Rachel Murphy
Rachel Murphy is a former beauty and fashion editorial assistant for multiple publications and a former design consultant/office administrator for a small swimwear line. She is currently an art educator, teaching creative photography and digital art imaging, including an adviser role for the school's yearbook publication. Rachel has been in education for over a decade. She has experience teaching courses in film, photography, painting, drawing, and sculpture. Rachel holds a BFA from SCAD and has been professionally involved in art and design in some capacity since graduating in 2011. She has worked on both short films and feature films, has had her paintings featured in color theory texts, her work displayed in a local art association gallery, and she has taught dozens of national and international award-winning students. Her hobbies include photography, digital design, drawing, painting, knitting, and sewing. She is most passionate about helping her students find what they love about art and pursue it, fostering their creativity. She is mom to a special-needs seven-year-old boy, who is often the subject of, or inspiration for, her work. She spends her time pursuing her creative passions or researching ways to support her son, who is now conversational after being non-speaking for years. She finds herself aiming to portray the world around us through the eyes of her son in her latest creative endeavors. Her work ranges from expressive realism to non-objective abstract in a variety of mediums. Continuing education and creative pursuits are and continue to be her top priorities.
Artist Statement
I created this series of sunset photos over the course of about six months. The cloud formations and lighting were so unique and captivating, especially for my son. He would spend a long time looking at the clouds at the same time of day for a while. I had a hard time not taking multiple photos every evening; we were both very drawn to it. I wanted to see what kind of variety I could get with my camera over an extended period. I pushed the colors using Adobe Lightroom to enhance the vibrant sunsets. I wanted to see if I could capture the feelings my son seemed to be experiencing when staring at the skies. I believe we all see things differently than the camera does — differently than each other, even. These are my attempts at gathering what my son seems to see at near twilight in our backyard. He sees beauty in everything, and I wanted to capture that, and enhance the most intensified colors possible, without crossing over into surrealism. Each image is very different, with new hues exaggerated and new levels of contrast and temperature. Each one could be viewed as a realistic view of the sky, or a more non-objective composition of color, form, and line.
Instagram: @rarefiedrefinedartworks
