Looking for color and character is an intrinsic way of life for impressionist artist Milessa Murphy. She tends to see light and delight in so many of nature's canvasses, that positive energy oozes into her energetic and inspiring oil paintings.
“One of the great paradoxes in life is the difference between what’s real and what’s imagined, because our reality is skewed by our experiences and perceptions. Those complex combinations are what inspires my artwork,” explains Milessa.
“The authentic emotion and commitment I give to each painting leaves each piece representing a portion of artistic soul. Each day, my artwork grows and changes with me. I believe an artist should never stop learning, especially when there’s so much in life to explore,” she adds.
This Frisco-based artist offers two main ways to secure her artwork. With the year-end gift giving season underway, customers can comb through her varied, online inventory of pieces to select purchases.
Secondly, Milessa relishes opportunities to establish trust with others who commission her to create artwork of a specific subject, idea or scene in her unique styles and genres. She says she’s happy to review existing images to see if the target concept is one with which she can work.
For those who would like to give an innovative gift of a customized painting by allowing the recipient to choose the subject of intent, Milessa provides a professional, 9x12-inch package that includes her artistic background details along with a voucher certificate.
Connecting with others through art comes naturally to this professional. Milessa’s artistic expression began with drawing before she could spell words.
Her desire to pursue art led her to apply to an art university she saw on a television commercial when she was only 12 years old. Her parents didn’t know she’d done so – complete with submitting her drawings -- until she revealed to her mother that she’d been accepted! Imagine her bubble bursting when she learned she wasn’t old enough to attend, and envision a parent who realized that art was a permanent part of Milessa’s identity.
“I think I was born with the desire to be an artist, and I was open to being taught to be a professional one,” Milessa recalls.
Despite Milessa’s love for art, she launched five other types of entrepreneur businesses based on her family’s urging to be sure to have a way to earn a "real, steady" income.
During her mother’s passing in 2008, she says her mother’s last words were: “I want you to promise me you’ll sell your businesses and get back to your painting. I’m sorry I didn't take your art seriously.”
Her mother’s freeing words sent her back to her easel with new resolve, and she hasn’t left art since. She actually started in watercolor, but segued into oil painting when art galleries became unsupportive of glare from the glass of framed watercolors.
“It was an easy transition for me, with my watercolor background in design and composition. It helped me know how to layer and keep colors pure. To this day, people sometimes say they see a watercolor influence in my cleanly executed pieces,” says Milessa.
She’s painted more than 600 pieces, some that reflect and blend humor, whimsy, fact, fiction, dreams, reality and surrealism. Some are done with contemporary flare; others are more tradition.
Milessa just last month worked with one of her true passions via en plein air painting by joining the staff of PleinAir magazine in New Hampshire for an artists’ retreat.
“En plein air painting allows me to capture what I can see in the moment, including the daylight and essence of the atmosphere. This type of impressionistic painting spurs the imagination and makes it magical,” she says. “I like to think that when I paint outdoors, I am channeling the work of some of the great Impressionist painters like Monet or Van Gogh.”
With more people spending so much time in their residences, Milessa says people are considering how to make their homes, rooms and 'Zoom backgrounds' more personal. "This year, we've had time to reflect on what's important and even to look through photographs. Now more than ever, we want to keep those memories closer to ourselves within our homes. Paintings are a wonderful way to grab those memories and help them come alive to enjoy on a daily basis," she says.
mms@Milessa.com
214.402.2886
Milessa.com