Keith Murray
From an early age, Keith Murray was fascinated with art and the visual world around him. He began oil painting at age ten and by the time he was in his early teens was doing portrait commissions. After graduating high school in Healdton, OK, he attended ECU in Ada, OK and later graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University with a degree in Art. He attended graduate school at West Texas State University in Canyon, TX for one year in the early nineties. In 1993 he began studying with classical realist Kirk Richards in Amarillo, TX where for six years Keith began trying to unlearn much of what he had been taught up until that time. It was this rigorous training where Keith began to find his focus and direction, and his art began to blossom.
Over the years, Keith has exhibited many places and participated in a multitude of shows. While living in Amarillo, Keith won Best of Show in the prestigious Best of the Southwest show on his apocalyptic still life Day of Reckoning. Also while living in West Texas, Keith was among a handful of artists invited to exhibit during the NATO conference that was held there. Recently Keith was invited to Capital where he had a one-man show in the Governors Gallery.
At a glance it is easy to see the strong classical quality of Keiths work. Though highly traditional, they translate as fresh and lively. Aside from the technical expertise embodied in his work, many of his subjects are laced with deep symbolism and depth. Murray remarks, Im not interested in spending my time chasing new fads and trends in the world of art, but seek to create works with substance that will endure the tests of time. With every painting, Keith's goal remains the same: to skillfully execute and render an honest, lifelike image of his subject, and in doing so, extend to the viewer a broadened awareness and perception of the world around him. Illustrated on the canvas, his love for truth and beauty, when coupled with his avid interest in symbolism, often reveal in a tangible form the mysteries of an intangible world.
