Irish photorealist artist — graphite & chalk on toned paper
Portraits
drawn slowly
Portraits built from light and shadow through patient observation.
Irish photorealist artist — graphite & chalk on toned paper
Portraits built from light and shadow through patient observation.
In the studio
The work
Stephen Patrick Murray is an Irish photorealist artist working in graphite and chalk on toned paper. His work centres on portraiture — specifically ordinary faces, rendered through slow and patient observation.
Murray is drawn to the challenge of likeness: how light and shadow together describe a face, and what careful, sustained attention can reveal in a person. There is something he finds in these faces — character, quiet beauty, a life lived — that he believes is worth the time it takes to capture.
Selected work
Process
Every portrait begins as a constellation of measurements — angles and distances triangulated by eye and hand, never traced. Working on toned paper extends the drawing in both directions: graphite carries the shadows down, chalk lifts the light out, and the paper itself holds the middle ground.
A single portrait represents weeks of sustained attention. The slowness is not incidental. It is the method.
A portrait mid-construction — the finished face emerging from the measured scaffold.
Commissions
Every portrait is worked from a single reference photograph and built over a hundred hours at the easel, in graphite and chalk on toned paper. Wherever possible I photograph you myself; where distance makes that impractical, a photographer near you shoots under my direction. Distance is no obstacle.
1
Enquiry
A sentence or two about who the portrait is of, and the occasion. No commitment.
2
Consultation
A short call to talk through composition, framing and the reference photograph.
3
Quote & agreement
A fixed quote in euro or sterling. A 50% deposit secures your place in the schedule.
4
The reference photograph
Taken by me where possible, or by a photographer near you working under my direction.
5
The drawing
Over a hundred hours at the easel, with work-in-progress photographs along the way.
6
Approval & delivery
You approve the finished portrait from high-resolution photographs before it travels to you.
Portrait commission
Head and shoulders, single subject, at A3. Graphite and chalk on toned paper, beginning with a private sitting.
from €3,000
Gift certificate
A deposit reserves a future sitting — a portrait given before it exists.
available
Corporate & institutional
Founders, partners, hospitality and public spaces. Licensing quoted separately.
on enquiry
Limited edition prints
Signed and numbered giclée editions on archival paper.
from €100
A 50% deposit reserves your place; the balance is due on your approval of the finished portrait, before delivery. One round of adjustments is included. Current lead time is around three months from deposit. Wherever possible I deliver the finished piece personally; otherwise it travels to you insured and tracked, at cost.
Can it be a surprise?
Yes — most gift commissions are. The photo session can be arranged discreetly with the help of a willing accomplice.
Who owns the portrait?
You own the original drawing; I retain copyright and the right to show the work in my portfolio.
Two people in one portrait?
Each portrait is a single subject — couples and families are commissioned as a pair or series.
Mailing list
New portraits, works in progress, and first access to print editions — sent occasionally, written personally. The current series is under way in Barcelona until September.
No noise, no spam. Unsubscribe any time.