Martin is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) and an Exhibiting member of the Federation of canadian artists
Martin is currently represented by Elaine Fleck Gallery, Toronto Canada.
Martin Murphy’s award winning career has been a mix of oil painting, visual effects for film, and as a performer in theatre. After studying Editorial Illustration at the Ontario College of Art Martin put his art on hold to perform across Canada in such productions as Cats, The Stratford Festival, and Phantom of the Opera while painting portrait commissions in his spare time. Once retired from theatre Martin moved to California to work for LucasFilm's Industrial Light and Magic for over 14 years as a digital artist and supervisor working on such films as Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, and Jurassic World. Martin returned to Canada in 2017 to work two more years in visual effects before focusing full-time on his own art. Martin paints full-time out of British Columbia and Ontario concentrating on the human figure. His style can be described as a mix of contemporary and traditional realism focusing on anatomy and drama.
Awards
July 2024 'Medusa' awarded First Prize in the Federation of Canadian Artists' On The Edge international art show
June 2024 'Emotion Censor' awarded First Prize in the Federation of Canadian Artists' 356 Online Exhibition and Calendar Competition
July 2023 'In the Moment' awarded Second Place in the Federation of Canadian Artists' Chapter Challenge Competition
March 2023 'The Landscaper' awarded Award of Excellence for the 2023 Federation of Canadian Artists' Toronto Invitational Show.
December 2022 'The Dream' awarded First Place in the Boynes Emerging Artist Award International Competition
November 2022 'Koi #6' awarded First Place at the Federation of Canadian Artists' 2022 Water Exhibition, Vancouver BC, Canada
September 2022 'Holly' awarded Honourable Mention at the Federation of Canadian Artists' Annual International Representative Exhibition, Vancouver BC, Canada
August 2022 'The Dream' awarded First Place at the Federation of Canadian Artists' Vancouver Salon 2022 Exhibition, Vancouver BC, Canada
April 2022 'Male Figure Reclining' awarded 1st place for Marketer Magazine's TMAC2021 Canada Wide Art Competition and Exhibition.
March 2022 'Koi #5' awarded 1st place Award of Excellence for Best in Show for the 2022 International Open Juried Online Exhibition for the Society of Canadian Artists
February 2022 awarded Honourable Mention at the Langley Arts' Portrait show and Live Painting Competition, Langley BC, Canada
December 2021 'Koi #4' was awarded Certificate of Artistic Achievement as a finalist in the Boynes Emerging Artist Award International Competition.
October 2021, 'Koi #5' was awarded First Prize/Best in Show at artSpacific 2021, Langley BC, Canada
February 2012, awarded Visual Effects Society Award for work on the feature film Rango, Los Angeles, California
Martin was on ILM's crew whose work won the 2007 Visual Effects Oscar for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and the 2012 Best Animated Feature Oscar for Rango