LAURIE LAMONT MURRAY

It can be said that all art involves some degree of abstraction. What an artist chooses to emphasize, ignore or reimagine is a kind of abstraction. But using shapes, color, layers, and line purely for the sake of creating, without recognizable subject matter, brings a whole new set of challenges. Rather than copying or interpreting from what is 'real', you are pulling from somewhere deep inside, where mistakes aren't as obvious and the finish line isn't always clearly marked. You are creating something that is completely your own in the hope of communicating all that excitement to others.

Because of my career as an interior designer, thinking 3-dimenionally has become instinctive. So sculpture has been a natural extension to my artmaking. I also love exploring, and nothing is more fun than scrambling up a mountain of scrap metal in search of steel to resurrect into sculpture. 

People are endlessly fascinating. I am particularly captivated by the innocence and energy of children, the restlessness and rebellious spirit of teens, the calming wisdom of elders and the never ending gifts of musicians, writers, and artists. In my portrait work I look for something about the subject which hasn't been shown before.

Mystery, magic, power, history. Building up, and tearing down. I am not content to paint pretty pictures. I’d rather give people something to think about, places and ideas to explore.