Biography of
Michelle Murray
View artwork
Michelle Murray was born in 1962 in Michigan and raised in Ohio before coming to Alberta, Canada as a young adult. She now resides in Edmonton, AB, Canada, with her husband Sean and her family. She is the mother of eight and grandmother of ten.
Michelle’s earliest memories are of watching her grandfather paint and listening to his stories about her great, great grandfather who painted the church ceiling in Serra San Bruno, Italy. She had no idea at the time that one day she would follow in their footsteps. Her first revelation came at 14 when she and her best friend began sketching a vase together. She realizes now that she was drawing “from life.” It opened the floodgates for a lifelong passion.
After early training in Commercial Art, Michelle began to paint with oils in 2003. Representational oil paintings are her passionate focus. In love with oils from the very first brushstroke, she realized the breadth, depth, and width of oils is inexhaustible. Using the paint to its fullest, she uses thin transparent darks and thicker lights to add vibrancy to her work. After studying with Dan Gerhartz, the nuances of painting from life were opened before her. She paints life studies on location and work from life in the studio. Depicting beauty results from a special use of illuminating light. Color, edges, and value help her to breathe life into the canvas.
Figurative Artwork
Her favorite subjects are primarily women and children because they convey thought, emotion or mood so easily. It is her aim to capture the light and beauty of the moment, to tell the story of the splendor of everyday life and portray a simpler time, one that can’t be defined.
Still Life
It is her desire to express the movement of light and richness of color, to capture the magnificence of the ordinary.
Her Philosophy
An excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI’s letter to Artists has a special meaning to her. Her motto is Per Dei Gratium, Pro Dei Gloria: By God’s Grace, for God’s Glory. She signs each painting with the private dedication Tota Tua (totally yours). For her painting is a gift she received so she tries to give it back. She never paints without prayer first, there is a deep spiritual element to it.
“You are the custodians of beauty: thanks to your talent, you have the opportunity to speak to the heart of humanity, to touch individual and collective sensibilities, to call forth dreams and hopes, to broaden the horizons of knowledge and of human engagement… be grateful, then, for the gifts you have received and be fully conscious of your great responsibility to communicate beauty, to communicate in and through beauty!” -Pope Benedict XVI
Per Dei Gratium, Pro Dei Gloria
CREDENTIALS:
Resides: Edmonton, AB
Memberships
2020 – 2021 Executive Vice President National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (NOAPS.org)
2017 to 2019 – President National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, an International Art organization based in the US
2015 – Signature Member National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society
2013 – present – Secretary, Online Director, Canadian Director NOAPS (National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society)
Associate Member Oil Painters of America
Gallery Representation
Picture This Gallery, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Awards & Recognition
November 2020 – “Musings” won Honorable Mention in the Federation of Canadian Artist BELLA! Juried Exhibition Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC
September 2020 – “Mmmm Good Ice Cream” won Honorable Mention in the Federation of Canadian Artists Edmonton chapter Juried Online show.
2020 Federation of Canadian Artists -Bella’s Petals won the 2021 Month of April Calendar competition
May 2018 – Best Narrative Award received for Bella’s Petals, NOAPS Best of America SMALL Painting National Exhibition
Sept. 2016 – Award of Excellence received for “Far Away” at NOAPS Best of America National Exhibition
October 2015 – Merit Award received for “Kindling” at National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society’s Best Of America Show
August 2015- Signature Status awarded National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society
March, April, and June 2015- Fine Art Views Bold Brush Painting Competition – Favorite 15% awarded for “Summer Days” “Sisters” “Mystery”
Jan, Feb 2014- Fine Art Views Bold Brush Painting Competition – Favorite 15% awarded for “Last Glance” and “Far Away”
April, Dec 2013- Fine Art Views Bold Brush Painting Competition – Favorite 15% awarded for “First Blooms” and “Winter Chill”
