thank you for visiting my website!
I’m a full-time artist who lives in Northern Wisconsin.
My artistic journey began with my mother, Marian Walker, who studied at the Milwaukee School of Art in the 1950s.
Although she set aside her oil paints to raise a family, she never stopped sketching. As a child I remember asking for coloring books, she would hand me blank sheets of paper and say, "draw your own.” So, I did.
When I was about six years old, my mother began to rekindle her interest in oils.
I remember how good the turpentine and paints smelled and became very involved in what she was doing , so much so that she could not get any painting done herself. So she set me up with a canvas and paints of my own. From that point on we enjoyed painting side-by-side, for many years.
By my senior year of high school, I was selling my work locally. At that time, Wildlife Art was all the rage. One year later Frame and Feathers Gallery in Roseville, Minnesota, published three of my wildlife paintings, distributing them nationwide as both limited and open-edition prints.
Caricatures: Art of the Moment
While studying Commercial Art in Minneapolis, I landed a job drawing caricatures at Valley fair, where I had the unique opportunity to work under Mad Magazine illustrator Tom Richmond. I was surprised by how challenging it was to draw live caricatures. At the time, I was a published wildlife artist and assumed drawing "funny pictures" would be easy. Boy was I wrong! I was skilled at working from a photo, but capturing the essence of a moving, breathing person in a fast-paced environment was completely a different world . I found myself struggling through some long hours working side-by-side with some very talented artist. That experience taught me how to draw quickly from life and how to work hard in a high-energy environment.
Since then, I have traveled the country drawing caricatures at state fairs. In 2018 I began offering Live Digital Caricatures,
providing unique, tech-forward entertainment for trade shows, colleges and corporate events nationwide. I also continue to draw at local festivals throughout northern Wisconsin.
Plein-Air Painting: Art in the Wild
In 1999, while exploring the St. Paul Art Crawl with friends, I stumbled into the studio of plein-air artist Joseph Paquet. His painting are created entirely from life, on the spot, with no photo references. When I asked Joe how he did it, he said: "It’s all about getting down the right shape, in the right color at the correct value.” Great, I thought, that sounds simple, and signed up for lessons! Quickly I discovered a depth of knowledge I did not know existed. I learned firsthand that capturing the right shape, color, and value "in the wild” is no easy task. Once again, I found myself putting in some long hours, painting side-by-side with incredibly talented artist.
Inspiration on the Trail
When I’m not at the easel or capturing caricatures in a crowd, I am most likely on horseback. We have raised several American Quarter Horses with working bloodlines, and they are the heartbeat of many of my paintings. I strive to capture their physical beauty, grace, and power, as well as the unspoken bond between horse and rider.
Many of my paintings begin as snapshots taken from the saddle. Whether I'm riding the Maah Daah Hey trail in the Badlands of North Dakota or exploring around our land in Wisconsin. I am always documenting ideas that eventually become studio pieces
These days
People often ask how I can work in two completely different styles of Art: To me, it's like jazz and rock 'n' roll—I love them both! They may seem very different on the surface, but deep down, both disciplines require many of the same skills like a solid understanding of drawing, value, and color. Whether it’s a wiggly child at a festival or a fleeting light effect of a sunset, the goal is the same, capturing the essence of your subject quickly. This duality also brings variety to my schedule, one week I’m entertaining crowds at a trade show, and the next I’m enjoying the quiet solitude of my studio.
"While I strive for accuracy in both disciplines, my ultimate goal is to go beyond correctness and capture something a little more. Like the graceful energy of a horse, or the prismatic play of light across a field, and the raw expression of a person or animal and sometimes a tree. My art is a pursuit of motion. I chase the feeling of movement— and strive to capture the world not as a still image, but as a living, breathing experience."
Thank you for visiting my website!
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