I’ve always been a storyteller of sorts. I love how life takes you on daily adventures and even seemingly ordinary events are filled with subtle aspects of hilarity or sadness or joy. Small encounters are filled with life as they are reimagined and retold, and in my case, sometimes painted.
I love how you can tell what a dog is thinking by the look on his face, or how self-pity can manifest itself in giant, mind bending emotion. I love how absurd love can be, but beautiful just the same. I love awkwardness, guilt, obsession, heartbreak…I love the rawness of being human.
So my ideas, part memory, part observation, but mostly imagined scenarios while letting my mind wander are scrawled on small pieces of paper. A title can sometimes come first, but not always. I use both hands to draw and paint with; drawing with my left gives my work a loose feeling that’s difficult to achieve with my right hand. I intentionally work small; it just feels more intimate, like reading a poem or peeking through a keyhole.
Layering jewel tone acrylic color, colored inks, pencils and matte medium onto the paper, imperfection is my best friend.
Murphy Adams lives in Northern California and shows in galleries throughout California and on etsy.com
