Thom Murphy

THE COST OF FREEDOM

• Thom Murphy
• "The Cost of Freedom"
• Oil on canvas
• 16" x 20"
• 2008

Thom Murphy loved to draw as a child with many different kinds of mediums.  However, he mostly doodled and never thought about pursuing art.  In the fall of 1999, he joined The Plateau Cirque where he fell in love with the technique of oil painting. 

"Everytime my brush touches the canvas, a new creation is brought to life.  The challenge of realism for me, is to create a painting from a scene or photograph and make it my own." - Thom Murphy

"When the war in Afghanistan and Iraq reached the death toll that mirrored those killed on September 11th 2001, I was so touched by the sacrifices that our men and women were making in the name of freedom that I felt compelled to paint this.  It was taken from a photograph that was published in a newspaper around that time and I felt that it summed up the price of freedom." - Thom Murphy

When I think of freedom, our soldiers is the first thing that I think of.  I think about all those Americans that have given their lives for our freedom, and it is quite a humbling thought.  America would not be what it is today without all of those who have fought and are still fighting for what they believe in- Freedom.  This piece reminds me of all the American soldiers endangering their lives for out freedom.