Liz Murphy is an abstract expressionist painter and creative mentor based just outside New York City. Her artistic voice is the result of a lifelong relationship with visual language, shaped by decades of professional experience as a graphic designer, illustrator, and interior designer. This multifaceted background has given Murphy an exceptional sensitivity to color, contrast, balance, and composition, which now forms the foundation of her painting practice.
While her earlier career was rooted in structure, client-driven outcomes, and visual problem-solving, Murphy’s evolution into abstract expressionism represents a shift toward intuition, emotional truth, and personal exploration. Rather than abandoning her design background, she integrates it seamlessly into her work, allowing technical mastery and instinct to exist side by side. The result is a body of work that feels deeply felt and visually resolved, with paintings that carry emotional resonance while maintaining a strong compositional presence.
Exploring the Human Experience Through Abstraction
At the core of Liz Murphy’s work is a profound inquiry into what it means to be fully human. Her paintings navigate the tension between chaos and order, vulnerability and strength, softness and resolve. These elements are not presented as opposites to be resolved, but as forces that coexist, much like the emotional landscapes we inhabit in everyday life.
Murphy approaches the canvas as a space for dialogue rather than control. Through layered marks, gestural movements, and nuanced color relationships, she allows the work to evolve organically. Each painting becomes a record of presence, an accumulation of decisions, pauses, revisions, and intuitive responses. There is no attempt to illustrate a specific narrative. Instead, her abstractions offer viewers an open field of interpretation, inviting them to project their own emotions and experiences into the work.
This openness is a defining characteristic of Murphy’s practice. Her paintings do not demand explanation. They ask for attention, stillness, and engagement.
The Role of Color, Contrast, and Composition
Color plays a central role in Liz Murphy’s artistic language. Her understanding of color is both emotional and structural, informed by years of professional design work and refined through intuitive exploration. Rather than relying on bold gestures alone, Murphy is attentive to subtle shifts, including how a muted tone can hold space, how contrast can create quiet tension, and how restraint can be as powerful as expression.
Composition in her work is never rigid, yet it is never accidental. There is an underlying sense of order that anchors the emotional energy of each piece. This balance allows the viewer to feel both grounded and moved, held and challenged.
Murphy’s paintings often reward prolonged viewing. What initially appears spontaneous reveals layers of complexity over time, including traces of previous marks, softened edges, and thoughtful adjustments that speak to patience and discernment.
“Pink Petals”: Contrast as a Living Force
One of Murphy’s notable works, Pink Petals (48 x 48 inches, acrylic on canvas), exemplifies her approach to abstraction and emotional presence. The painting explores contrast not only as a visual device, but as a living force within the composition.
Through layered marks and delicate shifts in color, Pink Petals reflects a quiet dialogue between intuition and structure. There are moments of movement and areas of restraint, allowing space for both energy and stillness to coexist. The work resists literal interpretation and instead invites contemplation. Emotion is not imposed. It emerges gradually, shaped by the viewer’s attention and internal response.
In Pink Petals, Murphy demonstrates her ability to hold complexity without overwhelming the senses. The painting feels intentional yet open, expressive yet calm, creating a space where presence becomes the subject itself.
Painting as Presence Rather Than Representation
A defining aspect of Liz Murphy’s work is her commitment to presence over representation. Her paintings are not concerned with depicting recognizable forms or external realities. Instead, they function as emotional environments that encourage reflection, awareness, and connection.
This philosophy aligns with Murphy’s broader creative values. She views art-making as a practice of listening to the body, to intuition, and to what wants to emerge rather than what is planned. In this way, her work reflects a trust in process and a willingness to remain open to uncertainty and discovery.
Mentorship and the Creative Inner Life
Beyond her studio practice, Liz Murphy is deeply committed to mentoring artists around the world. Her role as a creative mentor is not focused on teaching style or technique alone, but on guiding artists toward a more authentic and intentional relationship with their work.
Murphy emphasizes curiosity, discernment, and self-awareness as essential components of a sustainable creative life. She encourages artists to understand their individual creative language rather than imitate trends or external expectations. Through mentorship, she helps artists reconnect with their intuition, build confidence in their decisions, and cultivate the freedom that comes from clarity and self-trust.
This commitment to mentorship reflects Murphy’s belief that creativity is not only about producing work but also about how artists relate to themselves throughout the process.
A Practice Rooted in Depth and Authenticity
Liz Murphy’s paintings are held in private collections and public spaces worldwide, resonating with viewers who seek art that is emotionally intelligent, visually sophisticated, and deeply human. Her work stands as a testament to the power of intuition informed by experience and expression guided by discernment.
Through abstraction, Murphy creates space for emotion, contemplation, and connection. Her paintings do not seek to define meaning. They offer a place where meaning can be felt. In an increasingly fast-paced and image-saturated world, her work invites viewers to slow down, look inward, and rediscover the quiet strength of presence.
