Irene Murdoch

Irene Murdoch, the “Hairy Coos” artist was born in Edinburgh in 1964. From a young age she enjoyed art at school, “In fact it was my best subject,” she says “and I was continuously amazed when I received an 'A'. I found it very easy indeed, all the other subjects that I studied were a struggle, and no matter how much I tried I was lucky to receive a 'C'.”

 

Life and the years passed by and she remained creative, preferring home styling than art. It was not until she relocated to Houston, Texas, for two years that she decided to join a six week night-class in sketching. She found this class thoroughly enjoyable and this started her on the journey of sketching the "Hairy Coos".

 

The "Coos" are firstly, very roughly sketched, using white charcoal. she then adds colour using Prismacolor pencils. These are waxed based pencils that she can layer and blend to create different textures and effects.