JoEllen works primarily in oil with an emphasis on keeping her work both loose and impressionistic. Recently, she has been working with cold wax and oil which she feels gives her work a more contemporary abstract look.

Her paintings have won numerous awards in national shows as well as plein air events. She also has been featured in several art magazines.

Here’s an excerpt from Plein Air Magazine article:

Punctuated by bursts of color, JoEllen Murphy’s paintings balance tranquility with lively vibrance. She captures landscapes, garden scenes and architectural details with a style that’s both painterly and confident. “There’s a spontaneity to my work that has come mainly from all the plein air work I’ve done,” she says. “It’s given me my sense of style for loose landscapes.”

Her background includes a BFA degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an early career as a Medical Illustrator. However, most of her working life was spent as an art director at The Washington Post where she honed her sense of design and color. After leaving the Post in 2008, she focused on her new path of becoming a fine artist.

She exhibits annually as a juried member of the Washington Society of Landscape Painters. Her paintings are featured in numerous permanent collections that include The National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland and the U.S. Department of State Works on Paper Collection, in Washington, D.C.

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