Abby Howard Murphy (AHM Creations, LLC)

This award-winning NE Florida artist developed a love of place and an appreciation for natural wonders with inspiration from an adventurous travel agent mother, a DIY father, an artist babysitter and seeing impressionist paintings.

With a B.A. from the School of International Service at The American University with a minor in Environmental Studies, her perspective and creative side continued to intersect during a diverse professional career: addressing hazardous waste at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; consulting for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Everglades restoration; launching the University of North Florida Environmental Center; educating youth and adults on the St. Johns River with SJRWMD; and assisting the North Florida Land Trust preserve special places. While a retail banking and marketing executive, she applied her craft to themed customer and associate events and murals for non-profits. Meanwhile her paintings began receiving awards. Now a full-time artist, she is featured at regional plein air events and galleries in Florida and Georgia.

Self-taught, working primarily in oil; seascapes, skyscapes and forests are inspired by her world travels and northeast Florida home and are often framed in rescued vintage frames. From vibrant vistas to iconic landmarks in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, her paintings continue to celebrate and inspire a sense of place and are now collected on four continents.

Painting in plein air allows the artist to capture vibrant colors and the play of light; celebrating those intricacies of nature the camera fails to see. This artist hopes her images resonate with viewers and trigger a fond memory; inspire them to champion environmental stewardship or nudge them to venture out and explore those wild spaces and living things that define their own hometown anew.