August 2012- Arabella Magazine, Artist to Collect Feature article – 16 pages
May 2012- “Juror’s Choice Award” for “Windswept” – ACACA North Zone Show
November 8, 2011 – “Parenting galvanizes busy moms to reach for their dreams,” Edmonton Journal newspaper article by Elizabeth Withey
Aug 2012- Fine Art Views Bold Brush Painting Competition – Favorite 15% awarded for “Au Pare”
Oct 2011- Fine Art Views Bold Brush Painting Competition – Favorite 15% for “Serenity”
Oct 13, 2010- Informed Collector Feature Artist
May, July, Aug and Oct 2010- Fine Art Views Bold Brush Painting Competition – Favorite 15% for “2x for Harvest” “Spring Blossoms in Bloom” and “Rosette, Oriental Umbrella”
Education &Workshops Completed
2018 – Adam Clague
2017 – Jason Sacran
Cheng Lian
2016 – Cheng Lian
2014 – Laura Robb
2012 – Dan Gerhartz – Advanced Workshop
2011 – Watts Atelier Boot Camp, Jeffrey Watts
Greg Kreutz
2010 – Sheri McGraw
2009 – Dan Gerhartz
Greg Kreutz
Zhoaming Wu
Rick Weaver
2008- David Leffel
Sheri McGraw
2007 – Robert Johnson
2003 – 2014 – Mentorship Gene Prokop
1979/1980-Commercial Art Technical Course at St Joseph High School with Hank Zyp
Exhibits & Venues
Sept 2018 – National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, 28th Best of America National Exhibit “Muddy Feet” accepted
May 2018 – National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Best of America, 1st SMALL PAINTING Exhibit, won Best Narrative for “Bella’s Petals”
Nov 2017 – National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Holiday Small Works show
Oct 2017 – National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Juried 27th Best of America Exhibit
April 2017 – Spring Show – Castle Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN. USA
May 2017 – Masterpieces in Miniature Invitational Art show- Picture This Gallery, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
Sept. 2016 – National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Juried 26th Best of America Exhibit, Award of Excellence received for “FAR AWAY”
May 2016 – Masterpieces in Miniature Invitational Art show- Picture This Gallery, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
March 2016 – Village Arts Company, Nashville, TN
Dec 2015 – Legacy Gallery, Bozeman, MT, USA – December Art Walk Feature Artist
Oct-Nov 2015 – National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Juried 25th Best of America Exhibit, Entry “Kindling”
July 2015 – Society of Canadian Artists- 47th National Juried Exhibition, Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary, AB
May 2015 – Masterpieces in Miniature Invitational Art show- Picture This Gallery, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
Dec 2014- Holiday Small Works Show, Legacy Gallery, Scottsdale AZ
Oct-Nov 2014 – National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Juried 24th Best of America Exhibit, Entry “Warm Glow”
May 2014-Masterpieces in Miniature Invitational Art show- Picture This Gallery, Sherwood Park, AB, Canada
Oct-Nov 2013 – National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Juried 23rd Best of America Exhibit, Bolivar, Missouri, USA
Sept 2013 – Present- Picture This Gallery, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
July – Aug 2013- Oil Painters of America, Juried Salon Show
July 2013- Taste of Edmonton Festival, Edmonton, Alberta
July 2013-Artwalk Festival, Edmonton, Alberta
March 2013- Night of Artist – Straight from the Art show, Holes Enjoy Center, St Albert, Alberta
January 2013 – 2014-Giovanni’s Fine Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
October 2012 – Present-In the Pink, Feature Artist, Hudson Fine Art & Framing, Hudson, Ohio
2010 – 2013- Alicat Gallery, Bragg Creek, Alberta
January 2012-Metropolis Winter Festival, Edmonton – Night of Artists exhibit
2011- 26th Annual Bosque Art Classic, International Juried Art Show, Clifton, Texas
2011 – Solo Show – Pro’s Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta
2010 – Canadian Institute of Portrait Artists National Show Entry Acceptance for “Autumn Flowers”
2009- Capital Exhibition, Northwest Originals Gallery, Edmonton, AB
2009- Pro’s Art Gallery group exhibition
2008- Pro’s Art Gallery group exhibition
Workshop & Class Teaching
October 29, 2016 – Painting the Portrait from life – model basics to understand life painting
April 2013- Camrose Art Society – “Painting the Draped Model from Life”
Nov 2013- Camrose Art Society – “Portrait Painting from Life”
April 2012- Camrose Art Society – “Painting the Draped Model from Life”
Nov 2012- Camrose Art Society – “Painting the Draped Model from Life”
Public Collections
Edmonton Catholic Schools has five large murals and seven paintings being displayed at seven facilities around the Edmonton area.
