About Alison

Email Alison Murdoch at alisonmurdochfineart@gmail.com

Alison holds a BA (1st class Hons) in Fine Art – Painting, is a City and Guilds Further and Adult Education Teacher and has qualifications in mentoring and counselling.

Alison has experience of working in Additional Needs Education and Community Education for Stockport and Tameside Councils and Stockport College. She is also an associate artist at The Old School Gallery for artists on the autistic spectrum and with other additional needs.

Alison has studied, practiced, and taught life drawing and portraiture for many years. Her practice is informed by the human condition, medicine, and mental health and wellbeing.

A traditional training and grounding in anatomy underpins her drawing and painting, in combination with expressive mark-making and handling of materials, primarily oil paint and graphite. Alison works both from life and photographic reference, often quickly and spontaneously.

Preliminary studies and drawings are an important part of her portrait practice, to establish composition and to understand the anatomy by drawing it. Studies often more immediately convey a sense of the sitter and when hung alongside the resolved final pieces show the experience and process of making a portrait.

When creating portraits and life studies, Alison strives to capture the essence of the subject in front of her, their unique character and their shared humanity.

A portrait is a collaboration between sitter and artist – the subject commits and gives their time, and in a successful portrait that connection and empathy is communicated to the viewer. Alison finds it is a privilege to be given the opportunity to paint someone’s portrait.