Debbi Murray
Painting / drawing / mixed media (2 dimensional)
Artist Statement
My obsession with bright color was born out of the isolation and turbulence of coping with mental illness. Working with a theme of controlled chaos and a riotous neon palette, I simply paint what I need to get through the darkness — a corner of control within the chaos. These opposites are reflected in the dialogue between light and dark, neon cutting sharply through the conversation.
My work explores the space where vibrant delight dances with our inner shadows. Happy colors lurk and unsettle, evoking emotional struggle — a paradox on canvas. In a world growing increasingly fractured and frightening, this tension feels more urgent than ever. Art becomes a place to hold contradictions that have no resolution — beauty alongside dread, joy alongside grief.
Drawn to the unexpected, I use techniques that yield unanticipated results, which I then temper with structural elements to introduce a measure of control. Acrylics, mark-making, and collage build layers and texture, creating a rich outer landscape for the expression of inner life. The work asks: how do we find light when surrounded by so much dark?
Artist Bio
Artist. Color Enthusiast. Miss-Adventurous.
Debbi Murray is an artist, former graphic designer, and avid mountain biker. She holds a BFA from Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia — an ant-sized town nestled by the Potomac River. She grew up skittering from one place to another and suffers from "Peter Pan Syndrome," never, ever wanting to grow up. She still loves crayons, kaleidoscopes, and all things darkly whimsical.
After 20 years as a graphic designer, she turned her creative pursuits away from the corporate world and onto the canvas. A passion for creative freedom and a fondness for the unexpected drove her in this direction. Debbi has been painting for over 12 years with collectors across the United States and Canada. Her latest work pursues her love of abstraction and color, speaking to the turbulence and isolation of emotional struggle. She shows regularly both locally and online.
Debbi lives and creates in Seattle, Washington, often accompanied by her ghostly twin shadow cats and a rambunctious shade and tuxedo duo.