A native of Norwood, Massachusetts, Jim Murphy was born May 25, 1947. Encouraged by his parents, he immersed himself in drawing as a child, and as a young man studied at Massachusetts College of Art. He graduated in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with emphasis on painting and illustration. He has studied with Lynn Peterfreund and Craig Srebnik and painted with Peter Haughton.

A longtime practitioner of watercolor, Murphy returned to working in oils when he visited Cape Breton in 1997. A trail runner, he often scouts out remote areas on foot and returns with canvas and paint to record his emotional and spiritual relationship with the natural world. He has found his most stimulating and satisfying painting experiences on the coast of New England and in the hill towns around his home in Ashfield, Massachusetts.