About Jodi Murphy///Introducing Myself

Jodi Murphy spent a lot of her childhood on her grandmother's farm in Somerset, KY, so she learned at an early age that she loved to study nature. She always had a love for drawing and coloring the things she observed in her world. As a young adult, she sketched a detailed drawing of her boyfriend. That's when he bought her first set of paints (watercolor) and watercolor paper as a gift. From then on, she had a need to create art.

Largely through self-taught discipline, Jodi developed her oil technique through years of practice during the 1970's to present. During her career with Olan Mills, Inc., she studied illustration and art at Chattanooga State Technical Institute and has painted under the direction of several artists including Barbara Wright (a well-known book cover illustrator). She was a member of the Civic Arts League and the Regional Art Alliance of Chattanooga, TN, has had her own studio in Chattanooga and has entered and shown in various art shows and contests across the southeast and, more recently, the southwest.

During and after Sept. 11, 2001 and the market drops and crashes, Jodi quit painting for a few years. She recently started painting again in January of 2014.

Jodi has discovered that there are abundant old roads, ghost towns, old forts, homesteads, and old mines as well as wonderful geological formations that people seldom visit in the west USA and especially the southern west states. These places offer abounding inspiration of subjects to paint, and when the weather permits, she enjoys plein air painting. Jodi is known as the artist that depicts "Places Seldom Seen." Although she occasionally paints wildflowers or an animal, she is predominately a landscape artist Through her paintings she strives to bring to the public the feelings of spiritual joy, tranquil beauty, and the quiet profound peace she experiences when surrounded by the vastness of beauty that the southern desert and mountain ranges offer. And, realizing that art creates a link of communication between the artist and viewer, she attempts to convey the importance of preserving America's disappearing wilderness area.

When painting en plein air Jodi's paintings are largely impressionistic, but when working in her studio she tends toward realism. Each painting is started with an underpainting in which she uses a light and dark color to establish what area is the focus of the painting, and where the dark, light, and shadowed areas are to be. From this point in the procedure, her paintings are layered wisps of expression that display her stimulated impression of her surroundings.

Jodi was recently featured in Southwest Art Magazine in September, 2014 in the Nationally Emerging Artist section and, also in September, 2014 she was featured in Xanadu Gallery's Art Catalog in Scottsdale, AZ.

Jodi is currently a member of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, El Paso Art Association, Black Range Artists Inc., and Deming Arts Council in Deming, NM. She recently, in October 2014,, won a 2nd place award for her painting " Heaven's Window" at the Black Range and Plein Air Fine Art Show in Deming, NM and won a 1st Place award for her painting "Florida Dusk" at the Deming Fine Arts Juried Show in June, 2014. Jodi is represented by Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ.

She and her husband (Don) have recently decided to travel throughout the west for the second time. This will give her an opportunity to explore new places to paint and to paint primarily en plein air. She plans to start an online blog so that people can follow her steps of exploration.

Jodi welcomes any critiques that may be offered and would like to continue learning and advancing her art. Please feel free to send comments,