User:Elroman29/sandbox

John Murdoch (Born 1971) is a classically trained artist based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He paints primarily angels, the human figure and portraits. He is best know for his use of oil and gold leaf. John is also the founder of Gold Light Studios, a classical art atelier and The Classical Art and Atelier Fund.

Life
John was born in Oak Lawn, a suburb of Chicago. With strong encouragement from his family he developed drawing skills by copying books on anatomy, perspective, and figure drawing while in primary school. These books included classics by Andrew Loomis and George Bridgman among others. John followed his sister's footsteps attending the American Academy of Art on scholarship. He was mentored by Lou Ann Burkhardt and Chicago artist and master draughtsman Fred Berger. Other influences from the Academies long history include master colorist William Mosby and Richard Schmid.

He attended the Atelier LeSeuer in Minnesota. He finished his studies at the School of Representational Art in Chicago where he studied under Mike Chelich and Bruno Surdo. Here he also received mentoring from Chicago portraitist Richard Halstead. After his formal atelier training he lived in Mount Rainier in Washington State, lived in a protected sanctuary in Mendocino County, and in Sedona, Arizona before moving to Barcelona Spain. He also traveled and studied extensively throughout France, Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

He then settled close to long time artist and school friend Patrick Devonas near Princeton, NJ. Here he worked at multiple art studios and had numerous one and two man shows. After living in NJ for 10 years, he moved to Bucks County Pennsylvania, where he started Gold Light Studios and Atelier. He was a founding member of the Classical Arts and Atelier Fund which hosted it’s first highly successful “Bohemian Rhapsody” Scholarship fundraiser in 2011. As of 2012 he lives in Perkasie, Pennsylvania.

Art
His primary focus is on continuing and pushing the boundaries of the atelier training environment in Bucks County PA and furthering his own angel and figure based art work. His artistic lineage follows instructor to student from Jacques Louis David to the present. His own artistic influences include J.W. Waterhouse and Paul Delaroche.



Training
American Academy of Art, Chicago, scholarship. Atelier LeSueur, Minneapolis. The Atelier, Minneapolis. School of Representational Art, Chicago

Teaching
Gold Light Studio; Founder, Instructor, Princeton Arts Council; Instructor, Princeton University; Instructor, Montgomery Middle School Artist in Residence

Awards
International Artist Magazine, First Place, Still Life and Florals Residency, Galesburc Civic Art Center Resident artist teacher of the year, Princeton Arts Council Residency, Baltonfured Hungary John and Anna Lee Stacy Scholarship