Have You Met Mike Murphy?

Tacoma artist Mike Murphy makes other worldly abstracts that make you look twice.

all photos have been provided by Mike Murphy

I met Mike when I purchased one of his paintings-

We were both participating in the Tacoma Arts in the Armory event which allowed us to do the hand off in person. His work immediately impressed me. It is unique and he presents it so professionally.

Originally from the East coast-

Mike came to Seattle in 2008 and haven't left the Pacific Northwest since. He started his own brewery in Seattle in 2013, which he co-owned and operated until 2022. When he decided to leave that industry to explore new creative ventures- he settled in Tacoma to live and make art.

Mike wasn't always a painter. Music was his first creative outlet. From age 13 he was playing guitar, writing songs and learning new instruments. "I grew up playing music, which has always been my primary artistic expression" says Mike.

Around 2011, he got the itch to try painting and really loved how different it felt to make visual art as opposed to music. "It flipped a switch that allowed me to express myself in this completely new way. I painted off and on throughout the last decade (most of it terrible)." M