Greenbrier County artist to be featured in Grafton gallery
GRAFTON (WVDN) – A local artist’s work is taking to the streets.
Art by Misty Murray-Walkup will be on display at Gallery 62 West in Grafton in August. During Grafton’s First Friday activities, there will be an opening reception on August 5th from 6pm to 8pm
Walkup is a full-time artist and illustrator with over 30 years of experience. Although she prefers to use oils and acrylics, she enjoys trying out several other mediums, always expanding her skills. A completely self-taught artist, she has developed and honed her unique painting style that has earned her respect and recognition in the art world.
She enjoys painting a variety of subjects, but has a strong focus on wild and domesticated animals. She enjoys the unique challenge that realistic wildlife painting presents.
“I love to paint realistically and wildlife is by far my favorite subject. I bring the zoo to life in my mind with brush and paint on canvas,” says Murray-Walkup.
She finds that inspiration to paint West Virginia wildlife comes easily because it’s all over our state.
Murray-Walkup works with a full palette – every color found in nature is found in her art. She uses them all to try to recreate what she sees as realistically as possible.
Murray-Walkup has received numerous awards for her paintings, judging at art exhibitions across the United States. In addition, her artworks can be found in private and public collections worldwide
Her book, The Wildlife Art of Misty Murray-Walkup, is a collection of 22 paintings in book form and was recently selected for inclusion in the United States Library of Congress.
Murray-Walkup is a juried member of Tamarack in Beckley. Her artwork has been selected by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) for several of their annual calendars. Her work appeared in the 2019 calendar for the month of October. Two of her images have been selected for the 2020 calendar for the months of January and October.
In 2021, Murray-Walkup’s painting of a bobcat was featured on the cover of the calendar as well as for the month of September, and her painting of wild turkeys was used for the month of March. Most recently, two of her paintings were selected for the 2022 edition of the West Virginia State Wildlife Calendar
Her black bear painting was selected by the WVDNR to be the cover of the 2023 State Wildlife Calendar, and her otter painting was also selected to appear inside the calendar.
She was also a featured artist for the Foundation for Appalachian Advancement.
Murray-Walkup was asked to create the 2021 Official Poster/Print of the Year for the State Fair of West Virginia and was the first hidden picture poster ever painted for the State Fair.
Murray-Walkup’s illustrations have been used in numerous books, including the cover and interior of Appalachian Folklore-Omens, Signs and Superstitions and William McClung’s cover of Appalachian Frontiersman.
Other publications where her art can be found are The Wildlife Art of Misty Murray-Walkup cover and interior. Were Wolf Tales cover and interior, Ghosts of Greenbrier County front and back, and Haunted Lewisburg, West Virginia front and back.
As a self-taught artist, Murray-Walkup shares this advice with anyone who wants to learn to paint or improve their work – “Go paint! Truly, practice makes perfect, so go paint and paint some more!”
When she’s not painting, Murray-Walkup enjoys spending time with her 30-year-old husband, James Walkup, and their four children.
Many of her artworks are for sale at the Grafton Gallery.
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| Misty Murray walkup with one of her award winning paintings |
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| Painting by Misty Murray-Walkup |
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| State Fair of West Virginia Poster by Misty Murray-Walkup |
