Meet Patrick J. Murphy of Patrick Murphy Fine Art in Temecula

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick J. Murphy.

Patrick please share your story with us.
I was born with a powerful combination of artistic, entrepreneurial and spiritual interests, with “fire in the belly” for all three. My mother was a self-taught water colorist who taught me how to work in that medium and encouraged me to express my creativity in numerous other ways.

As a child, I loved to create movies in my mind and express those visions through drawings, painting and 3-dimensional constructs. I took everything apart to see “how stuff worked” – from pocket watches to plants, insects, fish and fowl. Classmates lined up for me to draw on the covers of their notebooks and I developed a following for my air-brushed tee-shirts. In my teens, I designed and built custom cars, organized and promoted car shows in Las Vegas, booking bands and producing advertising campaigns.

After college, I planned to become an architect, but after a few years working as an architectural draftsman, I changed direction to advertising, a career that could satisfy both my creativity and my need to earn a good living for my growing family. As president and creative director of my own agency for 35 years, I introduced numerous new financial and technology products and produced more than 500 television and radio commercials as well as thousands of print ads, honing my sense of design, balance and precision. During those years, I also raised two wonderful children on our organic avocado ranch while exploring the healing properties of nature.

In 2013, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, which caused me to change gears and focus my energy on fulfilling my first passion — Fine Art. Fueled by my love for nature, I found myself taking thousands of photographs of flowers, exploring new ways to approach them, to get inside them to see how their energy “feels” and “works., and developed my own unique way to combine photography with pastels, acrylics and watercolors, sculpting layers of paper for unique, eye-popping 3-dimensional images.

My art celebrates the beauty and healing quality found in ordinary things, and elevates both the object and the art to a new form of expression. It gives me a chance to make a healing artistic contribution to the world in an effort to help balance some of the chaos, and allows the viewer a moment of delighted childlike surprise as they peek inside at the wonder in each piece.

My work has been recognized with Best of Show and First Place ribbons in many shows, and I recently presented my story and my art in a TEDx Temecula talk to enthusiastic response. My art is now for private collections, as well as creating custom-made commissions for clients.

Has it been a smooth road?
Everyone is born with at least one “Gift”. That gift is usually not fully developed and it’s our job in this lifetime…to fully develop/express/utilize/offer this gift to the world.

For me, that gift is creativity. I’ve always had a flair for creative endeavors. But when I graduated from college, rather than fully expressing my artistic talent, I turned instead to the world of advertising and marketing because I wanted to have a family and a home and all that entails. At the time, I wrongly believed there was no way to do that as a “Artist”. I had no interest in being a “starving artist”.

After my Parkinson’s Diagnosis, I made a major shift into a whole new life and career. I started winning awards right from the start which led to commissions from collectors, interior designers and art lovers. I am building a new business image, creating and selling art and telling my story in inspirational speeches. My recent TEDx Temecula presentation garnered a standing ovation in addition to new avenues to share my passion.

My 2014 Parkinson’s disease diagnosis marked a defining moment in my life in many ways. One part of me felt angry and challenged to overcome this progressive disease, while another part of me faced my mortality. After more than 30 years of a successful career running an advertising agency, I decided it was finally time to do what I had always wanted to do – to be an artist. If not now, when? But how?

I experimented with different styles until I hit upon a new art form combining my love of nature, my skill as a photographer, and my desire to develop a unique style I call Dimensional Fine Art.

Parkinson’s Disease affects the neural pathways in the brain, and I knew that I needed to create new ones as fast as the old ones were disappearing. The technique I developed requires hours of using fine motor skills in new ways enabling me to stay ahead of the progression of the disease.

My Dimensional Fine Art has won many awards including Best of Show, First Place, and many others. For me, the greatest pleasure comes in knowing that the judges are unaware of my Parkinson’s, and that I am being judged only on the beauty of the work.

In addition to doing commissions for collectors, I love sharing my story and my art with a wide range of audiences, encouraging people to find and follow their passion…without waiting for a scary diagnosis as their wake-up call. I recently delivered my first TEDx Talk to an audience of 350 people who gave me a standing ovation.

My wake-up call came in the form of a Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis. Little did I know that it was actually a permission slip for me to become the artist I had only imagined. It launched my journey into developing my own unique style of award-winning Dimensional Fine Art.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I like beauty, nature, beautiful architecture. I like to help people dream their future.

I dislike cookie-cutter design solutions to everything from homes to cars.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.PatrickMurphyFineArt.com
• Phone: [email protected]
• Email: 619-838-1170

Image Credit:
Dimensional Fine Artist
Patrick J. Murphy

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